Abstract
In the last decades Religious Zionism moved from the margins to the center of Israeli society and politics. Members of this sector (RZS) are located today in top positions in Israeli politics, businesses, and among professional elites, academia, and the military, gaining growing influence over the national decision-making processes and policies. No wonder, then, that public opinion polls indicate that the members of the RZS are the most satisfied and optimistic in Israel today. The fact that the RZS is positioned mostly on one side of the political spectrum (Right), the tight interrelations within this sector and its widening periphery have further increased its national impact. It is argued here that this is a critical development in Israeli politics as this sector’s members, and in particular those voting for the RZS parties, show relatively low commitment to core democratic values together with a clear preference for the Jewish aspect over the democratic aspect of the state of Israel. Furthermore, whereas in the past the RZS was politically represented by one main party (with some splinter groups coming and going), in the 2021 elections two parties (Yamina and the Religious Zionist Party (RZP)) collided head-on. For the first time each of these parties, the first more modernist and the second more fundamentalist, claimed to be the only authentic representative of this sector. The competition between them intensified when the election results showed that each of the two had gained the same number of seats in the Knesset, with the leader of Yamina unexpectedly becoming the new Israeli prime minister. It is argued here that the future balance of power between these two parties and their respective constituencies will determine the future of the RZS as a whole—whether it will establish itself as a pivotal actor in Israeli politics or remain at the margins.
Highlights
Until early 2021 the terms “Religious Zionism” or “National Religious bloc” were alternatively used as umbrella terms for a distinct sector of the Israeli Jewish society1 —the one occupying the sociological and ideational space between the traditional and the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) categories in the religiosity scale.2 This sector as a whole is widely known as “the religious”, and its size is conservatively estimated to be around 16% of the Israeli Jewish population
It is argued here that the future balance of power between these two parties and their respective constituencies will determine the future of the RZS as a whole—whether it will establish itself as a pivotal actor in Israeli politics or remain at the margins
This article sets forth the unique positions of the RZS regarding the state of Israel and its regime compared to other sectors of the Israeli Jewish society, discusses the RZS’ position on several core democratic values, and focuses on the differences between the Religious Zionist Party (RZP) and Yamina voters in that regard
Summary
Until early 2021 the terms “Religious Zionism” (in Hebrew Ha’Tziyonut Ha’Datit) or “National Religious bloc” (ha’machaneh Ha’Dati-Leumi) were alternatively used as umbrella terms for a distinct sector of the Israeli Jewish society1 —the one occupying the sociological and ideational space between the traditional (masorti) and the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) categories in the religiosity scale. This sector as a whole (hereafter the RZS) is widely known as “the religious” (ha’dati’im), and its size is conservatively estimated to be around 16% of the Israeli Jewish population. Based on several sets of public opinion surveys, it explores the hypothesis that the RZS, as a whole, holds a unique set of views and values concerning the nature and operation of the Israeli democracy compared to both the ultra-Orthodox sector on one side of it on the religiosity scale and the traditional and secular sectors on the other side Another hypothesis to be examined here is that the competition between the two Religious Zionist parties is not a regular power struggle over a common constituency, but rather a fierce fight over the direction of the RZS with regard to the appropriate relative weight of the Jewish and the democratic components of the state of Israel and its desired modes of operation. This article sets forth the unique positions of the RZS regarding the state of Israel and its regime compared to other sectors of the Israeli Jewish society, discusses the RZS’ position on several core democratic values, and focuses on the differences between the RZP and Yamina voters in that regard
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