Books on Israel, Volume I

Religion and Politics in Israel

Religion and Politics in Israel Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi Any way we turn, we seem to be flooded by indications of a resurgence or revival in the role of religion in Israeli public and private life. These indications range from the most public (e.g. use of religious symbols in political discourse) to the most private (e.g. individual return to religiosity). Judging by media reports, it has seemed in recent years and months that religious groups have corne to dominate Israeli politics, and that the most important lobbies in Israel are made up of either the religious zealots who have settled on the occupied West Bank, or the long-bearded leaders of religious parties who manage to achieve more power and money after every government crisis. The settler on the West Bank, his head covered with the knitted skull-cap and an Uzi slung over his shoulder, has become an emblem of Israel in the 1980's. Much media attention has been directed toward incidents in which bus stop shelters have burned or defaced after they were used to display advertisements featuring scantily clad women. Less sensational, but more interesting reports and pictures reveal Mr. Shimon Peres, the Labor Party leader, to be undergoing a process of Orthodoxization. First Mr. Peres goes to the Waling Wall after being sworn in as prime Minister in 1984, then he is observed taking Talmud lessons from a Chief Rabbi. That these displays of piety were subject to ridicule and derision is also part of the story. Our first task is to winnow the grain from the chaff and reach an understanding of the real significance of these images. Incidents such as the burning of bus stop shelters seem to be the least significant; we realize that when we learn that feminist groups in Israel joined with the ultra-Orthodox in condemning the advertisements and sometimes in defacing them. This is reminiscent of similar coalitions in other places, such as the United States. Both partie.s to the alliance, the ultra-Orthodox and the feminists, represent extremely marginal groups, which essentially stand outside the Israeli political arena. The whole affair is totally unrelated to other, more important, issues of religion and ideology. The emblematic religious settler on the West Bank is a true reflection of events there, but it does not represent the majority of Israelis, or even a majority of Orthodox Jews in Israel. It is important to recall that there is still a clear negative correlation between Orthodoxy and Zionism among Jews. Those who are more Orthodox are less (or anti-) Zionist. The West Bank settlers rank high on the Zionism scale, but low on the Orthodoxy scale. No religious Jew can be eblematic of the majority of Israelis, since that majority, despite all developments and appearances, is still non-observant, if not consciously secBenjamin Beit·Hallahmi is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Haifa and Visiting Professor in the Department of Religion at Columbia University, as well as Visiting Scholar at New York University. His most recent book is The Israeli Connection: Who Israel Arms and Why, Pantheon Books, 1987. 107 Religion and Politics in Israel ular. The real resurgence of religion in Israel can be found in three separate realms. The first is that of personal "conversion," in which young and not-so-young Israelis, members of the non-observant majority, make the personal decision to become Orthodox.! Such cases in Israel have numbered in the thousands over the past ten years, and they constitute a significant social movement. Two observations need to be made in this context. First, this movement from secularism to religion has not changed the minority status of the Orthodox in Israel. Second, most of the returnees to Judaism, following the correlation presented above between Orthodoxy and non-Zionism. tum non-Zionist or even anti-Zionist as a result of their change of heart. The second realm in which we can observe a significant change is that of political discourse. What we can observe, and this has been going on since 1967, is the growing use of religious symbols by non-religious leaders, and, even mon: so, the growing confidence of religious politicians in making pronouncements about matters both religious and secular. It is important to recall that most members of the Israeli government today remain totally secular in their behavior and discourse, and this includes somo~ of the more visible leaders such as Yizhak Shamir, Ezer Weizman, Ariel Sharon, Moshe Arens, Yizhak...