Israel After Begin

13. Beyond the Begin Revolution: Recent Developments in Israel's Religious Parties

C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N Recent Developments in Israel's Religious Parties Gary S. Schiff zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWV Introduction As they face elections to the Twelfth Knesset on November 1, 1988, Israel's religious parties appeared even more fractious than usual. Indeed, to some observers they may have seemed intent — in an almost masochistic way — upon further fragmenting themselves into assorted cliques and claques whose distinctions loom virtually Talmudic in origin to the uninitiated. The result of such further splinterization, it is argued (and in some cases hoped), might be the diminution of their overall impact on Israeli political life. While the religious parties are beset with serious problems, both internally and externally vis­a­vis the larger political system, in fact many of the newly articulated divisions between and among them are deeply rooted in their pluralistic origins as umbrella parties covering a diverse spectrum of views that once was Orthodoxy. The recent spate of hyperfragmentation may well reflect the resurfacing of such inter­ nal tensions and factions, long inherent in these parties, triggered in large measure by the fundamental changes in the Israeli political system brought about by the rise of Begin and the Likud, rather than to any basic trend towards their dissolution. As I have argued elsewhere1 , and continue to believe, the two core religious parties are very different from one another and should not be simplistically lumped together for purposes of analysis. Never­ theless, taken as a whole they do constitute what Elazar refers to as one of the three major ‫״‬ camps‫״‬ in Israeli politics2 (the other two being labor and civil). Viewed in this way the recent splits and mergers, 273 Gary S. Schiff 274 recombinations, and permutations these parties have experienced may well constitute more of a realignment of forces within that ‫״‬ camp/‫׳‬ rather than any fundamental breakdown thereof. Indeed, the pattern may more closely resemble the decline and disaffection of the old leftist Mapam, for example, from today's more centrist Labor party within the socialist camp rather than the disintegration of the short­lived Democratic Movement for Change. Despite their fragmentation and relative decline, the religious parties continue to exhibit remarkable resilience and potency. Indeed, as I have suggested previously3 , given the crystallization of Israeli politics around two major poles — Likud and Labor — neither of which is capable of governing on its own; and given the relatively more durable staying power of religion over many other issues as a central concern in the Israeli polity, the religious parties' influence is likely to be enhanced, despite their ostensible divisiveness and decline. While voting for all the religious parties together declined from an all­time high of 15.4 percent and eighteen members of Knesset (MKs) in the Fifth Knesset elections of 1961 to an all time low of 11.3 percent and thirteen MKs in the Eleventh Knesset elections of 19844 , the parties remain a potent political force. [Editor's Note: The 1988 election resulted in 14.6 percent of the vote for religious parties, yielding eighteen seats in the Twelfth Knesset.] zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Origins of the Religious Parties What were the origins of these parties? And what were the diverse elements and forces that historically divided them into internal factions?5 First, it must be stressed that all Israeli parties aspiring to the label ‫״‬ religious," unlike those of Western Europe, claim to represent the same religion, indeed the same "denomination" thereof, Orthodoxy. As a result of this common professed allegiance to Orthodoxy, these parties are often indiscriminately lumped together and are alleged to have similar (usually ‫״‬ conservative, ‫״‬ extremist," "clericalist" or "right wing") political characteristics or behaviors. (There is as yet no party claiming to represent the other two main denominations of Judaism in the world, Conservative and Reform, both relatively new to Israel — and, in the latter instance, to Zionism. However, recent developments, such as the formation of Reform and Conservative parties within the World Zionist Organization, suggest 275 yxwvutsrp Recent Developments in Israel's Religious Parties that these groups may be overcoming their previous American­derived inhibitions about mixing religion and politics. The eventual formation of two such parties, or one non­Orthodox religious party, cannot be ruled out. This scenario would be even more likely if the movements are frustrated in their present attempts at achieving their political ends via cooperation with one or the other major secular party6 and...