Premium
Ethno‐religious Fundamentalism and Theo‐ethnocratic Politics in I srael
Author(s) -
Leon Nissim
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
studies in ethnicity and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.204
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1754-9469
pISSN - 1473-8481
DOI - 10.1111/sena.12067
Subject(s) - fundamentalism , ideology , nationalism , judaism , interpretation (philosophy) , mainstream , identity (music) , politics , sociology , jewish identity , religious identity , religious studies , situated , political science , law , theology , philosophy , aesthetics , linguistics , artificial intelligence , computer science , religiosity
This article addresses the transition of a fundamentalist confrontational religious ideology into an assertive, religio‐nationalist ideology by the case of the ethno‐ U ltra‐ O rthodox (haredi) Shas party in I srael. Alongside the haredi proclivity towards insularity, we also detect, in recent decades, two new trends within the haredi mainstream. First, we see increasing numbers of haredim ( U ltra‐ O rthodox J ews) integrating into different frameworks that are situated outside of the haredi enclave: the job market, the army, welfare and charity organizations, and more. A second trend, which I will elaborate upon here, is a fundamentalist religious interpretation of elements of Israeli national identity. This trend seeks to view Jewish law, in its orthodox interpretation, as a source for the conservation and maintenance of Jewish identity in I srael: firstly, through the turning of haredism into a dominant factor in the religio‐communal arena in I srael; and secondly, through assuming responsibility for demarcating the boundaries of the Jewish collective.