The Religionization of Israeli Society

ISBN-13: 9781138954793 / Angielski / Twarda / 2018 / 238 str.

Yoav Peled; Horit Herman Peled

Opis

During Israel's military operation in Gaza in the summer of 2014 the commanding officer of the Givati infantry brigade, Col. Ofer Vinter, called on his troops to fight "the terrorists who defame the God of Israel." This unprecedented call for religious war by a senior IDF commander caused an uproar, but it was just one symptom of a profound process of religionization, or de-secularization, that Israeli society, including the Israeli military, has been going through since the turn of the twenty-first century. The process of consolidation of the new civil religion is known in Israel as hadata (religionization). Hadata has manifested itself in various ways in many areas of social life and is clearly present in the growing prevalence of the national-religious Jewish worldview in Jewish Israeli culture. The Religionization of Israeli Society examines the precise nature, pace and significance of hadata and explains the reasons for its occurrence. In very broad outlines, the new civil religion's origin can be traced to a movement from socialist to religious Zionism, with a value system derived from traditional Judaism, adjusted to the requirements of modern society and democratic polity. It seeks to enhance the presence of religious symbols and values in the public sphere, but does not aspire to turning Israel into a theocracy; while affirming the primacy of Zionism for Jewish existence, it has a more positive attitude towards the preservation of Jewish identity in the Diaspora. Through careful examination of religionization, this book sheds light on a major development in Israeli society, which will additionally inform our understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As such, it is a key resource for students and scholars of Israeli Studies, and those interested the relations between religion, politics and nationalism, secularization and new social movements.

Spis treści

1. Introduction  2. The Rise and Decline of Labor Zionist Hegemony  3. The Religious Zionist Challenge  4. Return, Renewal and In-Beteween  5. Education  6. The IDF: From Religionization to Theocratization  7. Nationalism and Religion in the Visual Fine Arts Field  8. Orthodox Feminism  9. Film, TV, Media  Conclusion