Can State and Religion Work in the Jewish State? The question of the Hareidim and the hill top youth

Israel is known for its ongoing conflict. But it is not the Arab Israeli one that I am concerned with today. Rather, there is an ongoing internal conflict within the Jewish state that is intrinsic in many new states but more so, I believe, within the Jewish one.

Clifford Geertz in his book The Interpretation of Cultures makes an interesting point regarding new nations that I think is particularly relevant to the case of Israel. Geertz argues that new states are susceptible to disaffection within the peoples of the new state. This is so as the new state is created, cultural groups contend with the other, over the new political space that previously didn’t exist. Through the history of nation-state formations this has had bloody consequences. Examples are numerous and include modern cultural tensions today such as the Basque country in Spain, Belgium’s Flemish and French speakers and Cyprus. Different conflict resolution techniques have often been employed to address tensions and cultural difference such as consociationalism in Northern Ireland and Bosnia as well as ongoing, unresolved conflicts such as China’s persecution of the Tibetans.

In Israel however, the internal conflict plays out in a highly different way. As well as tensions with Israel’s Israeli-Arab minority (tensions that would be expected), Israel has an internal conflict within its Jewish citizens. As per Geertz’s cultural primordialism, in the Jewish case, it was after the creation of the modern State of Israel that different factions of the Jewish nation came face to face with each other for the first time. What then occurred, was a battle for recognition between each sub-group within their state. The battle took different forms, and continues today to do so.

Essentially it comes down to two crucial questions;

1.Who is a Jew?

2.What should a Jewish State look like?

This quandary was articulated by David Ben Gurion, who was deciding how to form Israel’s citizenship laws. Ben Gurion wrote to a number of Rabbis, philosophers, professors, scientists, historians and politicians on the question of ‘Who is a Jew’ of which the fascinating responses can be found in Eliezer Ben Rafael’s book ‘Jewish Identities: fifty intellectuals answer Ben Gurion’.

And so Geertz’s cultural primordialist theory takes effect. Different groups, part of the same Jewish nation, fight over the new Jewish State. What occurs is to some extent ‘subnationalism’s’ within the Jewish state. Different cultural and religious groups fighting to dictate how the Jewish state should be Jewish , or not, or indeed what type of Jewish.

An example of the battle over Jewish identity can be seen in the fact that civil marriage is not an option in Israel, the Religious Orthodox courts having a monopoly on religion. This is being continuously challenged, many choosing to marry outside Israel rather than marry Orthodox.

At the heart of the issue is assessing to what extent does religion need to be expressed in order to retain the Jewish nature of the Jewish State?

Many think it need be only a cultural Jewish state.                                                     
Others seek a state that is in accord with Biblical Judaism, not satisfied until the entire ancient Israel is redeemed.                                                                                  
Others oppose the secular nature of the state, and will not be satisfied until all of Israel, and its people, behave according to a strict level of Orthodoxy.              
 Others still, seek total secularization of Israel, separation between state and religion and some even bi-nationalism with the Palestinians.

This struggle is ripping Israel apart from within. Most recently, Israel has had its first Jewish citizen that has been able to register as being without religion.

More dramatically two groups have turned to violence and antagonism in their battle to define the Jewish state.

The infamous ‘hill top youth’ have most recently enacted violence on the Israeli Defence Force in their frustration over settlement policy. They will not be happy until the whole of ‘biblical Israel’ is free.

Sections of the Ultra Orthodox community have turned to violence in their frustration over a number of religious and cultural issues. They will not be happy until the whole of Israel is run in accordance with Ultra Orthodox law.

Religion is a doctrine, which in nature can be exclusive and Universalist.      
Modern nationalism generally is inclusive and particularistic.                                    
To reconcile the two can and has proven particularly difficult.

We have seen in different sections of the world, that religion and politics can’t mix. In Israel there are signs of this strain.

That a Jewish State needs to exist is not a matter of discussion. What needs to be discussed is how to deal with religion within a liberal democratic state. What is for sure is that the maximalist actions of the hill top youth and the Ultra Orthodox extremist’s needs to be circumvented. Arrests only go so far. It is with the leaders of the groups, their education systems and within a strong civil society that these topics can be addressed.

The rule of law needs to come before religion. Even, and especially in a state defined by religion, race or ethnicity. Within Israel’s coalition system, seats and a majority can no longer be exchanged for autonomy for a particular cultural or religious group.

As long as different cultural groups are pitched against each other for the power to dominate society, Israel will remain heavily fragmented.

Working on creating a strong civil society which includes all elements of Israeli society is a first step. Changing the coalition system is a second.