As a country that was founded specifically to allow Jews to live and practice their religion in their ancestral homeland, Israel is often criticised for its preferential treatment of Jewish citizens, as well as for its refusal to allow Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. The Israeli Declaration of Independence of 1948 defines Israel as a Jewish state where the political, religious and spiritual identity of the Jewish people was shaped. It also identifies the Nazi Holocaust and the threat of antisemitism as the main reasons why a Jewish state had to be established in the first place. As a country whose history, culture, legal system and government have all been influenced by religious doctrine and practice, one cannot possibly appreciate how truly unique and complex Israel is without first investigating the main tenets of Judaism.
Judaism is a monotheistic religion whose followers believe in an incorporeal, all-knowing god who created the universe and provided the Jewish people with a clear set of rules, the most important ones being the Ten Commandments given to Moses after the Israelites left Egypt (Israel and Judaism Studies, 2007). Jews live their lives according to the teachings of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of sacred books which narrate the genealogy of the universe, the history the Jewish nation, and God’s interactions with his chosen people, i.e. the Israelites. The general belief is that those who follow God’s commandments will be rewarded, whereas those who transgress them will be punished them. As a religion that is more concerned with actions than beliefs, Judaism places great emphasis on rules, practices, customs, holidays and observances, which affect the way in which Israeli courts, government officials and citizens approach a wide range of issues. Divorce is an excellent example: because the Hebrew Bible depicts adultery as a grave sin, Rabbinical Courts are unlikely to reach a fair and balanced decision when dealing with adulterous spouses; in fact, the outcome of the divorce usually depends on how orthodox or liberal the Rabbinical Judge is (Boaz Gork, 2018).
In Israel, Judaism and politics are fundamentally intertwined. The Chief Rabbinate is a government department with authority over many aspects of Jewish life, including kosher laws (i.e. dietary requirements that all Jews must comply with), marriage, divorce, burials, conversion to Judaism as well as various rituals. Besides dealing with a wide range of personal status matters, the Chief Rabbinate has legal authority to oversee Jewish holy sites, issue kosher certificates and supervise Rabbinical courts across the country. Being Shabbat (i.e. Saturday) a very important festive day on which Jews are to refrain from work activities in order to focus on God, public transportation in Israel does not run on Shabbat (The Jerusalem Post, 2017). In view of these considerations, one may think of Israel as a theocratic state where religious minorities are probably persecuted in a systematic manner. Interestingly, that is not the case.
Despite its Jewish nature, Israel is a democratic country where the media are free to criticize the government, newspapers are privately owned, civil liberties (e.g. freedom of religion, speech, expression etc.) are largely respected and religious minorities’ holy sites are protected by the law (Freedom House, 2017). The democratic character of Israel was established in 1985, when an amendment to the Basic Laws of Israel was approved by the Knesset, i.e. the Israeli parliament. Being Israel both a Jewish state and a democratic country, the Israeli government faces a major dilemma: on the one hand, it has to preserve the Jewish nature of the state in order to ensure the long-term survival of the Jewish people; on the other hand, it has to protect the rights and liberties of all of its citizens, whether Jewish or not. As reported by World Atlas (2018), Jews account for nearly 75% of Israel’s population, followed by Muslims (17.7%), Christians (2%) and other minorities. Approximately 49% of Israeli Jews identify themselves as “Hiloni”, a term used to define non-religious, secular Jews (Lipka, 2016). Contrary to what one may think, only 9% of the Jewish population belongs to the Haredi (ultra-orthodox, conservative) community, which explains why democratic values are still regarded very highly by most Israeli Jews (Lipka, 2016).
After the Holocaust, Jews from diaspora communities across the world relocated to Israel for both practical and spiritual reasons (i.e. personal safety, widespread anti-Semitism and a desire to re-connect with their ancestral homeland). Having spent many years – and, in some cases, their whole lives – abroad, many of them brought their customs, traditions and beliefs back with them, thus turning Israel into a culturally diverse country. In a way, it is thanks to religion that Israeli cuisine, music, architecture and literature have been influenced by many different cultures. In the 1970s, Curtiss & Chertoff (1973, p. 389) described Israel as a “pressure cooker”, rather than a “melting pot”, where things happen very quickly and many different ingredients are mixed together without knowing what the final product will taste or look like. On a less positive note, secular citizens – both Jewish and non-Jewish – are finding it increasingly difficult to voice their opinions and express themselves in a country where ultra-orthodox Jews are strongly supported by the government (Eichner, 2012). As U.S. female Rabbi Julie Eichner (2012) reports, Israeli citizens are not free to bury their loved ones as they wish, divorce petitions are handled by Haredi judges who see women as inherently sinful, and people cannot get married according to their beliefs. Overall, religion has had both positive and negative effects on Israel; whether or not the former outweigh the latter depends greatly on one’s values and priorities.
- Boaz Gork (2018). Divorce in Israel. Retrieved from http://www.divorcelawisrael.co.il/en/divorce-israel
- Curtis, M. & Chertoff, M.S. (1973). Israel: Social Structure and Change. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
- Eichner, J. (2012). ‘Israelis should stand up to Haredim’. Retrieved from https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4191132,00.html
- Freedom House (2017). Israel. Retrieved from https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2017/israel
- Israel and Judaism Studies (2007). Core Ethical Teachings of Judaism. Retrieved from http://www.ijs.org.au/The-Ethical-Teachings-of-Judaism/default.aspx
- Lipka, M. (2016). 7 key findings about religion and politics in Israel. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/08/key-findings-religion-politics-israel/
- The Jerusalem Post (2017). Public Transportation on Shabbat Not Essential, State Tells Supreme Court. Retrieved from https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Public-transportation-on-Shabbat-not-essential-state-tells-Supreme-Court-504345
- World Atlas (2018). The Major Religions in Israel. Retrieved from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-major-religions-in-israel.html
