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Israel
Orthodox Judaism
Within the Orthodox or dati category one can distinguish
between the ultra-Orthodox or haredi, and the "modern"
or "neo-Orthodox." At the very extreme, the ultra-Orthodox consists
of groups such as the Neturei Karta, a small fringe group of antiZionist
extremists, who reject Israel and view it as a heretical entity.
They want nothing to do with the state and live in enclaves (Mea
Shearim in Jerusalem and towns such as Bene Beraq), where they
shut out the secular modern world as much as possible. Nevertheless,
among the ultra-Orthodox one can also count some of the adherents
of the Agudat Israel Party, who accept the state, although not
its messianic pretensions, and work within many of its institutions.
These adherents are exempt from compulsory military service and
do not volunteer for police work, yet they demand that the state
protect their way of life, a political arrangement known as the
"preservation of the status quo" (see The Role of Judaism , this
ch.). In practice, they live in the same neighborhoods as the
more extreme haredi and maintain their own schools, rabbinical
courts, charitable institutions, and so on. The state has not
only committed itself to protecting the separate institutions
of different Orthodox Jewish groups but also, especially since
1977, to their financial subvention.
The modern or neo-Orthodox are those who, while scrupulously
adhering to halakah, have not cut themselves off from society
at large. They are oriented to the same ideological goals as many
of the secularists, and they share the basic commitment to Israel
as a Zionist state. Furthermore, they participate fully in all
the major institutions of the state, including the Israel Defense
Forces (IDF). This group is also referred to as "Orthodox Zionists."
They have been represented historically by a number of political
parties or coalitions, and have been the driving force behind
many of the extraparliamentary social, political, and Jewish terrorist
movements that have characterized Israeli society since the June
1967 War (see Exraparliamentary Religio-nationalist Movements
, ch. 4). Most Orthodox Zionists have been "ultra-hawkish" and
irredentist in orientation; Gush Emunim, the Bloc of the Faithful,
is the most prominent of these groups. A minority of other Zionist
groups, for example, Oz Veshalom, an Orthodox Zionist movement
that is the religious counterpart to Peace Now, have been more
moderate.
Relations between the ultra-Orthodox and the neo-Orthodox have
been complicated and not always cordial. Nevertheless, the neo-Orthodox
have tended to look to the ultra-Orthodox for legitimacy on religious
matters, and the ultra-Orthodox have managed to maintain their
virtual monopoly on the training and certification of rabbis (including
neo-Orthodox ones) in Israel. (The neo-Orthodox university, Bar-Ilan,
as part of the parliamentary legislation that enabled it, was
prohibited from ordaining rabbis.) Thus ultra-Orthodoxy has an
aura of ultimate authenticity, a special connection to tradition
that has been difficult for others to overcome. Even a staunch
secularist such as David Ben-Gurion lamented during a confrontation
that the ultra-Orthodox "look like our grandfathers. How can you
slap your grandfather into jail, even if he throws stones at you?"
Data as of December 1988
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