Conservatism in Israel

{{main|Jewish conservatism}}

{{see|Halakha|Orthodox Judaism}}

{{main|Sadducees}}

Conservatism has been a major philosophy in Jewish society in the region going back to the Sadducees during the Second Temple period. The Sadducees were aristocrats during the Hasmonean dynasty who were sympathetic to Hellenization and Hellenized Judaism and sought to promote the interests of the priestly Kohen class, including the High Priest, or Kohen Gadol.{{cite web |last1=Denova |first1=Rebecca |title=Sadducees |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Sadducees/ |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}{{cite web |title=The Constitution of Judea (103-6 BCE) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbzDRFpA23E |date=10 January 2020}}

{{main|Hatzohar|Agudat Yisrael|Neturei Karta|Palestine Arab Party}}

{{main|Revisionist Zionism}}

File:זאב ז'בוטינסקי-JNF010760.jpeg|left]]

Revisionist Zionism was born as an ideology calling for the entire Mandate for Palestine, calling for Israeli sovereignty over "both banks of the Jordan." However, they eventually changed their position to "the whole land of Israel."{{cite web |last1=Shelef |first1=Nadav G. |title=From "Both Banks of the Jordan" to the "Whole Land of Israel:" Ideological Change in Revisionist Zionism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30245747?searchText=%28%28Revisionist+Zionism%29+AND+%28Herut%29%29&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%2528%2528Revisionist%2BZionism%2529%2BAND%2B%2528Herut%2529%2529%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A7896bada3726ce4a73b84723f6f06497&seq=3 |website=Israel Studies |pages=125–148 |date=2004}} Nonetheless, the ideological forefather for Revisionist Zionism, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, called for equal rights for Arabs who would live in a potential Jewish state, albeit with hostility towards other Arab states, in his essay The Iron Wall.{{cite web |last1=Ze'ev |first1=Jabotinsky |author-link1=Ze'ev Jabotinsky |title=Vladimir Jabotinsky: The Iron Wall - We and the Arabs (1923) |url=https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/document/mideast/ironwall/ironwall.htm |website=www.marxists.org}} For the most part, Revisionist Zionism initially lacked any clear ideology, with some variants calling for a bi-national liberal but nominally majority Jewish state, while other variants were outright fascist, sympathetic to Mussolini's Italy.{{cite web |last1=Zouplna |first1=Jan |title=Revisionist Zionism: Image, Reality and the Quest for Historical Narrative |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40262552?searchText=&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%28%28Revisionist%2BZionism%29%2BAND%2B%28Herut%29%29%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3A0308586ed2d0626da61db26ee8e19419&seq=2 |website=Middle Eastern Studies |pages=3–27 |date=2008}}

During the Mandate period, the early foundations of conservatism were being built by political parties like Hatzohar and Agudat Yisrael, as well as by the paramilitary group Irgun. Hatzohar, which was founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky in 1923, called for the immediate establishment of the State of Israel "on both sides of the Jordan".{{cite web |title=Ze’ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ze-ev-vladimir-jabotinsky |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}{{cite web |last1=Troy |first1=Gil |title=The Zionist Ideas: Visions for the Jewish Homeland—Then, Now, Tomorrow |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt21c4vgn.8?searchText=%28%28Ze%27ev+Jabotinsky%29+AND+%28Revisionist+Zionism%29%29&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%2528%2528Ze%2527ev%2BJabotinsky%2529%2BAND%2B%2528Revisionist%2BZionism%2529%2529%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A2958a213f8f7aa3630ff995778f58779 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |date=2018}} Jabotinsky himself was a supporter of Western-style liberal conservatism and national liberalism, synthesizing them into his personal understanding of Revisionism.{{cite web |last1=Troy |first1=Gil |title=The Zionist Ideas: Visions for the Jewish Homeland—Then, Now, Tomorrow |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt21c4vgn.8?searchText=%28%28Ze%27ev+Jabotinsky%29+AND+%28Revisionist+Zionism%29%29&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%2528%2528Ze%2527ev%2BJabotinsky%2529%2BAND%2B%2528Revisionist%2BZionism%2529%2529%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A2958a213f8f7aa3630ff995778f58779&seq=1 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |date=2018}} In 1925, Jabotinsky founded Betar as the youth wing of the party. However, Betar would gain influence beyond the party, becoming a major Jewish youth group in its own right, surviving long after Hatzohar itself was dissolved. After Jabotinsky's death in 1940, Irgun leader Menachem Begin took over Hatzohar, using it effectively as the political arm of his organization.{{cite web |last1=Shelef |first1=Nadav G. |title=From "Both Banks of the Jordan" to the "Whole Land of Israel:" Ideological Change in Revisionist Zionism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30245747?searchText=%28%28Menachem+Begin%29+AND+%28Revisionist+Zionism%29%29&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%2528%2528Menachem%2BBegin%2529%2BAND%2B%2528Revisionist%2BZionism%2529%2529%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Acd4d66e03ee8ad3a3794a24042871943 |website=Israel Studies |pages=125–148 |date=2004}}

In Israel's early history as an independent state, Revisionist Zionism was not nearly as powerful of a political force as socialism and Labor Zionism. Herut, a party founded by former members of the Irgun, mostly remained as an opposition party throughout the 1940s through 1960s. It eventually formed a coalition, Gahal, with the Israeli Liberal Party, which would eventually become Likud in 1973.{{cite web |title=Herut Movement |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/herut-movement |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}} Revisionist Zionism has historically been the ideology associated with the Likud party, especially under Begin's leadership.{{cite web |last1=Shlaim |first1=Avi |author-link1=Avi Shlaim |title=The Likud in Power: The Historiography of Revisionist Zionism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30245501?searchText=&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%28%28Revisionist%2BZionism%29%2BAND%2B%28Herut%29%29%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3A7a331159c79ee98fa83889491445c742&seq=2 |website=Israel Studies |pages=278–293 |date=1996}}

{{main|Haredim and Zionism}}

{{See also|Orthodox Judaism}}

File:הפגנת החרדים נגד גיוס בני ישיבות.jpg]]

Most Haredi Jews in Israel are generally religiously conservative, with some expressing right-wing Zionist perspectives while others take non-Zionist or even anti-Zionist perspectives.

{{main|Non-Zionism}}

{{see also|Torah Judaism}}

Agudat Yisrael, a religiously conservative and Hasidic party in Israel, takes a more pragmatic stance towards Israel. It does not associate any particular religious meaning, negative or positive, to the State of Israel,{{cite web |title=Aguddat Israel Political Party |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/aguddat-israel-political-party |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}} and thus while not anti-Zionist, cannot be considered fully Zionist either. This position is referred to Da'at Torah (literally "the opinion of the Torah"), which sees the Torah as supreme above all political decisions, more so than any version of nationalism or anti-nationalism.{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Benjamin |author-link1=Benjamin Brown (scholar) |title=Jewish Political Theology: The Doctrine of "Daՙat Torah" as a Case Study |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43297575?searchText=Jewish+Political+Theology+The+Doctrine+of+%22Da%D5%99at+Torah%22+as+a+Case+Study&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DJewish%2BPolitical%2BTheology%253A%2BThe%2BDoctrine%2Bof%2B%2522Da%25D5%2599at%2BTorah%2522%2Bas%2Ba%2BCase%2BStudy%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_phrase_search_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Ac3a4990bb70b5d0139e69acc3ba2e2f2 |website=The Harvard Theological Review |pages=255–289 |date=2014}}

{{main|Religious Zionism}}

{{see also|Hardal}}

Religious Zionists also adhere to Jewish religious conservatism. For example, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook's Gush Emunim movement sought to build settlements in the West Bank after the Six-Day War.{{cite web |last1=Goodman |first1=Micah |author-link1=:he:מיכה גודמן |last2=Levy |first2=Eylon |author-link2=Eylon Levy |title=The Wondering Jew: Israel and the Search for Jewish Identity |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv18sqxxj.13?searchText=Religious+Zionism&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DReligious%2BZionism%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A455102eee071a1895f3a93763ded2a2c&seq=8 |publisher=Yale University Press |date=2020}} Some extreme religious nationalists, such as Bezalel Smotrich and his National Religious Party-Religious Zionism remain a part of the Israeli right to this day.{{cite web |last1=Lipner |first1=Shalom |title=Netanyahu's coalition isn't built to last: Expect high sparks within and fragile prospects for Israel's incoming government |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep47254?searchText=Bezalel+Smotrich&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DBezalel%2BSmotrich%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Affd8dceb9c2d73063aac725374d87faf |publisher=Atlantic Council |date=2023}} Some conservative religious Zionists are more moderate, however. Shas is a political party representing mostly Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in Israel who follow the Sephardic law and customs towards being a religious Jew. While both Zionist and religiously conservative, Shas has historically been more interested in representing Sephardic Haredi interests rather than promoting settlements or upholding a particular view of the conflict.{{cite web |last1=Willis |first1=Aaron |title=Redefining Religious Zionism: Shas' Ethno-politics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41805239?searchText=Religious+Zionism&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DReligious%2BZionism%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A8518fdfb9ba72719c029942b2d589381&seq=2 |website=Israel Studies Bulletin |pages=3–8 |date=1992}}

{{main|Religious anti-Zionism}}

{{see also|Three Oaths}}

There are also ultraconservative factions of Israeli society which are anti-Zionist. Neturei Karta is a Haredi anti-Zionist and ultraconservative group which split off from Agudat Yisrael due to its leniency towards Zionism.{{cite web |last1=Lamm |first1=Norman |author-link1=Norman Lamm |title=THE IDEOLOGY OF THE NETUREI KARTA: According to the Satmarer Version |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23257379?searchText=Neturei+Karta&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DNeturei%2BKarta%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A5d41cbcd3b4cdc5b6fa0789138547cdf&seq=3 |website=Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought |pages=38–53 |date=1971}} However, Neturei Karta are seen as extreme by most Jews, including fellow Haredi anti-Zionists. A more mainstream Haredi anti-Zionist group would be the Satmar Hasidic dynasty. Nonetheless, the basis of both of these groups is the Three Oaths, which mandates divine punishment to any Jews attempting to rebuild a Jewish state or homeland. Both Satmar and Neturei Karta agree that the Holocaust was divine punishment from God for Zionism, something all other religious Jewish groups reject.{{cite web |last1=Lamm |first1=Norman |author-link1=Norman Lamm |title=THE IDEOLOGY OF THE NETUREI KARTA: According to the Satmarer Version |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23257379?searchText=Neturei+Karta&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DNeturei%2BKarta%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A5d41cbcd3b4cdc5b6fa0789138547cdf&seq=3 |website=Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought |pages=38–53 |date=1971}}

{{main|Neo-Zionism}}

{{see also|Greater Israel}}

"Neo-Zionism" is a term often used to refer to a more generic form of Israeli right-wing nationalism, combining aspects of both Religious and Revisionist Zionism. Most notably, Neo-Zionism is notable for its relations with other illiberal and right-wing populist movements globally, it's criticism of Labor Zionism specifically and pro-peace Zionists more broadly, especially those that promote a two-state solution to the conflict, support for a strong security policy based on American neoconservative ideas, and supports the goal of building a "Greater Israel" in the West Bank (which they call Judea and Samaria) and Gaza.{{cite web |last1=Pinson |first1=Halleli |author-link1=:he:הללי פינסון |title=Neo Zionist right-wing populist discourse and activism in the Israel education system |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14767724.2021.1872372 |website=Globalisation, Societies and Education |pages=124–137 |language=en |doi=10.1080/14767724.2021.1872372 |date=15 March 2022}} One of the most notable neo-Zionist groups is Im Tirtzu, which campaigns against left-wing, liberal, and post-Zionist academics in Israeli universities and colleges. Many have also referred to Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership over Likud to be neo-Zionist in nature.{{cite web |last1=Ben-Porat |first1=Guy |author-link1=:he:גיא בן פורת |last2=Yuval |first2=Fany |title=Israeli Neo-conservatism: Rise and Fall? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41804963?searchText=%28%28%28Neo-Zionism%29+AND+%28Likud%29%29+AND+%28Netanyahu%29%29&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3DNeo-Zionism%26q1%3DLikud%26f0%3Dall%26c1%3DAND%26f1%3Dall%26acc%3Don%26c2%3DAND%26q2%3DNetanyahu%26f2%3Dall%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2_SYC-7149%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Aefd521bcfbe49130172f6c1fec867ea1 |website=Israel Studies Forum |pages=3–25 |date=2007}}

{{main|Islamism}}

{{See also|Islamic Movement in Israel}}

Conservatism in Israel is not limited to Israeli Jews, as there are many Israeli Arabs who are conservative as well. Mansour Abbas split from the Arab, secular, and mostly left-wing Joint List coalition over his advocacy for conversion therapy. Abbas' political party, the United Arab List, or Ra'am, is a socially conservative and moderate Islamist party focusing on anti-LGBT policies, law and order, and supporting a two-state solution.{{cite web |title=United Arab List (Ra'am) Political Party |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/united-arab-list-ra-am-political-party |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}} Ra'am mostly gains support from Bedouin Arabs living in the Negev.{{cite web |title=Understanding Israel's Political Parties: From Bibi to Abbas |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55UxLCjHwlc |date=19 May 2021}}

File:המחאה נגד ההפיכה המשפטית, רח' קפלן פינת מנחם בגין, 4 במרץ 2023.jpg on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu and his far-right government's Judicial reforms.]]

{{main|Peace movement#Israel|Liberalism in Israel|LGBT rights in Israel|Feminism in Israel}}

Conservatism in Israel has received criticism from both Zionists and anti-Zionists alike, especially over issues such as supporting the influence of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate on public life, opposition to LGBT rights, Israeli housing issues, judicial reform, and their opposition to a peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based upon a two-state solution or Palestinian self-determination.

• Far right in Israel
• Jewish conservatism
• Sephardic Haredim

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{{Asia topic |Conservatism in}}

Category:Conservatism in Israel

Category:Politics of Israel