Fighting for Legitimacy: New Religious Movements and Militarism in Israel (with Guy Ben-Porat) (original) (raw)
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Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 2020
This article focuses on the ritual dilemmas and social conflicts which are generated through the practice of Jewish law within the combat units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). We argue that religious nationalist soldiers in the IDF use Halakhic - or everyday rabbinic, ritual, and legal dilemmas as a way of negotiating between personal religious fidelities and broader civic responsibilities. The tensions that emerge between military service on the one hand and personal piety on the other are reflected in the kinds of imperfect resolutions that national religious combat soldiers create to their questions of Jewish ritual practice. In this way we demonstrate how the ritual dilemmas of Jewish law in military spaces can be used as an ethnographic medium through which scholars may better contextualize the ideological and political dilemmas that mark religious nationalist movements within Israel and perhaps the broader Middle East.
From Faith to Crisis: Unraveling the changes in Religious Zionism's Relationship with the IDF.
In Israeli history, the interplay between ideological and secular narratives has deeply influenced the nation's identity. Socialist Zionism, rooted in the early Zionist movement, shaped the establishment of the State of Israel with its focus on collective ownership. In its early years, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reflected Socialist Zionist principles, emphasizing unity and equality. However, Religious Zionism added a unique dimension, viewing the return to the Land of Israel as a religious imperative tied to messianic aspirations. The relationship between Religious Zionism and the IDF is marked by a fusion of military service and religious devotion. Religious Zionist soldiers see their duty as a sacred mission, aligning their commitment with deep-seated religious beliefs. This dynamic introduces complexity as religious observance intersects with military duty. Unlike the secular view of the military's role, Religious Zionists see service as part of their religious mission, embodying a sense of historical destiny and divine purpose. This Study explores this relationship in an attempt to shed light on the nature of Israeli society and the evolving dynamics of its national identity. Through the lens of Religious Zionism's connection with the IDF, it aims to uncover the enduring legacy of ideological struggle and the ongoing evolution of Israel's collective ethos.
Religious Authorities in the Military and Civilian Control: The Case of the Israeli Defense Forces
This article takes a step toward filling the gap in the scholarly literature by examining the impact of religious intervention in the military on civil-military relations. Using the case of Israel, I argue that although the subordination of the Israeli military to elected civilians has remained intact, and the supreme command has been mostly secular, external religious authorities operate within the formal chain of command and in tandem with the formal authorities, managing the military affairs. This religious influence is apparent in three major domains: (1) the theological influence on military deployment, (2) the exclusion of women from equal participation in military service, and (3) the role expansion of the Military Rabbinate as a quasi-state agency and its reflection in the socialization of secular soldiers and the development of alternative military ethics. Consequently, extra-institutional control of the military is at work.
The Theocratization of the Israeli Military
This article portrays the theocratization of the Israeli military. At the center of this process stands the national-religious sector, which has significantly upgraded its presence in the ranks since the late 1970s. It is argued that four integrated and cumulative processes gradually generated this shift toward the theocratization of the Israeli military: (1) the crafting of institutional arrangements that enable the service of religious soldiers, thereby (2) creating a critical mass of religious soldiers in many combat units, consequently (3) restricting the military command's intraorganizational autonomy visà-vis the religious sector, and paving the road to (4) restricting the Israel Defense Forces autonomy in deploying forces in politically disputable missions. Downloaded from In a nutshell, the officer dramatically warned against the theocratization of the IDF. At the center of this process stands the national-religious sector that has significantly upgraded its presence in the military ranks since the late 1970s.
Book Review of “Divine Service? Judaism and Israel's Armed Forces,” by Stuart A. Cohen
In Divine Service?, Stuart Cohen collects, updates and appends some of his key articles to present a rigorous analysis of Judaism's modern return to arms. A leading expert on the subject, Cohen emphasizes the transformative effect of Zionism, and Israel's establishment, on religious thought and practice regarding military affairs, and " seeks to account for that transformation and to identify the reasons for the contemporary prominence of religious dimensions in the national security discourse " (p. 3). Cohen accomplishes much of the first task; we learn a great deal about the intricate, dynamic, ways religious Zionists have addressed the martial rebirth of the Jewish state. The second task receives less attention; we gain little insight into the causes for " the growing intrusion of religion into Israel's security discourse " (p. 4). Cohen underscores the growing rates of haredi non-enlistment and of Religious Zionist military service (by both men and women), especially in combat units. Cohen attributes these IDF demographic shifts primarily to " intellectual and institutional developments, " rather than to " economic interests and political ambitions, " but scarcely discusses the latter factors, making it harder to evaluate the causal hierarchy. Still, Cohen assiduously traces the expanding orthodox corpus of military-related discussions, and nicely entwines it with the evolvement of novel religious-military institutions, from the IDF chaplaincy to the 'arrangement' academies (yeshivot hesder) to the 'pre-conscription (mekhina) program. Cohen complements a thorough analysis of the structural forces with the works of individual agents, paying special attention to the pivotal role of Shlomo Goren, the first IDF Chief Rabbi (1949-1971). He squarely addresses the mounting contentions, especially in the last generation, around the role of Judaism in the IDF, and aptly shows how they undermine the IDF's long-term cohesion. Cohen suggests that the political and operational implications of " divine service " have been meager. Religious Zionist soldiers, including those of hesder and mekhina, have overwhelmingly rejected pleas to defy military orders, not least during the disengagement from Gaza (2005), and there
This essay considers the contemporary significance of statism in the Israel Defense Force (IDF), addressing various aspects of soldiers' encounters with religious ideology originating in the IDF or under its auspices during their conscription, career; or reserve service. We begin by clarifying the meaning of statism, expressing the concept through several principles of military ethics that we then apply to evaluate the key features of these encounters. The IDF was not formed ex nihilo on the establishment of the State of Israel. Several paramilitary forces were active in pre-State Jewish society in Palestine, including the Hagana, Palmah, Etzel, and Lehi; each overtly affili ated with specific civilian ideological organizations. Subsequently, they became identified with political parties represented in the First Knesset, suggesting that units of the Israel Defense Force might be connected organi zationally with political parties and consequently subject to their authoritynot only as regards the development and internalization of ideology, but also in practical fulfillment of their military duties. The 1948 Israel Defense Force Ordinance, signed one week after the Stare of Israel proclaimed its independ ence, was enacted to establish order and eliminate apprehension over this possibility. The initial articles of this ordinance, declaring the establishment of the Israel Defense Force are followed by two articles stipulating the arrange ments still in force today: 3. Every person serving in the Israel Defense Force shall take an oath of allegiance to the State of Israel, its Constitution and its authorities. 4. It is forbidden to establish or maintain any armed forces outside the Israel Defense Force.
This chapter examines the phenomenon of deferments of army enlistment in Israel of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men studying in yeshivas. The author claims that counter nationalist argument enables us to understand the progress that the haredi scholarsociety has made from a sectorial entity that kept itselfremovedfrom the nation-state, and viewed the state as an undesiredpoliticalfact, to an enfity that maintains its own counter-nationalism. This social cultural religious entity regards itself as a symbiotic or active partner in the national endeavor, specifically through the insular haredi ethos. The author employs the term counter-nationalism to describe an approach that takes a critical view of nationalism, but has in effect adapted it to the structure of the discourse, organization, and aims of the hegemonic national ideology. This perspective raises the possibility that the ultra-Orthodox are beginning to view themselves as maintaining a complementary partnership with the Israeli culture, and to a considerable extent have even constructed a similar cultural structure, a sort of mirror-image of the militaristic one. Moreover, this study even suggests that the haredi mainstream seeks recognition for itself as the spiritual elite troops of the State of Israel.