ABSTRACT
During the early years of Israel's existence, the challenge of state building and of absorbing successive waves of new immigrants meant that religious challenges received scant attention from the public or from policymakers. This chapter describes the questions facing the relationship between religion and state in Israel, whilst examining the divergent paths Israel may pursue in addressing these challenges. Israel's religious leaders were no less offended by what they saw as their complicity in many violations of Jewish religious law in the public sphere. Religious non-Jewish minorities—primarily Muslims, Christians and Druze—enjoyed a degree of autonomy, thanks to the continuation of the Ottoman milet system, but this came at a price. Facing a dominant secular majority, the religious groups were content with the status quo and sought autonomy. Israel's religious challenges experienced a major shift in the 1970s and 1980s, in reaction to developments in the Israeli–Arab conflict. The public conversation in Israel polarized, reflecting an identity crisis in Israeli society.
