ABSTRACT
This chapter describes three major religious political parties in Israel, their histories and transformations, and their impact on Israeli politics and society. These are ‘The Jewish Home’, ‘United Torah Judaism’ and ‘Shas.’ The chapter deals with the conditions that led to the significant role that religion and religious parties play in Israeli politics and society. It explains why, despite the secular characteristics of Zionism, religion remains politically and socially important. The chapter provides an analysis of the contemporary role of religious parties in Israeli politics and their influence on Israeli public and private life. Zionism, which appeared towards the end of the nineteenth century, was one form of modern Jewish identity related to growing national sentiment across Europe and to the anti-Semitism that threatened to undermine Jewish emancipation. Religious and secular politics in Israel shifted from a politics of accommodation, underscored by the status quo, to a ‘politics of crisis’ of deeper schisms and contention.
