ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the process of institutionalization through which Gush Emunim passed from a spontaneous, charismatic, loosely organized extraparliamentary pressure group on the margins of the political system to a well-organized and functionally differentiated network of related institutions. Although Gush Emunim is characterized by a unique religious political worldview, it has never clearly formulated a comprehensive general ideology. The basis for its worldview can be found in the teachings of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook as interpreted by his son, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook. The chapter examines changes in the movement under the Labor-Likud national unity government formed after the 1984 election, including the emergence of a parliamentary caucus drawn from several political parties in the eleventh Knesset dedicated to furthering the goals of Gush Emunim. Whereas there has been striking continuity in the top leadership of Gush Emunim, there has been a marked differentiation and institutionalization of their spheres of activity, and a recent competition for leadership of the movement.
