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Despite his secular education, David Ben-Gurion, the leader of Israel’s independence, made a pact with the religious parties in the birth of the State. He made a generous offer, in June 1947, through a letter to Agudat Israel (the ultra-Orthodox party, founded in 1912 and which opposed the Zionists).
Mikhail Frunze/Opera Mundi
Israeli soldier and ultra-Orthodox Jew pray at the Western Wall. Religious don't have to perform military service
The positions of Chief Rabbi (one Ashkenazi, the other Sephardic), created during the British Mandate, would be kept as an official institution. The Chief Rabbis would have authority over the regulation of dietary customs of Judaism, the realization of the Shabbat, the organization of funeral rites and virtually all personal relationships – such as marriage, divorce and religious conversion. They would also have a major role in the recognition of the Jewish background, in a country where being of such ethnicities ensures immediate citizenship to any foreigner.
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In addition to the powers granted, since then, the rabbinate enjoys government subsidies to devote themselves exclusively to the study of the Torah, and these religious devotees are not required to perform military service and their schools can take advantage of curricular autonomy, although subsidized.
Since there is no civil marriage, for example, any union between believers of different faiths is prohibited. People in this situation have to leave Israel, get married abroad (the island of Cyprus is the preferred site) and return with the certificate in hand. But the same route is not worth it for divorce, which is recognized only when approved by the rabbinate, even if the marriage has not been carried out under its purview.
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“The role of religion in an ethnic state is indispensable,” explains Professor Shlomo Sand, from the Tel Aviv University. “Not only because it ensures the transmission of traditions and cults which preserve national identity, but also to establish rules that make miscegenation through marriage harder or to avoid migration getting out of control.”
Many people disagree with these politics, but their protests are crushed under the weight of the religious parties, which historically act as a decision-making pendulum between the left and right wings of Zionism. The ultra-Orthodox faction, currently with 18 seats in the Knesset, which is equivalent to 15% of the parliament, for the first time in many years, is outside the government. They continue to exercise, however, a significant influence on subjects that interest them.
Mikhail Frunze/Opera Mundi
Children walk in the Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem
They opposed Zionism before, because they thought that the creation of the State of Israel should be preceded by the arrival of the Messiah. But these parties changed their position after the Holocaust, fearful for the safety of Jews in other countries. They came to have a moderate policy regarding the Palestinian issue, but in the last twenty years they have been articulating with more radical groups, which spread throughout the colonies in the occupied territories. They can find, in this environment, customers which can replace the citizens from large urban centers that are loosening their ties with religion.
Defense
Another decisive institution in Israel’s settings is the Defense Forces, which gathers the country’s police and the military. It is one of the most modern armies in the world, supported by a third of the national budget and its participation is required for all citizens. Men must perform three years of military service, women two. Only those dedicated to religion, including Israeli Arabs (except the Druze and Bedouin) and Christians, have the option to refuse wearing the uniform.
Mikhail Frunze/Opera Mundi
Orthodox Jews walk through the neighborhood of Mea Shearim, near the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem
As soon as high school ends the season in the quarters begins. The young Israelis usually enter university when they turn 21 years old, the highest average age of the planet among students in higher education. Even after they’ve met the military requirement, they still have to devote one month per year to the military, training or mobilizing reservists.
The prestige of the soldiers, in a nation that fought at least five wars within 65 years is huge. The culture of siege and the constant threat, real or constructed, helps turn this activity into a rite of passage. Almost all lead ministers in Israeli history were important army officers. They exhibited their resumes and medals to win the confidence of the voters. The best jobs, public or private, are highly conditioned by the military history of who is applying.
“The army is the shaping tool of the state,” says Yossi Beilin, one historical Labour Party member that later joined the Meretz. “Not only does it set the parameters necessary to achieve positions of command in society, it is also fundamental to the defense, the integration and unity of the country. In the quarters, there are rich and poor, African and European Jews, and, after all, even non-Jews.”
Translation: Kelly Cristina Spinelli