ISRAEL: SECULARISM, SECULARIZATION, AND POPULIST JEWISH RELIGIOUS PARTIES

Israeli society is witnessing a sharp division between religion and the state. The existing polarization between the religious and the secular is increasing in terms of both the secularization of society and the tendency towards more religiosity. This study focuses on exploring the impact of populist religious parties in Israel on the secularism of the state, as well as the secularization of society, and studies the phenomenon of the emergence of religious populism in Israel. A case study of the populist religious Shas party was conducted to gain a better understanding of the nature of religious parties and their role in Israeli political life. By highlighting Shas’ role in Israeli politics, the reasons for the growth of populist Jewish currents in Israel, and their impact on the state's secularism, can be explored and better understood. Since the establishment of Israel, Zionism has failed to create a unified society with a secular and nonreligious identity as the status quo agreement opened the door to the authority of religion in both public and private affairs. Secularism, an ideology that guarantees the neutrality of the state and exclusion of religion from public affairs, cannot be applied in Israel as the imposing religious authority is entitled according to the nation’s pre-existing, yet dated, status quo. As for the process of secularization as a process of societal change, secularization in Israel cannot progress through secularism as an ideology, as this method contradicts the dominance of religious authority according to the status quo in Israel, which finds acceptance by most Israelis. Keywords: Israel; secularism; secularization; religious pluralism; Zionism; Sha