Religionization of Israeli Society

Yoav Peled is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Tel Aviv University, Israel. His research interests include Israeli politics, religion and politics, citizenship, ethnic relations, and democratic theory.Horit Herman Peled is a media artist and fine arts and media culture researcher. Her work deals with religion, art, and life under a "state of exception."

• 1. Introduction 2. The Rise and Decline of Labor Zionist Hegemony 3. The Religious Zionist Challenge 4. Return, Renewal and In-Beteween 5. Education 6. The IDF: From Religionization to Theocratization 7. Nationalism and Religion in the Visual Fine Arts Field 8. Orthodox Feminism 9. Film, TV, Media Conclusion

"The Religionization of Israeli Society depicts the influence of religious Zionism on various areas of Israeli society from 1967 to the present day. The authors, political scientist Yoav Peled of Tel Aviv University and artist Horit Herman Peled, present the general evolution of Israeli society in such fields as education, defense, art, feminism, film, and television, and focus particularly on Jewish religious communities. This book is unique in that it is the first to undertake a broad survey and examination of the new circumstances of national-religious and ultra-Orthodox Jewish artists in Israel. Chapter 7 examines the art created in the religious Zionist and ultra-Orthodox communities, while Chapter 9 surveys film and television. Chapter 8 addresses religious feminism in Israel and discusses religious feminist art. The book converges on a gloomy and disturbing description of right-wing, messianic Orthodox Jews (“Gush Emunim”) propelling Israeli society and its educational system, military, and culture to the brink of a constitutional theocracy." (from a review by) Prof. David Sperber, Yale University"Religionization is an important voice in understanding the religious wars currently besetting Israel … There is no doubt that this is a valuable book in presenting—with numerous facts and figures—the demographic, ideological, and cultural growth of Religious Zionism." From a review by Paul L. Scham, University of Maryland, Israel Studies Review "To sum up, this book is an important contribution to the field of Israel studies, offering a comprehensive and detailed description of the changing role of religion within the Israeli society." From H-Judaic, H-Net Reviews, by Hayim Katsman