Nissim Leon
Biographic Data
| ID | 3684853 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nissim Leon |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nissim |
| FAMILY NAME | Leon |
| SIGNATURE | LEON N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Bar-Ilan University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1919-977X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 31 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 122 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 31 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
The Emergence of a Mizrachi Middle Class in Israel: The Struggle of Mizrachi Jews for Mobility, Status, and Prestige
The Emergence of the Mizrachi Middle Class examines one of the major issues in the sociology of Israel: the story of the Mizrachim (Jews of Middle Eastern and North African descent), a group that has been, and is still, engaged in class-mobility efforts, and is ostensibly closing the gap between itself and the Ashkenazim (Jews of Central and Eastern European extraction). This is one of the most important social processes to have emerged in Israel…
Ritual in Overload: A Lived Religion Ethnography of Synagogue Life
The focus on “lived religion” as a framework within the sociology of religion provides crucial attention to actual practice in religious life, including its rhythm, duration, and routine presence as part of life in general. Israeli synagogue ethnography represents a rich and largely untapped field for anthropological research, making this work potentially groundbreaking in opening new avenues of inquiry. This article presents an ethnographic work…
The Politics of Exception: Ex-Territoriality and the Meron Disaster
In the aftermath of the Meron disaster, where 45 people lost their lives during a Lag BaOmer celebration, it became evident that the tragedy stemmed from that most Israeli of solutions: the art of managing intractable problems through strategic nonmanagement. The site where the disaster occurred, at the entrance to the Toldos Aharon Hasidic group's ceremonial area, exemplifies how ultra-Orthodox communities navigate autonomy within Israel's compl…
Ultranationalism and Ultra-Orthodoxy: The Case of Shas
Israeli scholarship has noted the prominence of hawkish and ultranationalist views among the Shas electorate, as well as the structural and historical conditions responsible for them. Attention has not, however, been paid to the contexts and the ways in which Mizrahi-Haredi discourse processes these views in its encounter with this population. The present article looks at one of the main components of the relationship between Shas and its support…
Contemporary Israeli Haredi Society: Profiles, Trends, and Challenges
Soft Ultra-Orthodoxy: Revival Movement Activists, Synagogue Communities and the Mizrahi-Haredi Teshuva Movement in Israel
This article offers an in-depth ethnographic and historical description of how an ethnic-religious revival movement has had an impact on religious life. The article will focus on the story of one of Israeli's foremost religious revival movements-the Mizrahi-Haredi teshuva movement. We will look at the encounter between the Mizrahi-Haredi teshuva movement activists and Mizrahi synagogue congregations, and at the outcomes of that encounter on relig…
Guardians of Jewish tradition: From crisis to rehabilitation in the Shas party, 2019-21
The big drama of Israel’s four closely spaced national elections in 2019–21 was accompanied by another, smaller, drama: the country’s plunge into political chaos gave the Shas party an opportunity for electoral, organisational, and political revitalisation. The four election campaigns transformed Shas from a Mizrahi-Haredi party in decline, barely able to pass the minimum vote threshold, into a stable party practicing a tightly focused politics –…
Zionism
The Ne’emanei Ha-Torah movement, 1962-1971: An early version of Shas
This article offers a slightly different historical path toward understanding how Shas arrived on the Israeli political scene. This view highlights the ideological climate that prevailed among the Haredi elements of the Mizrahi religious leadership during the State of Israel’s formative years. These elements constituted a small Mizrahi religious circle – the Ne’emanei Ha-Torah movement that was active in Jerusalem during 1962–1971. Ne’emanei Ha-T…
Images of Rabbi Uziel and their place in his commemoration
The article examines changes in the commemoration work and memorial discourse surrounding the first Sephardi Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, Rabbi Ben-Tzion Meir Hai Uziel. While commemoration work in the public sphere in Israel has dwindled over the years, there has been a revival of memory discourse in recent years, especially amongst Religious Zionists. The article proposes reasons for this resurgence, including a response to processes of …
Belonging without commitment: The Christocentric view and the traditionist perspective on modern religion
This essentially theoretical article suggests a novel way to conceptualise the middle spaces of people whose link to religion is perceived as partial and fragmentary – the vast majority of the population in the world of the twenty-first century, who belong to a religious tradition but are quite selective in their observances. We first argue that current conceptualisation of the middle spaces suffers from a predisposition we view as ‘Christocentri…
Heroic text in a post-heroic environment: National liturgy in Mizrahi ultra-Orthodox prayer books
This article seeks to address the adaptation of a heroic text (the prayer for the welfare of Israel’s soldiers) to a social environment (Mizrahi haredi society in Israel) that it critical of its content yet seeks to include the prayer in its canonical texts (in this instance, the prayer book) owing to social and political circumstances. It will argue that the accommodation can be understood within the framework of the discussion of post-heroism i…
Aftershocks of the 1977 ‘ mahapach ’ (upheaval) and their effect on religious politics in Israel
The significance of the electoral ‘mahapach’ (upheaval) is not limited to the Likud’s rise to power in 1977 for the first time in Israel’s history. It also brought secondary upsets in the form of changes of guard among other political forces. This article focuses on three such ‘aftershocks’ which remoulded Israel’s religious political sphere: the metamorphoses in ethnic, Haredi and religious-Zionist politics. The political change of guard in each…
Mizrahi haredism and Holocaust commemoration in Israel – a dynamic of critical national partnership
This article deals with the haredi position regarding the national memory of the Holocaust in Israel. The attitude of Mizrahi haredism to the Holocaust reflects a position of critical partnership in relation to Israel's national symbols and, in fact, in relation to Zionist Israeli nationalism. On the one hand, it adopts the haredi world view with regard to national symbols in order to negotiate its place within Israeli nationalism. On the other, …
The covert political ethnicity of the Kulanu party
The Israeli general elections of March 2015 saw the advent of a new middle-class party. Kulanu, headed by Moshe Kahlon, achieved 10 seats for its representatives in the Knesset (Israeli parliament). This article proposes that Kulanu be viewed not only as a middle-class party, but also as a new addition to the list of Mizrahi ethnic parties. Kulanu’s appearance on the political centre-stage in Israel rested, at least among the Jewish population, u…
The Ethnic Structuring of "Sephardim" in Haredi Society in Israel
This article examines the historical and social conditions that molded the development of the ethnic category of “Sephardim” within haredi (ultra-Orthodox) society in Israel. The significance of this category goes beyond denoting the generalized ethnic origin of Jews from North African and Middle Eastern countries. I explore this category through analysis of the ethno-class relations maintained within haredi society between Sephardim and their re…
An uneasy stability: The Haredi parties’ emergency campaign for the 2013 elections
This article examines the emergency election campaign launched by the Haredi parties in anticipation of the 2013 general elections in Israel, in order to attract the votes of those generally perceived as their automatic supporters – the Haredim. The 2013 campaign was a struggle for the ‘converted’ – the Haredi vote – amongst UTJ and Shas supporters alike. The battle was fought openly and assertively. The intensive efforts ultimately achieved what…
Self-segregation of the vanguard: Judea and Samaria in the religious-Zionist society
The religious-Zionist settlement movement combines revolutionary national action with a conservative, religious way of life. On the one hand, the leaders of the religious-Zionist settlement movement see themselves as spearheading a national mission with pan-Jewish significance. On the other hand, living in the movement's communities entails a certain degree of segregation from general society. A religious-Zionist settlement is also a community-ba…
Rabbi 'Ovadia Yosef, the Shas Party, and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process
One of the prominent religious parties in Israel, intimately involved in political decision-making, has been the Shas party, led by the late Rabbi 'Ovadia Yosef. This article examines four components of Rabbi Yosef 's political stance: (1) his view of Jewish religious law as a factor that moderates the force of changes of seemingly historical and revolutionary significance; (2) his opposition to radical messianism; (3) his desire to adopt indepen…
The Mahapach and Yitzhak Shamir's Quiet Revolution: Mizrahim and the Herut Movement
In this article we assert that it was Yitzhak Shamir who created new possibilities for mobility within the Herut party, laying the foundation for the Mahapach (electoral upheaval) of 1977. The contrast between Shamir, who avoided the limelight, and Menachem Begin, who was comfortable with the masses, has left Shamir on the sidelines of the research, debate, and discourse on the Herut and Likud parties. Rather than taking the usual approach of foc…
Ethno‐religious Fundamentalism and Theo‐ethnocratic Politics in I srael
This article addresses the transition of a fundamentalist confrontational religious ideology into an assertive, religio‐nationalist ideology by the case of the ethno‐ U ltra‐ O rthodox (haredi) Shas party in I srael. Alongside the haredi proclivity towards insularity, we also detect, in recent decades, two new trends within the haredi mainstream. First, we see increasing numbers of haredim ( U ltra‐ O rthodox J ews) integrating into different fra…
Rabbi Ben-Tzion Abba Shaul and the Ideology of the Haredi-Sefardi Scholar-Society in Israel
This article focuses on Rabbi Ben-Tzion Abba Shaul, one of the most prominent ideologues of the Mizrahi-haredi scholar-society and among the most prominent rabbinical figures of the haredi-Mizrahi stream. The article addresses the ideological heritage that he bequeathed to his students concerning the purpose of the scholar-society and, at its center, the institution of the yeshiva and the Torah scholars who study there. Rabbi Ben-Tzion Abba Shaul…
The politics of the Israeli Pantheon
Additional informationNotes on contributorsNissim LeonNissim Leon is Lecturer at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Bar-Ilan University, and director of its Graduate Programme in Social and Cultural Studies
Visions of identity: Pictures of rabbis in Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) private homes in Israel
This article discusses the use of portraits and photographs of rabbis in the private sphere – the home – amongst the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) scholar-society in Israel. It shows that the pictures of rabbis help to transform the home from a place that is essentially functional into a sphere that participates actively in the politics of Haredi identity. This politics plays a central role in contemporary Haredi society, both because of that society's…
Returning to religious observance on Israel's non-religious kibbutzim
Over the past two decades, a new phenomenon has emerged in secular kibbutzim, in which some members have adopted a religious way of life. Some of these “newly religious” (hozrim bi-tshuvah) choose to leave the kibbutz, but others, who are the subject of this article, decide to remain in the kibbutz, which continues to serve as the framework of their life. Based on observation and in-depth interviews with newly religious members of secular kibbutz…
The new Mizrahi middle class: Ethnic mobility and class integration in Israel
This article argues that in recent decades, following the political “turnaround” (mahapakh) in 1977, a distinct new group has appeared on the Israeli scene: the Mizrahi middle class. This social category no longer fits the traditional dichotomies that have steered academic and popular sociological debate in Israel. On the basis of the geographic-spatial changes and the changes in higher education that have taken place in Israel during the past tw…
The Ethnic Structuring of "Sephardim" in Haredi Society in Israel
This article examines the historical and social conditions that molded the development of the ethnic category of “Sephardim” within haredi (ultra-Orthodox) society in Israel. The significance of this category goes beyond denoting the generalized ethnic origin of Jews from North African and Middle Eastern countries. I explore this category through analysis of the ethno-class relations maintained within haredi society between Sephardim and their re…
The Secular Origins of Mizrahi Traditionalism
The article analyzes the development of traditionalism among Jews from Islamic countries. It presents an alternative paradigm for understanding this phenomenon: oriental traditionalism should not be analyzed through the model of East European orthodoxy; it can only be understood based on an understanding of its historical and social background, which includes Islam and the process of secularization that took place in Islamic countries
The transformation of Israel's religious-Zionist middle class
This article argues that the emergence of a new religious-Zionist middle class in Israel may be a factor in restraining the radical potential of the political tendencies that research on religious Zionism has been pointing to for years. It examines, as test cases, the restrained protest against the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005 and the most recent attempt to change the political leadership of the religious-Zionist parties prior to the 2…
The 'Religionization' of Israeli Society
Introduction Yoram Peri More Jewish than Israeli (and Democratic)? Tamar Hermann Yes, Israel Is Becoming More Religious Shlomo Fischer Religious Pressure Will Increase in the Future Asher Cohen and Bernard Susser Secular Jews: From Proactive Agents to Defensive Players Nissim Leon The Need for an Epistemological Turn Yaacov Yadgar
Ethno‐religious Fundamentalism and Theo‐ethnocratic Politics in I srael
This article addresses the transition of a fundamentalist confrontational religious ideology into an assertive, religio‐nationalist ideology by the case of the ethno‐ U ltra‐ O rthodox (haredi) Shas party in I srael. Alongside the haredi proclivity towards insularity, we also detect, in recent decades, two new trends within the haredi mainstream. First, we see increasing numbers of haredim ( U ltra‐ O rthodox J ews) integrating into different fra…
Hizuk-The Gender Track: Religious Invigoration and Women Motivators in Israel
Belonging without commitment: The Christocentric view and the traditionist perspective on modern religion
This essentially theoretical article suggests a novel way to conceptualise the middle spaces of people whose link to religion is perceived as partial and fragmentary – the vast majority of the population in the world of the twenty-first century, who belong to a religious tradition but are quite selective in their observances. We first argue that current conceptualisation of the middle spaces suffers from a predisposition we view as ‘Christocentri…
Heroic text in a post-heroic environment: National liturgy in Mizrahi ultra-Orthodox prayer books
This article seeks to address the adaptation of a heroic text (the prayer for the welfare of Israel’s soldiers) to a social environment (Mizrahi haredi society in Israel) that it critical of its content yet seeks to include the prayer in its canonical texts (in this instance, the prayer book) owing to social and political circumstances. It will argue that the accommodation can be understood within the framework of the discussion of post-heroism i…
An uneasy stability: The Haredi parties’ emergency campaign for the 2013 elections
This article examines the emergency election campaign launched by the Haredi parties in anticipation of the 2013 general elections in Israel, in order to attract the votes of those generally perceived as their automatic supporters – the Haredim. The 2013 campaign was a struggle for the ‘converted’ – the Haredi vote – amongst UTJ and Shas supporters alike. The battle was fought openly and assertively. The intensive efforts ultimately achieved what…
Soft Ultra-Orthodoxy: Revival Movement Activists, Synagogue Communities and the Mizrahi-Haredi Teshuva Movement in Israel
This article offers an in-depth ethnographic and historical description of how an ethnic-religious revival movement has had an impact on religious life. The article will focus on the story of one of Israeli's foremost religious revival movements-the Mizrahi-Haredi teshuva movement. We will look at the encounter between the Mizrahi-Haredi teshuva movement activists and Mizrahi synagogue congregations, and at the outcomes of that encounter on relig…
Mizrahi haredism and Holocaust commemoration in Israel – a dynamic of critical national partnership
This article deals with the haredi position regarding the national memory of the Holocaust in Israel. The attitude of Mizrahi haredism to the Holocaust reflects a position of critical partnership in relation to Israel's national symbols and, in fact, in relation to Zionist Israeli nationalism. On the one hand, it adopts the haredi world view with regard to national symbols in order to negotiate its place within Israeli nationalism. On the other, …
Rabbi 'Ovadia Yosef, the Shas Party, and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process
One of the prominent religious parties in Israel, intimately involved in political decision-making, has been the Shas party, led by the late Rabbi 'Ovadia Yosef. This article examines four components of Rabbi Yosef 's political stance: (1) his view of Jewish religious law as a factor that moderates the force of changes of seemingly historical and revolutionary significance; (2) his opposition to radical messianism; (3) his desire to adopt indepen…
Returning to religious observance on Israel's non-religious kibbutzim
Over the past two decades, a new phenomenon has emerged in secular kibbutzim, in which some members have adopted a religious way of life. Some of these “newly religious” (hozrim bi-tshuvah) choose to leave the kibbutz, but others, who are the subject of this article, decide to remain in the kibbutz, which continues to serve as the framework of their life. Based on observation and in-depth interviews with newly religious members of secular kibbutz…
Aftershocks of the 1977 ‘ mahapach ’ (upheaval) and their effect on religious politics in Israel
The significance of the electoral ‘mahapach’ (upheaval) is not limited to the Likud’s rise to power in 1977 for the first time in Israel’s history. It also brought secondary upsets in the form of changes of guard among other political forces. This article focuses on three such ‘aftershocks’ which remoulded Israel’s religious political sphere: the metamorphoses in ethnic, Haredi and religious-Zionist politics. The political change of guard in each…
Self-segregation of the vanguard: Judea and Samaria in the religious-Zionist society
The religious-Zionist settlement movement combines revolutionary national action with a conservative, religious way of life. On the one hand, the leaders of the religious-Zionist settlement movement see themselves as spearheading a national mission with pan-Jewish significance. On the other hand, living in the movement's communities entails a certain degree of segregation from general society. A religious-Zionist settlement is also a community-ba…
The Mahapach and Yitzhak Shamir's Quiet Revolution: Mizrahim and the Herut Movement
In this article we assert that it was Yitzhak Shamir who created new possibilities for mobility within the Herut party, laying the foundation for the Mahapach (electoral upheaval) of 1977. The contrast between Shamir, who avoided the limelight, and Menachem Begin, who was comfortable with the masses, has left Shamir on the sidelines of the research, debate, and discourse on the Herut and Likud parties. Rather than taking the usual approach of foc…
The new Mizrahi middle class: Ethnic mobility and class integration in Israel
This article argues that in recent decades, following the political “turnaround” (mahapakh) in 1977, a distinct new group has appeared on the Israeli scene: the Mizrahi middle class. This social category no longer fits the traditional dichotomies that have steered academic and popular sociological debate in Israel. On the basis of the geographic-spatial changes and the changes in higher education that have taken place in Israel during the past tw…
The Secular Origins of Mizrahi Traditionalism
The article analyzes the development of traditionalism among Jews from Islamic countries. It presents an alternative paradigm for understanding this phenomenon: oriental traditionalism should not be analyzed through the model of East European orthodoxy; it can only be understood based on an understanding of its historical and social background, which includes Islam and the process of secularization that took place in Islamic countries
The transformation of Israel's religious-Zionist middle class
This article argues that the emergence of a new religious-Zionist middle class in Israel may be a factor in restraining the radical potential of the political tendencies that research on religious Zionism has been pointing to for years. It examines, as test cases, the restrained protest against the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005 and the most recent attempt to change the political leadership of the religious-Zionist parties prior to the 2…
The Political Use of the Teshuva Cassette Culture in Israel
The present work of ethnography describes the political uses of audiotapes and videotapes by religious fundamentalists in Israel during the 1990s. The article deals with the use of the teshuva cassette culture in constructing Shas’s political message in the 1999 Knesset elections. Shas presented the video- and audiotape “J’Accuse” as a way of contending with the crisis of confidence that resulted from the criminal conviction of its political lead…
The 'Religionization' of Israeli Society
Introduction Yoram Peri More Jewish than Israeli (and Democratic)? Tamar Hermann Yes, Israel Is Becoming More Religious Shlomo Fischer Religious Pressure Will Increase in the Future Asher Cohen and Bernard Susser Secular Jews: From Proactive Agents to Defensive Players Nissim Leon The Need for an Epistemological Turn Yaacov Yadgar
Rabbi Ben-Tzion Abba Shaul and the Ideology of the Haredi-Sefardi Scholar-Society in Israel
This article focuses on Rabbi Ben-Tzion Abba Shaul, one of the most prominent ideologues of the Mizrahi-haredi scholar-society and among the most prominent rabbinical figures of the haredi-Mizrahi stream. The article addresses the ideological heritage that he bequeathed to his students concerning the purpose of the scholar-society and, at its center, the institution of the yeshiva and the Torah scholars who study there. Rabbi Ben-Tzion Abba Shaul…
The politics of the Israeli Pantheon
Additional informationNotes on contributorsNissim LeonNissim Leon is Lecturer at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Bar-Ilan University, and director of its Graduate Programme in Social and Cultural Studies
Visions of identity: Pictures of rabbis in Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) private homes in Israel
This article discusses the use of portraits and photographs of rabbis in the private sphere – the home – amongst the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) scholar-society in Israel. It shows that the pictures of rabbis help to transform the home from a place that is essentially functional into a sphere that participates actively in the politics of Haredi identity. This politics plays a central role in contemporary Haredi society, both because of that society's…
Returning to religious observance on Israel's non-religious kibbutzim
Over the past two decades, a new phenomenon has emerged in secular kibbutzim, in which some members have adopted a religious way of life. Some of these “newly religious” (hozrim bi-tshuvah) choose to leave the kibbutz, but others, who are the subject of this article, decide to remain in the kibbutz, which continues to serve as the framework of their life. Based on observation and in-depth interviews with newly religious members of secular kibbutz…
Hizuk-The Gender Track: Religious Invigoration and Women Motivators in Israel
The Mahapach and Yitzhak Shamir's Quiet Revolution: Mizrahim and the Herut Movement
In this article we assert that it was Yitzhak Shamir who created new possibilities for mobility within the Herut party, laying the foundation for the Mahapach (electoral upheaval) of 1977. The contrast between Shamir, who avoided the limelight, and Menachem Begin, who was comfortable with the masses, has left Shamir on the sidelines of the research, debate, and discourse on the Herut and Likud parties. Rather than taking the usual approach of foc…
Ethno‐religious Fundamentalism and Theo‐ethnocratic Politics in I srael
This article addresses the transition of a fundamentalist confrontational religious ideology into an assertive, religio‐nationalist ideology by the case of the ethno‐ U ltra‐ O rthodox (haredi) Shas party in I srael. Alongside the haredi proclivity towards insularity, we also detect, in recent decades, two new trends within the haredi mainstream. First, we see increasing numbers of haredim ( U ltra‐ O rthodox J ews) integrating into different fra…
An uneasy stability: The Haredi parties’ emergency campaign for the 2013 elections
This article examines the emergency election campaign launched by the Haredi parties in anticipation of the 2013 general elections in Israel, in order to attract the votes of those generally perceived as their automatic supporters – the Haredim. The 2013 campaign was a struggle for the ‘converted’ – the Haredi vote – amongst UTJ and Shas supporters alike. The battle was fought openly and assertively. The intensive efforts ultimately achieved what…
Self-segregation of the vanguard: Judea and Samaria in the religious-Zionist society
The religious-Zionist settlement movement combines revolutionary national action with a conservative, religious way of life. On the one hand, the leaders of the religious-Zionist settlement movement see themselves as spearheading a national mission with pan-Jewish significance. On the other hand, living in the movement's communities entails a certain degree of segregation from general society. A religious-Zionist settlement is also a community-ba…
Rabbi 'Ovadia Yosef, the Shas Party, and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process
One of the prominent religious parties in Israel, intimately involved in political decision-making, has been the Shas party, led by the late Rabbi 'Ovadia Yosef. This article examines four components of Rabbi Yosef 's political stance: (1) his view of Jewish religious law as a factor that moderates the force of changes of seemingly historical and revolutionary significance; (2) his opposition to radical messianism; (3) his desire to adopt indepen…
Mizrahi haredism and Holocaust commemoration in Israel – a dynamic of critical national partnership
This article deals with the haredi position regarding the national memory of the Holocaust in Israel. The attitude of Mizrahi haredism to the Holocaust reflects a position of critical partnership in relation to Israel's national symbols and, in fact, in relation to Zionist Israeli nationalism. On the one hand, it adopts the haredi world view with regard to national symbols in order to negotiate its place within Israeli nationalism. On the other, …
The covert political ethnicity of the Kulanu party
The Israeli general elections of March 2015 saw the advent of a new middle-class party. Kulanu, headed by Moshe Kahlon, achieved 10 seats for its representatives in the Knesset (Israeli parliament). This article proposes that Kulanu be viewed not only as a middle-class party, but also as a new addition to the list of Mizrahi ethnic parties. Kulanu’s appearance on the political centre-stage in Israel rested, at least among the Jewish population, u…
The Ethnic Structuring of "Sephardim" in Haredi Society in Israel
This article examines the historical and social conditions that molded the development of the ethnic category of “Sephardim” within haredi (ultra-Orthodox) society in Israel. The significance of this category goes beyond denoting the generalized ethnic origin of Jews from North African and Middle Eastern countries. I explore this category through analysis of the ethno-class relations maintained within haredi society between Sephardim and their re…
Belonging without commitment: The Christocentric view and the traditionist perspective on modern religion
This essentially theoretical article suggests a novel way to conceptualise the middle spaces of people whose link to religion is perceived as partial and fragmentary – the vast majority of the population in the world of the twenty-first century, who belong to a religious tradition but are quite selective in their observances. We first argue that current conceptualisation of the middle spaces suffers from a predisposition we view as ‘Christocentri…
Heroic text in a post-heroic environment: National liturgy in Mizrahi ultra-Orthodox prayer books
This article seeks to address the adaptation of a heroic text (the prayer for the welfare of Israel’s soldiers) to a social environment (Mizrahi haredi society in Israel) that it critical of its content yet seeks to include the prayer in its canonical texts (in this instance, the prayer book) owing to social and political circumstances. It will argue that the accommodation can be understood within the framework of the discussion of post-heroism i…
Aftershocks of the 1977 ‘ mahapach ’ (upheaval) and their effect on religious politics in Israel
The significance of the electoral ‘mahapach’ (upheaval) is not limited to the Likud’s rise to power in 1977 for the first time in Israel’s history. It also brought secondary upsets in the form of changes of guard among other political forces. This article focuses on three such ‘aftershocks’ which remoulded Israel’s religious political sphere: the metamorphoses in ethnic, Haredi and religious-Zionist politics. The political change of guard in each…
Images of Rabbi Uziel and their place in his commemoration
The article examines changes in the commemoration work and memorial discourse surrounding the first Sephardi Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, Rabbi Ben-Tzion Meir Hai Uziel. While commemoration work in the public sphere in Israel has dwindled over the years, there has been a revival of memory discourse in recent years, especially amongst Religious Zionists. The article proposes reasons for this resurgence, including a response to processes of …
Zionism
The Ne’emanei Ha-Torah movement, 1962-1971: An early version of Shas
This article offers a slightly different historical path toward understanding how Shas arrived on the Israeli political scene. This view highlights the ideological climate that prevailed among the Haredi elements of the Mizrahi religious leadership during the State of Israel’s formative years. These elements constituted a small Mizrahi religious circle – the Ne’emanei Ha-Torah movement that was active in Jerusalem during 1962–1971. Ne’emanei Ha-T…
Guardians of Jewish tradition: From crisis to rehabilitation in the Shas party, 2019-21
The big drama of Israel’s four closely spaced national elections in 2019–21 was accompanied by another, smaller, drama: the country’s plunge into political chaos gave the Shas party an opportunity for electoral, organisational, and political revitalisation. The four election campaigns transformed Shas from a Mizrahi-Haredi party in decline, barely able to pass the minimum vote threshold, into a stable party practicing a tightly focused politics –…
Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies (28 works) · Political science (27 works) · Sociology (25 works) · Law (22 works) · Law (18 works) · Philosophy (18 works) · Philosophy (14 works) · Religious studies (14 works) · Middle East Politics and Society (12 works) · Religious Studies (12 works)