Religious Politics at a Crossroads in Israel
On October 7th, a towering figure in Israeli religious life, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, died at age 93. His death leaves the political party he patronized, Shas, at an unprecedented moment of crisis. Moreover, the death of Rabbi Ovadiah (as he was commonly known) comes at a time in which religious politics in Israel is at a crossroads. After the 2013 election, the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) parties were left out of the coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the modern-orthodox nationalist party “The Jewish Home” is engaged in a parliamentary alliance with the staunchly secularist Yesh Atid party led by Finance Minister Yair Lapid, breaking with the religious camp and joining the coalition. Among the Ashkenazi Haredi parties there is a crisis of leadership, and now Shas is facing a daunting leadership challenge which could easily see the party split. In terms of foreign policy, these changes mean that the religious camp is less likely to serve as a powerbroker between right and le...