Fundamentalism in Crisis--The Response of the Gush Emunim Rabbinical Authorities to the Theological Dilemmas Raised by Israel's Disengagement Plan

Inbari, Motti

doi:10.1093/jcs/49.4.697

Cited by 10 publications

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“…On the basis of this value, those who follow the statist line reject the possibility of any physical opposition or any withdrawal from the course taken by the state. 39 Unlike Rabbi Yehuda Amital, who underwent a religious transformation over the course of his life, Tau has remained consistent in his beliefs. Although the manner in which he describes secular reality has become increasingly extreme over the years, Tau remains faithful to his basic belief that the errors made by the state, and its failure to follow the messianic course, must be corrected solely by means of mass education in the ways of Torah.…”

Section: Messianic Mysticism In the Thought Of Rabbi Zvi Taumentioning

confidence: 99%

When Prophecy Fails? The Theology of the Oslo Process--Rabbinical Responses to a Crisis of Faith

Inbari

2009

Modern Judaism

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The Oslo process began with secret negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), and led to the signing of a declaration of principles by the two sides in Washington, DC in 1993. Israel agreed to withdraw from territories in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, and to establish a Palestinian autonomous authority in the area for an interim period, with a view to reaching a permanent settlement between the sides. This process, and particularly the territorial compromise it entailed, created a profound crisis within those religious Zionist circles that have identified Israeli reality as part of a process of redemption. The political concessions threatened to disrupt their messianic expectations and required a response adapted to the new reality. Accordingly, the Oslo process provides a test case for the way in which the religious Zionist public as a whole faced this crisis of faith, and, more specifically, the manner in which the Halachic guides of this public-those responsible for shaping its religious behavior-responded to this crisis. This article will examine the attitude of the rabbinical leadership of the settlers toward the Oslo Accords, and will present the distinct responses of two rabbis-Yehuda Amital and Zvi Tau. The case studies will demonstrate how messianic believers face their prophetic failure and the modalities they apply in order to cope with it. Thus, the article will shade a new light on what happens when prophecy fails; However conditions are somewhat different. The Oslo process creates fear of a failure of faith due to the shattering of the vision of the Whole Land of Israel, but it has not yet been proved beyond doubt that redemption has failed. The study will show that messianic failure may in certain circumstances, lead to religious strengthening, but the opposite situation-of a retreat from messianic faith-is also possible. Accordingly, I shall seek to identify the circumstances that lead to these distinct responses.

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Section: Messianic Mysticism In the Thought Of Rabbi Zvi Taumentioning

confidence: 99%

When Prophecy Fails? The Theology of the Oslo Process--Rabbinical Responses to a Crisis of Faith

Inbari

2009

Modern Judaism

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“…More substantial attempts to desecuritize demography entailed securitizing other sectors, primarily geography and democracy. Advocates of Greater Israel insisted that the entire land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people and that to yield parts of it was to betray the people and place it all in existential danger (Inbari ). The slogan of the disengagement opponents, “Jews don't expel Jews,” revealed that it is geography—rather than demography or democracy—that legitimates both Jewish identity and the Jewish polity.…”

Section: Israel's Deep Securitizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep Securitization and Israel's “Demographic Demon”

Abulof

2014

Int Polit Sociol

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Securitization theory's core contention—the social construction of security as a “speech–act”—is perceptive and productive, yet insufficiently attentive to societies engulfed in profound existential uncertainty about their own survival. Such societies are immersed in what I call “deep securitization,” whereby widespread public discourses explicitly frame threats as probable, protracted, and endangering the very existence of the nation/state. Under deep securitization, to politicize is to securitize, sectors intensely intertwine, political legitimacy's object is the polity/identity itself, and securitization steps are typically nonbinary and nonlinear. Empirically, if some securitizations are deeper than others, Israel's is one of the deepest. In this study, I examine this exceptionally apt, though little‐examined, case for securitization theory. Israeli public discourse abounds with “existential threats,” invariably depicting the Jewish people and polity as endangered. The article analyzes the securitization of demography and its linkage to geography and democracy in the Israeli‐Jewish discourse and praxis.

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“…Both Emmanuel Sivan (1995) and Gideon Aran (Aran 1991;Aran 1997) have written pieces on so-called Jewish fundamentalists that are included in these edited volumes. Both these and other authors (e.g., Newman and Hermann 1992;Silberstein 1993;Sprinzak 1993;Inbari 2007;Antoun 2008) continue to represent religiously motivated settlers in ways that continue the kinds of distinctions made by Lustick. 2 Sivan represents religiously motivated settlers as irrational people who isolate themselves from the outside world.…”

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confidence: 91%