Analysis: Israel faces threat of fundamentalism from the Ultra-Orthodox

A SENSE of threat is gripping many Israelis these days. Not from the conflict with Arab neighbours, but rather from religious extremism within the country’s Jewish population and the assertiveness of its growing Ultra-Orthodox minority.

Mounting concern over bullying by some elements of the Ultra-Orthodox community against “outsiders” who don’t share their strict interpretation of Jewish law – including stringent gender segregation – came to the fore this week after a shy, bespectacled eight-year-old girl, Naama Margolese, spoke on television of being spat on and called a whore for dressing “immodestly” as she walked to school.

“Israel is not Iran,” read a poster at a rally against the extremism. But the growing sense is the increasing clout of the Ultra-Orthodox, some of whom condemn the abuses, is set to transform Israel – which has defined itself as a Western society – into a more religious, less democratic country.

Ultra-Orthodox Israelis live separate existences from their secular counterparts, with most of the men devoting themselves to study of sacred texts and not serving in the military, which is mandatory for other Israelis. Meetings between the sexes not controlled by parents are seen as a threat to their values.

Religious-secular tensions in Israel are nothing new, but the balance is now being altered because of the growth of the Ultra-Orthodox population both demographically and in terms of self-confidence. The Ultra-Orthodox “feel today they are much stronger than in the past,” says Menachem Friedman, emeritus professor of sociology at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv. “They know their numbers are growing and they are also more confident because they are an important part of the government. They understand that the government cannot act against them because it will fall.”

Two Ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, contribute a total of 16 seats to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s majority of 66 seats in the 120-member parliament.

Mr Netanyahu is unlikely to take any action against the fundamentalists that would cause friction with his Ultra-Orthodox coalition partners. In September, the Ultra-Orthodox deputy health minister, Yaacov Litzman, refused to allow two female researchers to come on to a stage to receive awards they had won, even though he handed awards to men. The women were sent to sit on a distant balcony as there were rabbis on the stage.

Critics of Mr Netanyahu may have a point when they say that a norm of not formidably enforcing the law against Israeli settler violence in the West Bank has encouraged Ultra-Orthodox extremists to believe they can act with impunity.

With the demographic trends and a government apparently unwilling to apply the brakes, the future does not look promising for Israeli democracy, according to Galia Golan, a political scientist at the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv.

“It will turn into a more and more religious state and a less democratic one. The trends are very distressing, they are towards clerical nationalism. One wonders what regime will be here 20 years from now.”