Back in April, the New York Times published an op-ed alleging Israel was on the road to becoming an Orthodox Jewish theocracy. As I wrote at the time, the piece evinced profound ignorance of the beliefs of Orthodox Jews in Israelâ??many of whom oppose theocratic governanceâ??and the broader politics of the country, which have taken a decidedly anti-clerical turn. Recent months have seen the drafting of the ultra-Orthodox into the army, the stripping of powers from the countryâ??s chief rabbinate, and an alliance between secular and religious Zionist politicians against the ultra-Orthodox. In other words, contrary to some of its more hysterical critics, not only is Israel not on the cusp of religious rule, it is heading in the opposite direction. And this week, Naftali Bennett, head of the countryâ??s largest religious partyâ??Jewish Homeâ??showed why.
On Wednesday, Jewish Home approved a revised constitution put forward by Bennett. This may sound like inconsequential inside baseball, but it was actually deeply significant. As the Times of Israel reported, â??In what was one of the most controversial changes, the historically national-religious party will now also accept non-religious members.â? In an effort to appeal to the mainstream in the next national election, particularly secular Russians and Druze, the party is set to run multiple non-religious candidates for the first time in its entire history. Unsurprisingly, â??those against the change fear that it will water down the partyâ??s religious ethos.â?
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