The Haredim: Revisiting the “Israelization” Narrative

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, today, approximately one in six Jews in Israel is a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox). The Bureau forecasts that if current demographic trends continue, by 2040, approximately one in four Israeli Jews will be a Haredi. By 2065, four in ten Israeli Jews will be Haredim, leading to a Haredi majority by the end of the century. In recent years, Israeli Haredi society has been the subject of intensive public and scholarly attention that focused on the concept of “Israelization” and implied it is going through a profound, irreversible transformation that is bringing it closer to integration into the Zionist majority. Based on field studies and textual studies, this edited volume offers critical reflections on the “Israelization” narrative and explores the strategies and mechanisms that have enabled Haredi society to go through changes without changing at its core and to steadily and massively grow. Written by an exceptionally diverse group of scholars, including Haredi, religious Zionist and secular Israelis, the book’s chapters explore Haredi nuanced resistance to the majority society that has made it a fascinating case-study of fundamentalist navigation of modern and liberal realities. The chapters examine diverse facets of Haredi life, including the workplace, school curricula, women in politics, public health, college education, matchmaking, sexual abuse, prolonged singlehood, eulogies, cinema, celibacy, college education, and attitudes regarding Zionism. Appendices to the book include two in-depth and candid interviews with Haredi leaders.