Conservatism in Israel

Conservatism in Israel is mostly based around upholding Jewish tradition, promotion of forms of Zionism that tend to be more irredentist in nature (i.e. Revisionist and Neo-Zionism, which promote the idea of Greater Israel as compared to Liberal or Labor Zionism, which are supportive of a two-state solution), promoting Israeli national security, maintaining the role of religion and the Rabbinate in the public sphere, support for the free market, and closer ties with the United States. However, a variety of ideological trends exist within Israeli conservatism, and not all hold up every single one of these ideals or points of view.

Ancient Judean conservatism
Conservatism has been a major philosophy in Jewish society in the region going back to the Sadducees during the Second Temple period. The Sadducees were aristocrats during the Hasmonean dynasty who were sympathetic to Hellenization and Hellenized Judaism and sought to promote the interests of the priestly Kohen class, including the High Priest, or Kohen Gadol.

Revisionist Zionism and conservatism
Revisionist Zionism was born as an ideology calling for the entire Mandate for Palestine, calling for Israeli sovereignty over "both banks of the Jordan." However, they eventually changed their position to "the whole land of Israel." Nonetheless, the ideological forefather for Revisionist Zionism, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, called for equal rights for Arabs who would live in a potential Jewish state, albeit with hostility towards other Arab states, in his essay The Iron Wall. For the most part, Revisionist Zionism initially lacked any clear ideology, with some variants calling for a bi-national liberal but nominally majority Jewish state, while other variants were outright fascist, sympathetic to Mussolini's Italy.

During the Mandate period, the early foundations of conservatism were being built by political parties like Hatzohar and Agudat Yisrael, as well as by the paramilitary group Irgun. Hatzohar, which was founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky in 1923, called for the immediate establishment of the State of Israel "on both sides of the Jordan". Jabotinsky himself was a supporter of Western-style liberal conservatism and national liberalism, synthesizing them into his personal understanding of Revisionism. In 1925, Jabotinsky founded Betar as the youth wing of the party. However, Betar would gain influence beyond the party, becoming a major Jewish youth group in its own right, surviving long after Hatzohar itself was dissolved. After Jabotinsky's death in 1940, Irgun leader Menachem Begin took over Hatzohar, using it effectively as the political arm of his organization.

In Israel's early history as an independent state, Revisionist Zionism was not nearly as powerful of a political force as socialism and Labor Zionism. Herut, a party founded by former members of the Irgun, mostly remained as an opposition party throughout the 1940s through 1960s. It eventually formed a coalition, Gahal, with the Israeli Liberal Party, which would eventually become Likud in 1973. Revisionist Zionism has historically been the ideology associated with the Likud party, especially under Begin's leadership.

Jewish religious conservatism in Israel
Most Haredi Jews in Israel are generally religiously conservative, with some expressing right-wing Zionist perspectives while others take non-Zionist or even anti-Zionist perspectives.

Non-Zionism
Agudat Yisrael, a religiously conservative and Hasidic party in Israel, takes a more pragmatic stance towards Israel. It does not associate any particular religious meaning, negative or positive, to the State of Israel, and thus while not anti-Zionist, cannot be considered fully Zionist either. This position is referred to Da'at Torah (literally "the opinion of the Torah"), which sees the Torah as supreme above all political decisions, more so than any version of nationalism or anti-nationalism.

Religious Zionism
Religious Zionists also adhere to Jewish religious conservatism. For example, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook's Gush Emunim movement sought to build settlements in the West Bank after the Six-Day War. Some extreme religious nationalists, such as Bezalel Smotrich and his National Religious Party-Religious Zionism remain a part of the Israeli right to this day. Some conservative religious Zionists are more moderate, however. Shas is a political party representing mostly Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in Israel who follow the Sephardic law and customs towards being a religious Jew. While both Zionist and religiously conservative, Shas has historically been more interested in representing Sephardic Haredi interests rather than promoting settlements or upholding a particular view of the conflict.

Anti-Zionism
There are also ultraconservative factions of Israeli society which are anti-Zionist. Neturei Karta is a Haredi anti-Zionist and ultraconservative group which split off from Agudat Yisrael due to its leniency towards Zionism. However, Neturei Karta are seen as extreme by most Jews, including fellow Haredi anti-Zionists. A more mainstream Haredi anti-Zionist group would be the Satmar Hasidic dynasty. Nonetheless, the basis of both of these groups is the Three Oaths, which mandates divine punishment to any Jews attempting to rebuild a Jewish state or homeland. Both Satmar and Neturei Karta agree that the Holocaust was divine punishment from God for Zionism, something all other religious Jewish groups reject.

"Neo-Zionism"
"Neo-Zionism" is a term often used to refer to a more generic form of Israeli right-wing nationalism, combining aspects of both Religious and Revisionist Zionism. Most notably, Neo-Zionism is notable for its relations with other illiberal and right-wing populist movements globally, it's criticism of Labor Zionism specifically and pro-peace Zionists more broadly, especially those that promote a two-state solution to the conflict, support for a strong security policy based on American neoconservative ideas, and supports the goal of building a "Greater Israel" in the West Bank (which they call Judea and Samaria) and Gaza. One of the most notable neo-Zionist groups is Im Tirtzu, which campaigns against left-wing, liberal, and post-Zionist academics in Israeli universities and colleges. Many have also referred to Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership over Likud to be neo-Zionist in nature.

Arab and Islamic conservatism in Israel
Conservatism in Israel is not limited to Israeli Jews, as there are many Israeli Arabs who are conservative as well. Mansour Abbas split from the Arab, secular, and mostly left-wing Joint List coalition over his advocacy for conversion therapy. Abbas' political party, the United Arab List, or Ra'am, is a socially conservative and moderate Islamist party focusing on anti-LGBT policies, law and order, and supporting a two-state solution. Ra'am mostly gains support from Bedouin Arabs living in the Negev.

Criticism


Conservatism in Israel has received criticism from both Zionists and anti-Zionists alike, especially over issues such as supporting the influence of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate on public life, opposition to LGBT rights, Israeli housing issues, judicial reform, and their opposition to a peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based upon a two-state solution or Palestinian self-determination.