From Jewish Renewal to Israeli Judaism An analysis of emergent "soft" Religious Nationalism.

This article examines the case ofIsraeli Judaism to explore how processes ofreligious nationalism manifest in Israel, offering a more nuanced perspective on religious nationalism than what is currently proposed in the existing scholarship. Specifically, we investigate the development ofIsraeli Judaism as a « soft » form ofreligious nationalism, particularly within secular and liberal sectors ofIsraeli society. To trace the shift from a secular Jewish renewal movement to a more religiously and nationally integrated network, we focus on generational changes within Israeli Judaism to better understand this evolution. Our findings reveal that while older participants generally maintain a cohesive, left-leaning political stance, younger members tend to be more religious and exhibit less resistance to the religious establishment. National sentiments and opinions emerge as a unifying force across both generations. We argue that the establishment ofintegrative pre-military academies and the emergence of new rituals, such as reading the Declaration of Independence at the Western Wall, highlight a shift in Israeli Judaism from secularist renewal toward religious nationalism. However, this form ofreligious nationalism is distinctly softer than the more exclusionary forms ofreligious nationalism seen in the Israeli political field.