Even as Israel, like America, guarantees religious freedom, it has been connected from its inception to Judaism, the religion of the Jewish people. Nevertheless, that connection has been fraught with tension, from accommodation of religion in the public sphere (the “Status Quo” agreement) to how the state should relate to the Haredi population. Emory University’s Michael Berger explores the origins of this tension, how Israel’s founders addressed it, and various events in her 72-year history that have affected that delicate relationship.