Religion and Identity

Zionism’s core intention was to create a Jewish homeland or state with a Jewish majority in the Land of Israel, where two sovereign Jewish states had existed in ancient times. Re-establishing a Jewish presence by linking Jews to the land paralleled securing international validation. That validation emerged from the League of Nations Mandate in 1922, the U.N. partition resolution in 1947, U.S. recognition in 1948, U.N. admission in 1949, and agreements with six Arab states from 1979 to 2020.

Israel’s Declaration of Independence noted the state’s Jewish identity but stipulated that religious freedom would be a pillar of the country’s social dynamic. Israeli leaders made an agreement with the Rabbinate whereby certain aspects of daily life would fall under the jurisdiction of religious law and practice. Orthodox rabbis gained authority over such lifecycle events as marriage and divorce, public observance of Shabbat, the definition of Jew for purposes of the Law of Return, and the enforcement of kosher laws in the military and other state institutions.

Of particular sensitivity to secular Israelis is the sanctioned exemption from military service for most highly religious Jews. A similar distaste has evolved among secular Jews toward budgetary allocations for religious schools and for settlement of land taken in the June 1967 war. Secular and religious Israelis have clashed numerous times over the prerogatives either enjoyed or sought by one or the other. In 2025, 18 months into the war with Hamas, a majority of Israelis voiced deep opposition to Haredi exemptions from army service.

Over the life of the country, the Knesset and Supreme Court have navigated the stresses and animosities in defining the role of Judaism in the operation of the state. For more than two decades Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism have struggled to achieve support from the state, still dominated by the Orthodox religious elites. Those denominations have joined women in seeking accommodations at the Western Wall, and rifts have arisen over the refusal of Orthodox men to sit by unrelated women on buses and airplanes.

Yet, in times of crises, such animosities dissipate in favor of the state’s defense and preservation. And Israel has assiduously protected freedom of religion for all citizens, including the Christians and Muslims who together constitute 24% of the state’s population.