Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz: Nothing is black and white in Israel’s religious societies

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz, the director of the Israel Democracy Institute’s Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Shared Society and head of the Religion and State Program at the center.

Ahead of the upcoming October 27 elections, Israel is looking increasingly stratified, with each segment fighting for its own electorate and particularist needs.

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In this week’s conversation, we focus on two pivotal Israeli societies: the Religious Zionist and Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, communities.

Ravitsky Tur-Paz, who earned two degrees from the Hebrew University’s law school, has spent much of her professional life dealing with the question of how religion can coexist with modern civil society.

In the first half of the episode, we learn about the Religious Zionist community and how the political party of the same name does — or does not — reflect it.

We delve into the settler movement and new patterns of extremist, violent behavior within it. How do these actions align with Jewish theology, or is a new theology being forged?

In the second half, we turn to the Haredi sector and learn about its own mosaic of communities.

Ravitsky Tur-Paz describes the growing resentment facing the society as it chooses to prevent the vast majority of its men from serving in the IDF and from participating in the workforce. We hear what demographic, security and financial concerns this lifestyle presents to Israel today, and in the near future.

And so this week, we ask Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz, what matters now?

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.

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