Draaisma, Linde
(2018)
Who versus Them: A political imagination of Judaism through securitization in Israel.
Master thesis, Master Religion Conflict and Globalisation.
Abstract
This thesis studies how Judaism is imagined in contemporary Israeli politics through processes of increased securitization. Previous research has detected processes of societal securitization in Israeli, in which the Jewish identity of the state is presented to be under threat. Such presentations – or securitizing moves – typically involve an “us versus them” rhetoric and thereby subscribe a singular identity to both parties. Whereas previous publications interpreted Israeli Jewish identity in terms of ethnicity, this study focuses on the religious component, which it argues is interwoven with the state. This thesis aims to elucidate how the Judaic character of the Israeli state is propagated and institutionalised by Israeli politics. Through discourse analysis and identifying Ninian Smart’s dimension of religion, the religious component of the singular identity subscribed to Israeli Jews by PM Netanyahu is mapped in five speeches. This thesis shows that God, the Tanakh, spiritual sites and Jewish rituals are present in his imagination of Judaism, although they only act as contributors to a stronger political and spiritual connection between the Israeli Jews and Israel. This study concludes that religion and state are amalgamated in Israeli politics, as the securitizing moves as well as the imagined Judaism are based on a mutual dependency present between the Israeli Jews and the Jewish state. The conclusions are especially significant to debates on the relationship between religion and state in Israel. These debates are expected to further intensify as the Ultra-Orthodox community - which is in favour of a more religiously inspired political system – continues to grow.
| Type: |
Thesis
(Master)
|
| Supervisors (RUG): |
| Supervisor | E-mail | Tutor organization | Tutor email |
|---|
| Wilson, E.K. | E.K.Wilson@rug.nl | | | | Tarusarira, J. | J.Tarusarira@rug.nl | | |
|
| Degree programme: |
Master Religion Conflict and Globalisation |
| Academic year: |
2017- 2018 |
| Date of delivery: |
12 Oct 2018 |
| Last modified: |
12 Oct 2018 11:23 |
| URI: |
https://rcs.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/418 |
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