religious zionism

Finance Minister and Religious Zionist Party chairman Bezalel Smotrich tours the Mahane Yehuda Market as part of the party’s election campaign, in Jerusalem, October 9, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Why Smotrich still defines the horizon of Israeli politics

In the nine years since the MK’s ‘Decisive Plan,’ Israeli liberals acceded to the religious right’s maximalism — while claiming to oppose ‘messianic’ violence.

By Avi-ram Tzoreff October 20, 2026

Israeli soldiers from Netzah Yehuda Battalion and family members attend a swearing-in ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, on July 10, 2024. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90

The ‘gray arm’ of Israeli annexation

A settler-led wing of the army is driving Palestinian displacement on the state's behalf. But as Yagil Levy explains, this devil's bargain comes not without costs.

By Amos Brison September 25, 2026

Jewish Israeli attends an event marking the fourth anniversary of the establishment of the Ramat Arbel settlement in the Lower Galilee, northern Israel, July 26, 2026. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

The Israeli right is rekindling a Zionist classic: Judaizing the Galilee

Ministers, NGOs, and news sites are joining forces to portray Palestinian urban growth in northern Israel as an ‘invasion’ and advance Jewish settlement.

By Baker Zoubi September 7, 2026

Latest

A participant in the Jerusalem Day Flag March carries a flag bearing the image of the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, May 14, 2026. (Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Activestills)

The Israeli right is marching under a new flag

Once confined to the margins, a movement seeking Jewish sovereignty over Al-Aqsa and an openly theocratic regime is going mainstream.

By Menachem Klein June 15, 2026

Ministers and MKs dance during the 'Victory Conference' for the resettlement of Gaza at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, January 28, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Israeli public is dispirited. So why is the right euphoric?

The mantra of national unity has abetted the Israeli right’s sense of historic victory. But much of the public appears to be realizing some hard truths.

By Meron Rapoport March 20, 2024

Right-wing Israelis attend a rally in support of the government's planned judicial overhaul, outside the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on April 27, 2023. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

The settlers wanted supreme power. They got a rebellion instead

The religious-Zionist movement has made vast inroads in Israeli state and society for two decades. The judicial overhaul may bring it all crashing down.

By Meron Rapoport August 15, 2023

Religious Israeli Jews visit the Old City of Akka, July 7, 2021. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Religious Zionists want to Judaize Akka. Palestinians are pushing back

Like other ‘mixed cities,’ Akka has long been a target of right-wing Jewish groups wanting to break up Palestinian communities across the country.

By Baker Zoubi June 12, 2023