I didn’t say they weren’t politically powerful. The two main Haredi (Ultra-orthodox) parties are significant part of Netanyahu’s coalition, and they have always had a disproportionate power compared to the Haredi population because almost all Haredi voters vote for them.
Within the Haredi community there is still a wide range of opinions, of course. However, even within Israel most have not traditionally described themselves as Zionists (only 33% percent, according to a 2016 survey).
The two main Haredi (Ultra-orthodox) parties are significant part of Netanyahu’s coalition, and they have always had a disproportionate power compared to the Haredi population because almost all Haredi voters vote for them.
100% not trying to be a dick, because I appreciate the insight.
But is there a typo in there?
Or are you saying that the population will always just vote for the party because of shared religious beliefs…
Even though the party acts against those beliefs?
Like, I’m not trying to argue if that’s logical. I’m American, we have far right abrahmic extremists too that unironically support trump despite him pretty much doing the opposite of their religious guidance at every chance. No judgement on that, I’m not asking you to defend them.
I’m just asking if I’m understanding you right about what’s going on. Because I don’t understand how the Ultra Orthodox party can have “disproportionate power” over their own voting base.
Except in the context that they just vote for whoever their religious leaders tell them to without question or thought.
But also, a lot of shit has gone down since 2016… Those numbers might not be up to date
The first thing to understand is that Israel’s parliamentary system of government is quite different from the US’. Instead of two main parties dominating the political landscape, i.e. Republicans vs Democrats, Israel has around a dozen main parties which work together to form coalition governments where more than one party is in power at one time. Under this fragmented landscape, if you have a religious or ethnic minority who all tend to vote for the same party, that can lead to a situation where one group in society may hold sway over others politically even though they are not as as large a population numerically.
And yes, you’re quite right - a lot has changed since 2016, and some Haredi (especially the young) have been increasingly drifting towards the far-right nationalist parties like Likud (Netanyahu’s party) and the Religious Nationalists. However, as this AP article suggests, these recent converts moving away from the traditional Haredi parties are still a minority.
While the majority of Haredim living outside Israel still do not identify as Zionists (as per this recent, post-Oct 7th survey), I admit I don’t have any hard polling data for the current situation in Israel itself. If anyone else does, I would appreciate the info.
