WHEN revolutionary Zionist pioneers first pitched up in Palestine, they tended to look askance at the existing Orthodox Jews as dusty museum pieces. A century or so on, Orthodox Jews often have a similar attitude to secular Jews. Once a small minority in Israel’s state-building project, Orthodox Jews are now at its forefront. They comprise 40% of the ruling coalition’s members, and over 40% of new army officers and combat soldiers. As their birth rate is more than double that of secular Jews, their power is set to mount.

The spectrum of political Judaism is as wide as political Islam’s. A bit like the split between Muslim Brothers and Salafists, religious Jews loosely divide into religious Zionists, who want Jews to control biblical land, and the ultra-Orthodox, who seek to enforce literal rabbinical dictates. The former pride themselves on leading Israelis into battle. The latter staunchly defend their exemption from the military draft.

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