The settlers of Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip say they are misunderstood.
Members of the national-religious camp share a common and deep feeling that the secular public “refuses” to recognize their ideology.
The feeling exists despite the fact that an array of books and articles about “the community of believers” has been published since the 1980’s, alongside academic studies examining the tenets of the religious right's ideology.
On the surface, it seems, the Israeli public has been exposed to the roots of the settlers' belief-systems.
But have they really? A quick glance at descriptions of the Greater Israel ideology and religious Zionism reveals that their main sources are taken mainly from the media, largely obtained from marginal commentary. Do they fairly reflect the stances of the settlers?
Let’s begin with the Land of Israel. This concept today governs both religious Zionists and the settlement movement, and is understood in “intrinsic,” personalized terms. The Land of Israel is an independent entity, which is in possession of its own feelings.
This approach stems directly from the Kabbalah. Jewish mysticism sees the hand of God behind a number of forces and entities - the Land of Israel is one of those entities.
By the early 20th century, Rabbi Avraham Yizhak Hacohen Cook began to spread this view, which in turn sculpted the ideas at the heart of religious Zionism.
The 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War, as well as the national-religious education system, turned these ideas into a consensus within the movement,
'Intrinsic' view
What is the significance of the the “intrinsic” view?
Since the promised land is an independent entity, its mortal sons are not allowed to determine its fate.
Damaging the land is tantamount to an attempt to harm God. This approach is based, as stated, on Kabalistic sources.
The religious public see the Kabbalah as a sphere of intellectual study, which requires religious experience and expertise to “unlock” its message. This approach prohibits discussion of the Kabbalah with those who do not believe.
Most of the yeshivas of the national-religious camp nurture this “intrinsic” ideology, which has subsequently shaped generations of fathers and sons.
The settlers believe, with some justification, that they are in an asymmetric situation. Religious Zionism has opened up to general culture, and secularism and its roots have penetrated the movement in various forms.
On the other hand, the secular public ignores religious Zionism and does not attempt to understand it
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Even if real dialogue is not possible, the refusal to recognize the positions of the settlers has caused a loss of mutual respect and tolerance, forming conditions that are a real danger for democracy.
