Community politics and changes in traditional social identity

Media and Society

The research examines the impact of internal changes in a parliamentary and proportional political system such as exists in Israel and the impact of social changes on the contest between the right and the left political blocs. The research moves on to examine if social, cultural and political long term developments in the ultra-Orthodox community can impact the shape of the Israeli political system to an extent that would overturn the traditional two bloc system that identifies Israel for decades. According to the social identity theory, individuals are inclined to identify with groups if they experience a sense of uncertainty, as religious identity threat could be perceived as paramount and can build the politics of identity more than any other force. Based on the above conclusions on the employment of the shared national identity of the connection between religion and state, the research maintains that the success of ultra-Orthodox political influence is related to the consistent commitment to sectorial issues. Examining this issue can lead to conclusion on the main path that Israeli political parties should concentrate on – internal changes in traditional social identity groups rather than campaigning to preserve their hard core supporters or attempting to convince voters to cross over to the opposing political camp.

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