Messianism, Politics and Halakha: Religious Zionism and the "Territories" 1967-1982

Two main tendencies emerged in the discourse held in religious Zionist circles about the territories: a messianic national-religious tendency, and a pragmatic-humanistic tendency. The new feature that characterized the speakers of the first type was expressed in the demand to base the conduct of the State of Israel on political and national-defense issues on values and considerations from the fields of religious belief. Proponents of the second tendency, conversely, argued that policymakers should be guided solely by pragmatic considerations and humanistic values. However, this latter tendency, which already in the early stages of the discourse was perceived as a minority position, over the years was relegated to the margins, while the mainstream of Religious Zionism adopted the positions of the messianic national-religious tendency. Another novelty characterizing the spokesmen of the messianic national-religious tendency was the reliance on halacha. In the years between the establishment of the State of Israel and the Six-Day War, ministers of the Mafdal--the National-Religious party--did not consult with rabbis when asked to decide on questions of policy and defense. The appeal to religious rulings on the question of whether it is permissible to return the Territories of the Land of Israel to foreigners was therefore a novelty.