Al Jazeera Centre for Studies released an e-book on 6 October 2020 under the title, The New Israeli Elite: A Study of the Effects of the Rise of Religious Trends on the Centres of Decision-Making, by Palestinian academic researcher Saleh Al-Naami.
The book examines transformations in the balance of power within the Israeli elite between 1977, the year that the alliance of the secularist right and the religious right came to power for the first time, and 2018. It particularly aims to shed light on the transformation in the position of the nationalist religious trend and the level of its followers’ representation in the political, military, judicial, academic and cultural elites in Israel.
The importance of examination, analysis and forecasting of the implications of these transformations is attributed to the immense impact they have on the nature of the Israeli political regime and its vision of dealing with the Arab-Israeli struggle in general, and the Palestinian-Israeli struggle in particular. This is because the religious trend influencing decision-making openly rejects the values of “democracy” and “plurality” if they conflict with its religious values; and because of its ideological positions and jurisprudential visions, and the increase of its representation in the political and military elite, the chances of a political settlement for the struggle have decreased significantly.
The book concludes that the increase of representation of the nationalist religious trend in religious, media, academic, judicial, cultural, political and military elites fosters its ability to affect the orientation of Israeli public opinion in a way that strengthens the embodiment of its ideological premises and perception of the struggle vis-à-vis the relationship between religion and state. This, the author maintains, should be taken into consideration by decision-makers, elites and public opinion in the Arab world in their approach towards relations with Tel Aviv.
To read or download the book, click here: https://studies.aljazeera.net/ar/ebooks/book-1315