Q&A: Can There Be a Religious Majority Without a Theocracy?
Can There Be a Religious Majority Without a Theocracy?
Question
In my estimation, the religious public in Israel—at least those who vote for Religious Zionist parties and the Haredim—is anti-liberal by its very nature. This is a fairly conservative and fairly closed form of religiosity. (Obviously there can be different individuals, but as a public it is ultra-conservative.) In addition, there are many people in it, like Smotrich, who explicitly admit that they are advancing a theocracy. (The traditional public, in my opinion, is far from these views.) As for the Haredim, I don't really know, but I believe so. The question is whether there could be a situation in which the religious public becomes the majority in Israel and still there would not be a theocracy. For me, a theocracy means a Sanhedrin, a king, Torah law, and everything that goes along with that. In other words, am I really right that the Haredim and Religious Zionism—at least those who sit in the Knesset—are trying and will try to push toward a theocracy?
Answer
These are empty slogans. I don’t think there is anyone today who is striving for a theocracy. Certainly not the Haredim. And of course, as long as there is a significant percentage of secular people, there will be no theocracy here. By the way, the Haredim (and perhaps others too) would breathe a sigh of relief at being exempt from it. They understand that it has no real feasibility, even for themselves. Their primitive models really cannot work even if everyone were religious.
You could call this answer "Michi's conception."