Ari Engelberg

Lehava is an extreme right-wing Israeli movement that attracts mostly traditional Mizrahi youth; its stated goal is to combat intermarriage. The article addresses the following questions: What attracts members to the organization? How does it operate? Where is it located within the Israeli ethno-national sphere? And where should it be positioned in a global comparative view? Research methods included participant observation, ethnographic interviews and a survey of social media. It was found that Lehava combines modes of activity typical of Israeli Haredi organizations devoted to combating intermarriage with those of extreme right-wing urban movements. Three dominant discourses were identified among supporters: a militant-nationalist discourse concerning Arab men, a therapeutic discourse used when referring to the members themselves and to the women they are seeking to “save,” and a religious discourse that supports the other two. Attitudes identified among religious Mizrahi Jews in Israel were found to be prominent in Lehava as well. It is also asserted that the organization’s resistance to intermarriage with Arabs can be explained as an attempt to preserve “family honor.” A comparative analysis underscored how the religious and therapeutic discourses, alongside the ethnic identity of members, differentiate Lehava from Western fascist movements and point to affinities with Eastern European and Muslim extremist organizations.

Lehava is an extreme right-wing Israeli movement that attracts mostly traditional Mizrahi youth; its stated goal is to combat intermarriage. The article addresses the following questions: What attracts members to the organization? How does it operate? Where is it located within the Israeli ethno-national sphere? And where should it be positioned in a global comparative view? Research methods included participant observation, ethnographic interviews and a survey of social media. It was found that Lehava combines modes of activity typical of Israeli Haredi organizations devoted to combating intermarriage with those of extreme right-wing urban movements. Three dominant discourses were identified among supporters: a militant-nationalist discourse concerning Arab men, a therapeutic discourse used when referring to the members themselves and to the women they are seeking to “save,” and a religious discourse that supports the other two. Attitudes identified among religious Mizrahi Jews in ...

Marriage guidebooks for Orthodox Jews in Israel have become increasingly popular over the past few years. Previous research has shown that Jewish Orthodox Israelis are exposed to liberal Western ideals about romantic love and gender egalitarianism while continuing to uphold conservative family values. To gain insight into how leaders of Orthodox Jewish groups deal with these conflicting meaning systems, a representative sample of thirty guidebooks written for Religious Zionist and Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel was analyzed by using a qualitative grounded theory analysis. The books were found to reject romantic love and gender egalitarianism, emphasizing instead the notions of other-focused giving and an essentialist gender partnership. The authors of these books also offer religious meaning systems focused on the interface between God and couples that we term marriage theologies. We offer a typology of five marriage theologies, which endeavor to infuse even the most mundane aspects ...

... larger movement towards what is commonly known by historians as 'affective individualism' (see, for example, Aries 19824. Aries, P. 1982 ... individuals, but these deal with traditional societies in which arranged marriages are still the norm (see, for example, Larkin [1997]; Schielke ...

Lehava is an extreme right-wing Israeli movement that attracts mostly traditional Mizrahi youth; its stated goal is to combat intermarriage. The article addresses the following questions: What attracts members to the organization? How does it operate? Where is it located within the Israeli ethno-national sphere? And where should it be positioned in a global comparative view? Research methods included participant observation, ethnographic interviews and a survey of social media. It was found that Lehava combines modes of activity typical of Israeli Haredi organizations devoted to combating intermarriage with those of extreme right-wing urban movements. Three dominant discourses were identified among supporters: a militant-nationalist discourse concerning Arab men, a therapeutic discourse used when referring to the members themselves and to the women they are seeking to “save,” and a religious discourse that supports the other two. Attitudes identified among religious Mizrahi Jews in Israel were found to be prominent in Lehava as well. It is also asserted that the organization’s resistance to intermarriage with Arabs can be explained as an attempt to preserve “family honor.” A comparative analysis underscored how the religious and therapeutic discourses, alongside the ethnic identity of members, differentiate Lehava from Western fascist movements and point to affinities with Eastern European and Muslim extremist organizations.

This article reviews the state of the research on religious singles, claiming that it is an understudied field. In late modernity, the age of marriage has risen. The importance of family for religious observance and the " family values " ideology adopted by conservative religions pose obstacles for singles who wish to remain observant, and can lead to their marginalization. I review the literature on singles and identify common patterns informed by my own research on religious Zionist singles. I argue that discourse and values regarding marriage and singlehood across various conservative religious communities have much in common, and that religious singles often find themselves torn between their religious values and those of secular mainstream young adult society.

In current Religious Zionist society, marriage and family are considered sacred values that stand in opposition to the sexual liberalism that believers associate with secular society. Religious Zionists are encouraged to marry in their early 20s; those who fail to follow this societal script find themselves facing social and religious challenges. This article, based upon ethnographic research and in-depth interviews with RZ singles, examines the contexts of this phenomenon as well as the actual effect of prolonged singlehood upon the religiosity of singles. Singles' distance from traditional synagogue-based communities and their tendency to form closed networks of friends with other Religious Zionists (RZs), both of which are typical during young adulthood, were found to impact their religiosity. It was also found that many singles consider their religiosity to be flawed. This is explained as resulting from both the drawing force of Western youth culture and from feelings of loneliness and anomy experienced by singles. Their central strategy for dealing with the arising tension is compartmentalization—viewing singlehood as a period during which a moratorium from strict religious observance is acceptable. INTRODUCTION In the midst of the evacuation of settlers from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005, an evacuation that was bitterly opposed by the majority of Israeli Religious Zionist (RZ) Jews and experienced by many of the evacuees as a highly traumatic event, a special prayer gathering was held at the Western Wall. The prayer, led by the chief rabbi of the very same Gaza Strip, was convened in order to pray for the swift marriage of the community's singles. The unusual timing and the central location of this event demonstrate the extent to which many RZ's are concerned regarding prolonged singlehood. Among Orthodox Jews (RZs and others), prolonged singlehood is often referred to as a " problem. " This is partially due to the importance of marriage and family in Jewish tradition. However, it seems that present concerns regarding singlehood are compounded by religious Zionism's focus on the nuclear family as a locus for religious practice, and by its fear of " young adulthood, " a new stage of the lifecycle that has developed in Western societies and is viewed by RZs as encouraging libertine conduct. In order to avoid what they view as the pitfalls of remaining single—excess freedom, " wasting time, " and romantic and sexual experimentation—RZ religious authorities encourage marriage at a young age (Engelberg 2013). This article focuses on the religiosity of singles who fail to fulfill the societal expectation to marry young, remaining single into their late 20s and beyond. These singles find themselves torn between Western youth-culture scripts regarding this stage of the lifecycle and RZ family Acknowledgments: The author wishes to thank Dana Kaplan, Rachel Werczberger, Adam Klin-Oron, Michal Kravel, and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

Many Western societies have seen the age of marriage rising in late modern times. While conservative religious denominations often decry gender egalitarianism and liberal society's sexual norms for contributing to this development, many individuals belonging to such denominations are still part of this trend. This book focuses on one such group, Israeli Religious Zionists. Drawing on ethnographic research, Ari Engelberg explains why the numbers of Religious Zionist singles have risen, describes how these adults deal with social marginalization and spiritual challenges, and how the community leadership has responded. On a theoretical level, the book exposes the role that intimacy plays in late modern individualization processes and at the same time offers an in-depth view of Religious Zionist “lived religion”.

תוכן הספר
סוגיית הרווקות המתמשכת בציונות הדתית מחברת בין האישי לקהילתי ומושפעת מגורמים תרבותיים רחבים: במהלך המאה העשרים, ובמיוחד משנות השישים והלאה, התקופה שמכונה 'מודרנה מאוחרת', מתקיימת 'מלחמת תרבות' בין דתות מסורתיות-שמרניות התומכות בערכי משפחה וצניעות מינית לבין חילוניות ליברלית התומכת בשינויים מרחיקי הלכת המתחוללים בתחומי המין והמגדר. בשנים אלו חלו גם שינויים דרמטיים, אך נסתרים יותר מהעין, באופיים של מערכות יחסים זוגיות, שיתוף הרגשות והאינטימיות הפכו למוקד ולדבק של מערכות יחסים. לצד זאת נוצר גם שלב חדש במעגל החיים שבו לוקחים חלק בעיקר מי שטרם נישאו – שלב הבגרות הצעירה. הספר מראה כיצד כל התהליכים הללו קשורים לתופעת הרווקות בציונות הדתית: הן הופכות את מציאת בן הזוג לאתגר משמעותי וכך למעשה גורמות לתופעה, והן מעצבות את חיי היומיום של הרווק/ה בעיר הגדולה ואת החיים בחברות הרווקים הדתיים, הלא הם 'ביצות הרווקים'. 
הקשר שהתקיים מאז ומתמיד אך התחזק במהלך המאה העשרים, בין דתיות למשפחה, מציב בפני רווקים ורווקות דתיים אתגרים ייחודיים ביחס לעמיתיהם החילונים. הם חשופים לנרטיבים מגזריים שונים ומתחרים ביחס לשאלות באיזה גיל הכי טוב להינשא, כיצד ראוי לחיות כרווק/ה, ומה הם בעצם "החיים הטובים"? בשונה מהתסריט הרווח בתרבות הפופולרית בארצות המערב לגבי שלב זה של מעגל החיים (הבא לידי ביטוי בסדרות טלוויזיה פופולריות כמו 'חברים' משנות התשעים או 'בנות' מהעשור האחרון), אין מקום לשלב ממושך של רווקות בתסריט המפתח הציוני-דתי להתבגרות, שכולל מעבר ישיר מבית ההורים וממוסדות ההשכלה הגבוהה (הדתיים או החילוניים) להקמת משפחה עצמאית. לצד זאת, קהילות ציוניות-דתיות, ואפילו טקסים דתיים, מבוססים על השתתפות משפחתית והרווק/ה נדחק הצידה.
כל התהליכים הללו מתנקזים לחייהם הפרטיים של רווקים ורווקות דתיים, שלכל אחד ואחת מהם כוחות אישיים ומזג שונה, אך לרוב הם רואים את מה שעובר עליהם כעניין אישי בלבד. ספר זה בוחן את הרווקות במבט סוציולוגי ואנתרופולוגי הממוקד בתהליכים תרבותיים וחברתיים אך גם שם דגש על נקודת מבטם של הרווקות והרווקים עצמם ובכך נותן להם קול. הוא עוקב אחר סיפורם המרתק של מי שמצויים בקו החזית של המפגש בין האורתודוקסיה לבין המודרנה המאוחרת וחוצבים לעצמם מסלול חיים חדש שדורות קודמים של יהודים שומרי תורה ומצוות לא הכירו.