Together or Apart? – Core Curriculum and the Secular-Religious Cleavage in Israel
Abstract
The article focuses on the Israeli secular-religious cleavage by analyzing a case study in light of relevant research theories. Horowitz and Lissak describe five basic cleavages characteristic of Israeli society. They concentrate on the uniqueness of the religious cleavage as the only one that divides the Jewish population. Don-Yehiya debates the nature of this divide, stressing its consociational nature; Cohen and Suzzer emphasize its fragmentary nature. In 1999 a petition was submitted to the state’s courts to implement a core curriculum in ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) schools. The submission of the petition led to appeals and protests, as well as the Haredi sector’s determined objection to attempts to force a secular core curriculum on its school system. This issue has been the source of an ongoing social-political controversy.
Contrary to Don-Yehiya’s argument, the struggle is not only characterized by an unwillingness to solve the dispute, but seems to have actually grown over the years. The analysis of case study employs the abovementioned theories in order to clarify the patterns of religious cleavage in Israel during the past fifteen years.
