Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel

by Israel Shahak

'Illuminative, insightful and accessible, this is an important book that deserves as wide a readership as possible.' Ethnic Conflict Research Digest

'A first-class overview of the different fundamentalist movements … A fascinating and thought-provoking book.' Neue Zurcher Zeitung (Switzerland)

'Shahak and Mezvinsky’s explicit objective is to rouse the reader, particularly the North American reader, into an acknowledgement that Jewish fundamentalism is as ‘pernicious’ as other fundamentalisms. This requires us to approach the Jewish past not as folk-tale, but as history.' Outlook

'Unlike all other English-language accounts [this] is frank and fiercely critical … A must-read for anyone interested in exploring the dark corners of an ideology that has an impact on international events.' Race and Class

This is a new edition of a classic and highly controversial book that examines the history and consequences of Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel. Fully updated, with new chapters and a new introduction by Norton Mezvinsky, it is essential reading for anyone who wants a full understanding of the way religious extremism has affected the political development of the modern Israeli state.

Acclaimed writer and human rights campaigner Israel Shahak was, up util his death in 2001, one of the most respected of Israel’s peace activists – he was, in the words of Gore Vidal, ‘the latest – if not the last – of the great prophets.’ Written by Shahak together with American scholar Norton Mezvinsky, this books shows how Jewish fundamentalism in Israel, as shown in the activities of religious settlers, is of great political importance.

The authors trace the history and development of Jewish fundamentalism. They place the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin in the context of what they see as a tradition of punishments and killings of those Jews perceived to be heretics. They conclude that Jewish fundamentalism is essentially hostile to democracy.

Genres: Religion, History, Judaism, Politics, Israel, Nonfiction, Middle East

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Israel Shahak (Hebrew: ישראל שחק‎; born Himmelstaub, April 28, 1933 – July 2, 2001) was a Polish-born Holocaust survivor and Israeli professor of chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, known especially as a liberal[1] political thinker, author, and civil rights activist.

Reviews

[Dan Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

We live in an age of hyperbole, however one cannot stress too strongly the significance of ‘Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel’. It is a monumental work. A revelation for those of us (mainly Americans) who identify Jews as victims first and foremost. And this is primarily due to, as Shahak repeatedly points out, the truth is found almost exclusively from Hebrew language sources, not English. Eastern European Jews were intentionally kept isolated by their Talmudist leaders, who resisted the Tsars’ governments attempts to liberalize their treatment of the Jews. The significance here is that those responsible for religious zealotry in Israel were products of Eastern European Jewry. Shahak explains this deftly.
This work belongs on any short list of essential reads on Zionism/Israel/fundamentalism.

[Jorn Barger · Rating 5 out of 5]

the gentile world is
perishing of gullibility

[Genjiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor of chemistry at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a scholar of Orthodox literature, this brief summation of Jewish history, culture and religion, provides a unique insight into the ideological and spiritual elements of Jewish identity, both secular and sacred. In today's geo-political context, this book should provide plenty to ponder.

[Καιρὸς · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should be mandatory reading for anyone that wants to speak about the current ongoings in the holy land.

[Wحhارoث · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written, and fairly well researched (although he often tends to use secondary and even journalistic sources rather than primary sources themselves) critique of the role of religion in the state of Israel by a left-wing and strictly secular Israeli scholar.
I learnt a lot in this book about how secular Israeli political parties, even left-leaning ones such as Labour, often pander to the demands of the religious, and how right-wing secular Jews are much more in awe of the religious camp than they would care to admit. There are a lot of eye-opening revelations here about Jewish law, although I would like to get a second opinion. Its a bit like reading Irshad Manji's The Problem with Islam in order to understand Islam and how Muslims understand it - it has some valid criticisms, but is quite one-sided and might not really convey how many religious Jews actually interpret and understand Halacha. One also should be aware that in the same way works like Manji's are taken up by Islamophobes, Shahak's book has also been misused by many who want to promote an anti-semitic agenda.

[Shozab Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully exposed the influence of Jewish extremism in Israe from individual inhabitants of small villages all the way to the premiership of Israel.

[Manik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting, a lot of parallels to Hindu fundamentalism.

[Rutger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Israel Shahak is a Jewish Israeli writer whose perspective is best comparable to a European social democrat, or a leftist US Democrat. Shahak has written a few other books critical of Israel, Judaism and Jewish culture, in which he relates current events with historical roots. Shahak’s writings are very valuable for people who want to understand Jewish contemporary issues better as well.

In many ways, Shahak is a secular humanist who wants Israel to be a modern western country, free of any premodern influences and traditions. This is why Shahak criticizes (and clearly personally dislikes) religious superstition, social inequality, power imbalances, and backward traditions in Israel, originating in Jewish culture. For westerners this kind of criticism is nothing new, there have been, are and will always be many intellectuals who criticize Christianity, western society, power structures, ideas, traditional norms, the status quo, etc. In Israel this is a bit more complicated. Jews have always felt threatened by the outside world, thus have very little patience for critics from the inside. In “Jewish fundamentalism in Israel”, Shahak writes about;
- The orthodox sects, from both Ashkenazi and Sefardi origins. These groups have become more dominant in Israel, their demographic share and political influence since Israel’s founding have increased;
- The context in which radicals like Baruch Goldstein & Yigal Amir came to their horrific deeds;
- The religious parties and their settler policies; and
- The “dark ages”-like mentality which has been so prominent in ultra-Orthodox (European) Jewish culture.

Shahak tends to be a bit one-sided in my opinion, whenever I see Orthodox Jews I see big happy prosperous families. I suspect this isn’t just my impression, these people probably really are happy with their lives. And what of it? I say, let them be, if that’s what they choose for themselves. In general, I recommend this short but dense, well-written informative book. For anyone who’s interested in religious history, and Jewish history in particular, this is a good read.

[Shay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interesting stuff on Goldstein, Gush Emunim, etc. but unfortunately the good information is overshadowed by the authors’ bizarre hatred of everything Judaism. They are convinced that every evil in israeli society can be tied back to Judaism and not, you know, white supremacy or anything like that.

[Ahsan Butt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have translated this book from English into Urdu for Jumhoori Publications, Lahore, Pakistan. The title of Urdu translation is Israel Mein Yahoodi Bunyad Parasti اسرائیل میں یہودی بنیاد پرستی.

[Edward]

"In the book Torat Hamelekh (The King’s Torah), Rabbis Yitzhak Shapira and Yosef Elitzur explain that din rodef 'applies even when the pursuer is not threatening to kill directly, but only indirectly… anyone who weakens our own state by word or similar action is considered a pursuer.' For a detailed study on the influence of ultra-Orthodox Judaism inside of Israel, see Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, by Israel Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky."
-Wyatt Peterson, "Did Israel Murder Charlie Kirk", September 16, 2025, The Unz Review

[Sasha Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and at times frightening account by two Jewish scholars (one Israeli and one American) of the beliefs and practices of certain fundamentalist Jewish groups and their interaction with Israeli politics. It is clear that there is no love lost between the authors and the groups they are portraying, so some of what they say needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. As a non-reader of Hebrew, it's difficult to say how much.

[Neo_classical · Rating 5 out of 5]

not this book, but Jewish History Jewish Religion which Goodreads is now suppressing and pretending doesn’t exist, even though it’s by far his most popular and controversial book and you can find the entry if you just see Shahak’s quotes.

anyway, totally agree essential reading you can’t understand any history of Europe and anything about today’s world without it

[Mehmet Koç · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bilhassa bizdeki dindarların okumalarında fayda var, çok fazla sayıda benzer inanç ve uygulama var iki gelenek arasında...

[Hasan · Rating 2 out of 5]

İçeriğine göz attım, ilgimi çekmedi

[Denis Vasilev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Феноменальная книга разбирающая целый ряд закрытых от посторонних тем еврейской истории и религии. Стоит прочитать и всем кто собирается разбираться в сути израильского вопроса.