Israel’s religious right is changing the state from within

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s Ehab Jabareen argues that ultra-Orthodox and religious-nationalist currents are expanding their influence inside Israel’s political and state institutions, shaping debates over education, gender segregation, rabbinical authority, settlement and the role of religion in public life. The piece says this shift is occurring through elections, coalition politics and existing institutions rather than through a seizure of power, with the Knesset and public bodies remaining active.

The article highlights several recent and ongoing examples. It notes that parties such as Shas, United Torah Judaism, Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit and Noam have increased their weight in coalition politics. It also points to a July 2026 law expanding gender-separated study in higher education to advanced degree programs, and to continued public funding for parts of the Haredi school system without a full core curriculum requirement.

Jabareen says the trend matters most for Palestinians, because it reinforces an existing system of inequality in Israel, the Negev and the occupied West Bank. He describes how religious-nationalist ideas can merge with territorial control and settlement policy, making compromise over land harder to justify and deepening the overlap between occupation, security policy and religious doctrine. The article also says this influence is visible in the military, where religious Zionist ideas have gained ground in combat and command ranks.

The piece concludes that Israel is not described as a theocracy, since courts, media, civil society and secular opposition remain. But it warns that democracies can change gradually as rules around rights, citizenship and the public good shift from within.