The Jewish Renewal Movement in Israeli Secular Society

בתי מדרש בתי תפילה התחדשות יהודית זהות יהודית-ישראלית חברה ישראלית חילוניות מסורת וחידוש

Based on extensive qualitative fieldwork, including dozens of participant observations and in-depth interviews with key movement leaders , this empirical study conceptualizes the Israeli Jewish Renewal movement as a "New Social Movement" (NSM). The authors argue that secular Israelis are increasingly engaging with Jewish texts and non-Orthodox rituals not merely as an intellectual exercise, but as a reflexive collective action aimed at reconstructing their secular Jewish identity. The movement systematically challenges the traditional religious-secular dichotomy in Israel by actively re-appropriating Jewish cultural capital from the Orthodox monopoly. Structurally, the movement is characterized as a decentralized, polycentric network of grassroots organizations (such as secular Batei Midrash and Batei Tefilah). Driven primarily by the Israeli middle class shifting toward post-materialist values , the movement evolved from a defensive, anti-Orthodox stance in the 1960s and 1970s into a proactive culture that blends democratic, humanistic pluralism with traditional Jewish heritage