One of Israel’s most controversial politicians, known for his inflammatory anti-Arab speeches and stunts, is attracting new supporters from a previously untapped demographic — young chareidi Jews, one of the fastest-growing segments of the country’s population. Itamar Ben-Gvir’s sharp rise in popularity in the last three years has transformed him from a fringe provocateur to a central player in Tuesday’s parliament election. Polls indicate his Religious Zionism party could emerge as the third-largest and help return former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to power. His appeal is a reflection of the ongoing right-ward shift of the Israeli electorate over the years, with Ben-Gvir and his party also attracting voters who previously supported other right-wing parties. This shift is particularly noticeable among Israel’s 1.3 million ultra-Orthodox Jews who make up 13% of the population. The community is growing at a breakneck rate, with an average birth rate more than twice the national average. Children make up half of their population, and young adults between 18-35 another quarter. Ben-Gvir’s appeal among young chareidim reflects a shift in the political preferences of a community that cleaves to a strict adherence to religious tradition. For decades, the ultra-Orthodox largely voted for two chareidi political parties — United Torah Judaism and Shas. Those parties promoted the community’s interests in exchange for supporting coalition governments with a range of ideological flavors — though the chareidim had a preference for center-right factions that tended to be more culturally conservative. But several prominent rabbis who served as spiritual leaders for these parties have died in recent years. Analysts say younger and middle-aged chareidim are growing disillusioned with the old guard. “The majority of relatively younger ultra-Orthodox — under the age of 50 — have turned right-wing, and sometimes staunchly right-wing, something that in the past didn’t exist,” said Moshe Hellinger, a political scientist at Israel’s Bar Ilan University. The chareidi political leadership lacks a strong, charismatic leader “and this vacuum allows (voters) to go in different directions,” Hellinger said. Into that void steps Ben-Gvir. Voting records from predominantly chareidi communities indicate that since Ben-Gvir entered politics in 2019, support for him in those areas has increased over Israel’s four successive elections — though he still lagged behind the established chareidi parties. Ben Gvir’s campaign declined requests by The Associated Press to interview him or officials managing outreach to the chareidi community. Several factors appear to be driving his growing popularity in the community. Some chareidim prefer the Religious Zionism party’s mix of Orthodox Jewish and ultra- nationalist messaging to that of Netanyahu’s Likud party which, while hard-line, remains predominantly secular. Recent years have also seen an uptick in attacks by Palestinian terrorist targeting chareidim, as part of the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In March, shortly after a Palestinian gunman opened fire on the streets of Bnei Brak, killing five Israelis, Ben Gvir arrived on the scene and delivered statements to TV cameras surrounded by a throng of young chareidi men. The scene repeated itself in May, after a Palestinian killed three Israelis in the central town of Elad. At a recent campaign rally in Elad, Ben-Gvir whipped up a gender-segregated crowd, calling for the death penalty for convicted Palestinian militants. The audience, many of them young men in white button-down shirts and black yarmulkas, responded with cheers and whistles, then […]

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