Why Ultra-Orthodox Israelis Gravitate to the Political Right

In part, Israel’s current political stalemate stems from the Likud party’s inability to garner the combined support of, on the one hand, the right-wing and secularist Yisrael Beytenu party and, on the other hand, the ḥaredi parties. The past week has seen an exchange of barbs between the two groups. But left-wing parties, for their part, have rarely succeeded in forging alliances with Ḥaredim, argues Yeshoshua Pfeffer, and not only because the right is more likely to provide the necessary inducement. Instead, Pfeffer writes, Ḥaredim have a natural affinity with the right, stemming from a shared embrace of particularism in contrast to the universalism that has become ever more predominant on the left: