The Palestinian Forum for Israeli StudiesThis is the third and final episode of the series on religious Zionism with Dr. Muhannad Mustafa. The Israeli redeployment under the Oslo Accords (1993-1999) and the plan for “disengagment” from the Gaza Strip (2005) dealt a painful blow to the concept of sovereignty over the entire "Land of Israel," as perceived by religious Zionism. These events alarmed religious Zionist leaders, plunging them into an internal debate about how to preserve Jewish settlement in the occupied territories from the "concessions" of the State of Israel and its future political leaders. Dr. Mustafa concludes this trilogy by explaining the "preventive" strategy of religious Zionism: “Settling the Hearts” of ISraelis.
This is the second episode in a three-part series on religious Zionism. This episode examines the period between 1967 and 1993, a time when the religious Zionist movement experienced significant growth and institutionalization of the settler movement in the occupied territories, both ideologically and organizationally. In an engaging academic style, Dr. Muhannad Mustafa explores Israel's "victory" in the June War and its role in creating a conducive environment for settlers to occupy not only the West Bank and Gaza Strip but also to permeate Israeli society. The 1967 war marked a decisive shift to the right, leading to the infiltration of settlers into the army and state bureaucracy, with the Oslo Accords later posing a significant challenge to this movement.
This is the first episode in a three-part series on religious Zionism. With Naftali Bennett's rise to prime minister, it has become essential to examine the religious Zionist movement, which is driven by a settlement agenda that views expansion in the West Bank as a Zionist national mission and a fundamental step toward Jewish salvation. In this episode, "The Childhood and the Formation of the Political Thought of the Religious Zionist Movement," Dr. Muhannad Mustafa traces the roots of the religious Zionist trend to the period before the establishment of the State of Israel. He explains how its political thought developed by integrating Jewish religious teachings with the Zionist political project.
