Aftershocks of the 1977 ‘mahapach’ (upheaval) and their effect on religious politics in Israel

The significance of the electoral ‘mahapach’ (upheaval) is not limited to the Likud’s rise to power in 1977 for the first time in Israel’s history. It also brought secondary upsets in the form of changes of guard among other political forces. This article focuses on three such ‘aftershocks’ which remoulded Israel’s religious political sphere: the metamorphoses in ethnic, Haredi and religious-Zionist politics. The political change of guard in each of these areas as a result of the mahapach boosted the power of religious forces, transforming them from marginal, largely reactive factors into active players with lasting impact on the moulding of Israeli society.