Judaism is a belief system holding elements of religion, nationality, society, and culture. In the past, these identity components were considered as a combined whole. However, changes in the lifestyle of Jews in recent times have led to the breakdown of this integration.
Secularization can be said to be one of the most important changes that occurred. The last 250 years have seen a notable decrease in the centrality of the religious component in the Jewish tradition. In the past, a distance from the religion was considered as abandoning complete Jewish identity. But many Jews today leave a life away from religion without compromising or giving away their Jewish identity. Instead, they focus on the other aspects of Jewish identity: cultural, social, and national.
Another major change in Jewish life is the establishment of Israel. For thousands of years, Jews lived in exile. During that time, the public aspects of Judaism were silenced and it became a way of life for individuals, families, and communities. The establishment of the State of Israel changed this reality. The Jewish people began to control the territory and were transformed from being a minority ruled by others to a Jewish majority responsible for itself.
The establishment of the state created a Jewish public world that has Jewish politics, armed forces, legal systems, and a Jewish public domain. This was a notable cultural, national, and religious development.
Many Jews in Israel live a life of cultural duality. They have two cultural foundations: Western liberal culture and traditional Jewish culture. Presenting these two cultures as different is somewhat wrong; they are interconnected and nourish each other, and each is an organic part of the other.
In general, the three Jewish identity groups in Israel all identify with both, Jewish and Western culture, although at different levels of incorporation and awareness. Each of these cultures serves all three Jewish groups as an influential component of identity that shapes their lifestyles and behaviors.