Religious Zionism

Religious Zionism (Hebrew: צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, romanized: Tziyonut Datit) is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as Dati Leumi (דָּתִי לְאֻמִּי, 'National Religious'), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the first part of that term: Datiim (דתיים, 'Religious'). The community is sometimes called 'Knitted kippah' (כִּפָּה סְרוּגָה, Kippah seruga), the typical head covering worn by male adherents to Religious Zionism.

Before the establishment of the State of Israel, most Religious Zionists were observant Jews who supported Zionist efforts to build a Jewish state in the Land of Israel. Religious Zionism revolves around three pillars: the Land of Israel, the People of Israel, and the Torah of Israel.^[1] The Hardal (חרדי לאומי, Ḥaredi Le'umi, 'Nationalist Haredi') are a sub-community, stricter in its observance, and more statist in its politics. Those Religious Zionists who are less strict in their observance – although not necessarily more liberal in their politics – are informally referred to as "dati lite".^[2]