The "knitted ones," as we call them, are distinct from the Orthodox, a separate population living in their closed quarters, wearing black hats and clothes. They reject Zionism altogether but use their electoral power to compel the state to support their innumerable children.
After the breakdown of the Soviet Union, a huge wave of Russian Jewish immigrants reached the country. Every fifth or so Israeli is now a "Russian" (including all former Soviet countries). Most of them detest everything that smells of socialism or leftism and tend to be extremely rightist, nationalistic and even racist.
All these in addition to the 20% or so of Israeli citizens who are Arabs -- belonging and not belonging, more integrated than many of them realize, but considered enemies by many. The call "Death to the Arabs" is routinely chanted at soccer matches.
The dream of a unified, homogeneous new Hebrew nation is long dead. Israel is now a very heterogeneous country, rather like a federation of separate "sectors," who don't like each other very much: Ashkenazis, Orientals, National-religious, Orthodox, "Russians" and Arabs, with many subdivisions.
The one bond that unites most of these sectors is the army, in which all of them (except the orthodox and the Arabs) serve together.
And of course the one great unifier: War.
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