“A Solid Foundation for Mizug Galuyot ”: Educational Youth Synagogues in Israel as Religious Socialization Agents

This article examines educational youth synagogues in Israel as central sites of religious socialization during the state’s formative years. Focusing on institutions operating in schools, youth-movement clubs, and communal initiatives, it argues that these synagogues functioned as agents of a Religious-Zionist “religious melting pot” that sought to standardize Jewish practice and cultivate a unified Israeli religiosity. Drawing on speeches, reports, correspondence, and institutional publications, the article demonstrates how Religious-Zionist educators framed Mizrahi religiosity as particularistic or outdated while promoting youth synagogues as spaces of “proper” religious formation and national integration. In doing so, these institutions aligned religious practice with Ashkenazi norms and broader state-led projects of cultural homogenization.