Statehood, liturgy and diplomacy: The creation, content, and abandonment of the Israeli “Prayer for World Peace”

This article focuses on the creation, the goals, and the eventual abandonment of the Israeli state prayer “for world peace,” during the first decades of Israeli statehood. The prayer and its evolving usage are examined in the broader context of the efforts to create a new state-sponsored liturgical framework after the establishment of the state, aimed to accompany the yearly calendar, and gradually reshape traditional liturgical practices in Israeli synagogues. The final part of the article explores the reasons for the relatively quick disappearance of the prayer from 1967 onward, as well as its absence from most contemporary prayer books.