What would a religious run government of Israel be like?

The fact that a small minority party was able to attain premiership in the current Israeli government has opened a wide array of political possibilities that until now were never given real consideration. One such possibility is having a religious party being selected to lead the State of Israel. In fact, Aryeh Deri of the Shas Party was actually offered a rotational premiership opportunity by Netanyahu in the previous coalition negotiations as reported here:

This begs the question, what would a religious run government of Israel look like, and what would its policies be?

What would such a government’s position be on sovereignty in Judea and Samaria?

Would it continue the current government’s reactive approach vis a vis its enemies or would it take a more proactive approach?

To what extent would diplomacy and military policy be restrained by its reliance on the US and other world powers?

Would such a government finally prioritize Israel’s Jewish character over its democratic one?

One intriguing factor to consider in such a scenario is that the haredi religious parties are guided and directed by Torah sages. Therefore if a haredi religious party were to lead the government, the effective Prime Minister would be the Gadol Hador (Torah leader of the generation). When was the last time that there was a leader in Israel who was both a great sage of the generation and the effective political leader?

Would the Gadol Hador agree to take on that responsibility given the monumental risks and unimaginable opportunities? If he accepted this responsibility, what would his approach be to policy making- not as the leader of a fledgling minority, but as the leader of the entire country? READ MORE