Origins of Judaism
For centuries, the traditional understanding has been that Judaism came before Christianity and that Christianity separated from Judaism some time after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. Starting in the latter half of the 20th century, some scholars have begun to argue that the historical picture is quite a bit more complicated than that. In the 1st century, many Jewish sects existed in competition with each other, see Second Temple Judaism. The sects which eventually became Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity were but two of these. Some scholars have begun to propose a model which envisions a twin birth of Christianity and Judaism rather than a separation of the former from the latter. For example, Robert Goldenberg (2002) asserts that it is increasingly accepted among scholars that "at the end of the 1st century CE there were not yet two separate religions called "Judaism" and "Christianity"".
Daniel Boyarin (2002) proposes a revised understanding of the interactions between nascent Christianity and nascent Rabbinical Judaism in Late Antiquity which views the two religions as intensely and complexly intertwined throughout this period.
Secularism in Israel
27.9% of the Jewish population identifies as Orthodox ("dati") or ultra-Orthodox. Most of the Orthodox and some ultra-Orthodox, believe that secular Zionism and Judaism can successfully work and live together in Israel. Politically they align with National Religious Party, the Morasha Party and by the two state-appointed Chief Rabbis. Orthodox Jews are often seen wearing knitted yarmulkes. The ultra-Orthodox (Charedi) are the smallest part of the population, representing only 12% of Jews living in Israel. The Charedim tend to live in their own communities and live according to Jewish law by following moral and dress codes passed down from ancestors. This part of the population is often seen wearing black hats or yarmulkes and some Hasidic sects are related to Hasidic sects in the United States.