51.   Politicians of the religious parties joined in denouncing the Conservatives.

52.   Recently, religious parties in parliament have been trying to guarantee Orthodox rabbis the sole authority to perform conversions in Israel.

53.   Religious concerns have long plagued Israeli governments that have needed the participation of religious parties to govern.

54.   Religious parties in parliament wield significant power in the coalition politics of Israel and secular lawmakers are often reluctant to challenge them.

55.   Shas is a religious party that doubles as an ethnic pride movement for working class Jews of Middle Eastern origin.

56.   So the negotiations with the Russian immigrant parties, with religious parties and with far-right parties continued.

57.   Some of the sharpest exchanges came within the government, with Meridor and the agriculture minister, Rafael Eitan, leading the public attack on the religious parties.

58.   Some members of the religious nationalist parties physically confronted several Israeli Arab members of parliament and the two sides had to be pulled apart.

59.   Stock rallied when western-style political parties said they could form a working coalition without the religious party.

60.   Sufi Muhammad, the leader of a militant religious party in Pakistan, led a contingent of would-be holy warriors into Afghanistan several weeks ago.