The fusion of religion and politics in modern Israel has produced a paradox: Orthodox religious authority, traditionally based on scholarly merit and organic community leadership, now stems primarily from political deal-making. Through historical analysis and contemporary case studies of religious party influence—including forced Sabbath flight suspensions and preferential yeshiva funding—this research reveals how political maneuvering has fundamentally altered Jewish religious governance. The politicized election process for the Chief Rabbinate exemplifies a system where Orthodox parties wield outsized influence while non-Orthodox Judaism remains officially unrecognized. Examining specific instances of religious-political leverage demonstrates how this "marriage of convenience" between religious parties and secular government contradicts traditional Jewish practice, where halakhic authority operated non-hierarchically through scholarly consensus. To address this distortion, the research proposes restructuring religious authority through autonomous kehillot (communities), fostering Jewish religious pluralism while maintaining unity through voluntary rabbinical cooperation on matters affecting all Jewish people, particularly personal status issues. This framework offers a path to restore authentic religious authority and bridge the growing secular-religious divide in Israeli society.