Would the establishment of this state have been possible without the industrial revolution?
The more I think about it, the more the watershed events of recent history that seem most impactful on the application of Talmudic law – including the rise of mass production, electricity usage, and women’s liberation (note the connection there by the way) – seem to trace their origins back to the industrial revolution.
And so the rise of the state itself – could the required resources have been marshalled and coordinated without the modern supporting infrastructure born in the wake of the industrial revolution?