Gunshots. The sounds echo off the barren landscape as I stood at the border between Gaza City and Israel next to the border town of Sderot not even a month ago. I still think of the vivid stories told by a local citizen of a border kibbutz (Israeli agrarian commune) when we toured homes with attached bomb shelters during our day next to the Gaza Strip. She showed us where her close friend was brutally dismembered from the shrapnel of a Hamas rocket. She showed us children’s drawings of fields full of flames, missile debris, and makeshift bombs all launched from less than a mile away. I left Israel taking no side on the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict or with an idea of how it will be resolved; however, I left with questions regarding the country’s government. How does Israel, a religious state, ensure democratic values? Why does the West support Israel despite maintaining relatively poor relations with other religious states? Why is Israel, with vast international funding and far greater resources, allowed to defend itself (or oppress) against a majority population in the region without condemnation? Israel walks on a tightrope that will introduce the challenge of balancing the church with modern society.
“Israel has often been called the only democracy in the Middle East. This is not quite true” – Ian Parmeter, the Lowy Institute
The idea of Israel was not born out of the Holocaust. The Barfour Declaration, created by the United Kingdom proposing “the establishment in Palestine [as] a national home for the Jewish people”, was proposed in 1917 (United Nations). Even before this piece of famous legislation, the Zionist movement, built out of visionary Theodor Herzl and other influential figures, rose to prevalence within the late 19th century and early 20th century. Herzl witnessed the rise of anti-semitism in Europe firsthand and feared for the wellbeing of the Jewish people. He understood the reality that “anti-Semitism was a stable and immutable factor in human society which assimilation did not solve” (Jewish Virtual Library). He believed it was crucial for the Jewish people, with a strong identity and no dedicated state, to deserve the land of Israel as a safe haven from the dangers of the future.
Herzl was right. The horrors of the Holocaust decimated the Jewish population throughout the entirety of Europe, and it ultimately led to the partition of Palestine into territories dedicated to Jewish, Arab, and international identity groups via UN Resolution 181 in 1947. Israel, without agreement from Palestinians with regard to this resolution, declared its independence via the 1948 war, and modern Israel — as well as the modern conflict — was formed into what it is today. The core question remained of what a Jewish state should look like. Should, and can, it be democratic? Should minority groups be ensured their rights? These questions still remain on the minds of Israeli citizens and Palestinians as tensions once again rise as we speak.
“[Israel] will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex” – Israeli Declaration of Independence, 1948
Israel has no written constitution. It has no bill of rights, but it does have judicial review. The Israeli Supreme Court acts as a critical institution for the decisions made regarding the well-being of any minority groups within the state. It has worked to establish and ensure the civil rights, and voting rights, of individuals mentioned in the 1948 Declaration of Independence. Most notably, “in 1988, 2003, and 2009, the court overturned [election commission] bans on Arab parties participating in elections” (Parmeter) to provide opportunities for Arab Israelis to have their voice heard within the Knesset (Israeli parliament). Along with this, it has charged multiple prime ministers and presidents for corruption and other offenses in recent years. Despite these positive aspects of the court, any alteration to this fragile system, without the unalienable rights of citizens codified, could have disastrous effects.
On December 29th, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn into office with the furthest-right coalition in Israeli history. In Israel, the “right” refers to ultra-orthodox religious clerics and individuals who support a one-state solution with no partition of Palestinian territory. Upon the formation of the government, despite extensive protests on the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities, calls have been made by coalition members to reform the Israeli Supreme Court. Legislation proposed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin rides on providing the Knesset with “the power to override court rulings with a simple majority of 61 lawmakers out of 120, including legislation struck down by the Supreme Court for constitutional reasons” (Nechin). With this key change in policy, the Knesset could remove voting rights for Arab citizens, expand Israel’s presence within the Palestinian West Bank territories, reform schools to establish stronger associations with Jewish identity, and continue to oppress individuals within the LGBT community.
“[The new government] could spell an end to the religious status quo that has kept Israel in balance without a clear separation between church and state” – Etan Nechin, Israeli Journalist, Time Magazine
All of these possibilities remain alarming to Israelis who may desire the maintenance of a secular society. Today, debates continue regarding the prevalence of shut-down public transportation during Shabbat in accordance with the wishes of the ultra-orthodox community. Despite having large cities with high populations of openly LGBT individuals, Israel still maintains a ban on gay marriage; individuals will travel abroad for weddings and remain registered as single within the country. Questions continue to be raised about the growing population of ultra-orthodox, Haredi citizens refusing to work and serve in the military. Now, with this new government in place, many laws could become more strict, and many rights could continue to slip away in place of stronger religious doctrine. When I was in Israel, Security Minister Yitzhak Rabin visited the Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock complex one day after I stepped foot on the site. His purposeful visit also indicates the new government’s desire to control key Islamic holy sites; this is incredibly controversial and continues to add to current escalations.
Israel is a modern state with stellar infrastructure, technology, and booming industries. Despite its outward appearance of a highly developed country, the influence of conservative religious values may alter the course of the young state’s future and the future of the Middle East. In this case study, we see the reality of state fragility that correlates with religious influence in modern governments. Israel now teeters on its tightrope; it may fall off at any moment as blood continues to be spilled on its sacred, beautiful land.
https://time.com/6245630/israeli-democracy-may-not-survive-netanyahus-government/
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/theodor-binyamin-ze-rsquo-ev-herzl
https://m.knesset.gov.il/en/about/pages/declaration.aspx
https://www.un.org/unispal/history/
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/israel-s-democracy-systemic-problem
Hi Ben! I really like how you started your blog post with an anecdote of your time in Israel. The way you described what you heard and saw was very interesting. I have never been to Israel, so I would not know what to expect. I also don’t know a lot about the history. Furthermore, I liked how you ended the first section with a question about what you were thinking/what questions you had once you left Israel. That is a good transition to the rest of the blog post. I like how you then went into the history of how Israel was formed and the history behind it. I never knew that Israel has no Constitution or Bill of Rights! That’s very surprising to me. Lastly, I really like how you ended your post by saying “…blood continues to be spilled on its sacred, beautiful land”. I thought this was a good way of ending it. Overall, I thought you did a great job with this blog post. Also, your writing flowed well, and it was easy to read.
Hey Ben, I thought this was a very good blog that investigated a very good question that is often overlooked when discussing the Israel-Palestine conflict: Is Israel a democracy or theocratic state? While this answer is obviously obscure and complex, you presented arguments in both directions in a fairly balanced way that enhanced my understanding. I was unaware of the fact that the Israeli government has neither a Constitution or a Bill of Rights, meaning that significant discretionary power is giving to the parliament and Supreme Court to affect policy and even the fundamental values and nature of the government. You clearly mentioned how this structure could be threatening to democratic principles since the parliament can overrule previous court precedent with regards to ethnic minority voting rights and representation. I think the situation of complete separation of the Church from State in Israel is not only challenging, but a highly improbable situation given the nature of Jewish identity. While the Jewish people maintain an ethnic, and now national, identity, they are also a group of people that mostly share the same religious beliefs. Hence, in my opinion, I do not think it is truly possible to completely remove the influence of religion from the Israeli government.
This civic issue blog was genuinely very interesting to read, and your personal connection made it all the more captivating. I like how you chose to present both of the primary perspectives on Israel: a safe haven for a historically persecuted minority or a far-right religious state persecuting other groups. I think you gave a fair and unbiased view on both. I also like how you discussed the distinction that is often applied to Israel compared to other Middle Eastern countries by the United States, as it often is viewed as the only democracy in the area. Overall, your blog post was extremely well written and I look forward to reading the next one!