Book contents
- Law and Identity in Israel
- Cambridge Studies in Law and Judaism
- Law and Identity in Israel
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I Seeking to Fashion National Law
- 1 Law and Culture in Early Zionist Literature
- 2 The Hebrew Peace Courts
- 3 The Hebrew Law Society
- 4 Why a Jewish-Hebrew System of Law Was Not Instituted at Independence
- 5 A Hebrew Constitution for the Jewish State
- 6 Jewish Law and Legislation in Israel
- Part II The Resurgence of Cultural Conflict
- Part III Zionism, Democracy, Law, and Culture
- Conclusion
- List of Legal Cases
- Legislation
- Bibliography
- Index
5 - A Hebrew Constitution for the Jewish State
How the Cultural Dispute Prevented the Promulgation of a Written Constitution
from Part I - Seeking to Fashion National Law
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2019
- Law and Identity in Israel
- Cambridge Studies in Law and Judaism
- Law and Identity in Israel
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I Seeking to Fashion National Law
- 1 Law and Culture in Early Zionist Literature
- 2 The Hebrew Peace Courts
- 3 The Hebrew Law Society
- 4 Why a Jewish-Hebrew System of Law Was Not Instituted at Independence
- 5 A Hebrew Constitution for the Jewish State
- 6 Jewish Law and Legislation in Israel
- Part II The Resurgence of Cultural Conflict
- Part III Zionism, Democracy, Law, and Culture
- Conclusion
- List of Legal Cases
- Legislation
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 5 shows that the fear of cultural war was a central factor in the Knesset’s decision not to promulgate a written constitution during the first years of independence. The opponents of a formal written constitution, led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, did not reject establishing the structure of government, citizenship, and human rights in a written law. What they repudiated was doing so in the form of a formal and fancy constitution. For this reason, the Knesset resolved to enact a constitution piece by piece, without a solemn preamble that would address questions of identity and culture in Israel. This compromise was in keeping with Zionist policy which scrupulously and consistently negated the discussion of Jewish culture and identity.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Law and Identity in IsraelA Century of Debate, pp. 74 - 82Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019