Introduction

Summary

Law is society’s supreme system of norms. As such, it seeks to express that society’s values, ways of life, and culture. It is intuitively obvious to us that the content and form of the law differs from place to place and from one era to another. But what is it that, for example, makes Israeli law Israeli and French law French? Is it the specific content of the law? Is it the particular form of legal norms and institutions? That is, is there an Israeli template of norms and cultural assumptions that necessarily molds the particular legal content of Israeli society? Or is it Israeli law simply because it is created and used by free and sovereign Israelis, who shape their laws in accordance with their culture and needs?