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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

Nir Kedar
Affiliation:
Bar-Ilan University, Israel
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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 Israel
A Century of Debate
, pp. 74 - 82
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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