{"id":11744,"date":"2023-12-13T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/?p=11744"},"modified":"2023-12-12T11:10:11","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T10:10:11","slug":"israel-a-country-with-no-fixed-borders-and-an-incomplete-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/israel-a-country-with-no-fixed-borders-and-an-incomplete-constitution\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel: A Country With No Fixed Borders and an Incomplete Constitution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What\u2019s so special about Israel? Is it truly\u2014as Israelis themselves claim\u2014a one-of-a-kind country?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would be careful with making statements like that. Labeling something as \u201cone-of-a-kind\u201d doesn\u2019t bring us closer to understanding it. It\u2019s true that some Israelis stress that the challenges their country faces are unique and not really comparable to anything else in modern times or in the past. Religion, history, morality, international law, security\u2014in each of those areas, Israel apparently transcends standard categories and classifications. Proponents of its uniqueness emphasize this point and try to sell the idea that \u201cIsrael can\u2019t be compared to any other country.\u201d To them, this implies a need to treat Israel separately in the international arena, coupled with a range of special considerations. This is evident in Israel\u2019s interactions with the Western world. On one hand, the government highlights shared values and points out that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, on the other, due to regional politics and Jewish identity, it can\u2019t be just a \u201cstandard\u201d democracy like those in Europe or North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel is undoubtedly a country with a very rich history, with one foot firmly planted in its biblical past, and the other in modern, uncompromising, decidedly secular politics. The survival of the Diaspora over the centuries was made possible by a religion whose origins date back to the second millennium before Christ. In contrast, the establishment of the Jewish state was attainable owing to the 19th-century, thoroughly modern, Zionist movement. The Jewish people founded a nation in a land inhabited by Arabs, aiming to welcome Jews from across the globe, which has led to a remarkable societal diversity within today\u2019s Israel. These factors, among many others, are responsible for the many indisputably unique traits of this place. Within its borders, defined domestic law is followed, similarly to any other country. But on closer examination you\u2019ll find out that there is still no consensus on many of the fundamental issues. Israel is not sure if it even has a constitution. It is also not sure of its own borders and purposefully stays vague on the matter. Its nature is also debatable: is it a secular or a religious state? Does it adhere to ethnic principles or civic principles? All of those points remain unresolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s delve deeper. Why is Israel unsure if it has a constitution?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Israel proclaimed independence in 1948, there was an assumption that it would soon have its own constitution in the form of a consolidated legal act. It became apparent early on that reaching any consensus on the document\u2019s text would be challenging. This realization led to the endorsement of a rule in 1950, stipulating that the constitution would be adopted \u201cpiece by piece.\u201d The Knesset was to pass subsequent chapters as separate acts, and one day they would make up the Israeli constitution. This legislative process is still ongoing. Each chapter is called the Basic Law. Currently, there are fourteen of them. The last one was adopted in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might ask if the Basic Laws of Israel have a higher normative status than other legal acts. Formally, they don\u2019t\u2014they are voted through with a majority of votes, and a qualified majority isn\u2019t required for amendments. No provision exists stating that these constitutional chapters carry more weight than any other laws. However, in 1995, the Supreme Court worked out an interpretation under which the Basic Laws take precedence over other legal acts; therefore, every newly enacted law must be congruous with the Basic Laws. The Supreme Court holds the authority to ensure this congruence. The doctrine was not accepted by a significant number of Israeli politicians, who perceived the Court\u2019s decision as an act of usurpation. Recent mass protests in Israel against the intentions of Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government to curb the Supreme Court\u2019s influence stem directly from the coming to power of political forces eager to limit the Court\u2019s authority, especially its capacity to interfere with the laws passed by the government. Ultimately, the structure and hierarchy of Israel\u2019s paramount legal instruments remain ambiguous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue with its borders is even more complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Europe, we automatically assume that a country has to have clearly defined borders. Similarly, we might imagine that Israel\u2019s borders extend as far as they did after the 1948 Palestine war, known to Israelis as the War of Independence. However, Israel contends that its territory encompasses East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, areas occupied during the Six-Day War in 1967 and later formally annexed, even though this was never endorsed by most nations of the world. Then you have the Jewish settlements and footholds on the West Bank of the Jordan River, also seized during the Six-Day War. From Israel\u2019s point of view, the West Bank (also known domestically by its administrative designation, Judea and Samaria Area) is not an occupied territory but rather a contested region with an ambiguous status, under general military and partial administrative control of the authorities in Jerusalem. Approximately half a million Jews reside there. While the Jewish settlements on the West Bank haven\u2019t been formally annexed, they are de facto <\/em>enclaves of the Jewish administration. They are protected by the military and incorporated into Israel\u2019s infrastructure. Residents there can participate in Knesset elections, and the living conditions are similar to those typically found in Israel. In essence, these areas operate as if they\u2019re an integral part of it. We might conclude that the Jewish authorities and the international community define the territory of Israel in a different fashion, and the real shape of its borders is something else entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establishing the population of Israel is also not something pure and simple. We know that it consists of 9.7m people: over 7m Jews and almost 2m Arabs. Of the latter, 1.6m are citizens, while 350,000 are permanent residents of the annexed East Jerusalem. These residents have the right to stay in the country, move freely, and work. However, they have no voting rights, and their right of stay might be revoked in specific circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the reason behind this?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a political decision. After annexing East Jerusalem, Israel wasn\u2019t keen on increasing the number of its Arab citizens. Many Arabs don\u2019t hold citizenship. Meanwhile, Jewish people living de jure<\/em> outside the state\u2019s borders, on the West Bank, do enjoy citizen status. As you can see, the traditional definition, where a country is an authority that governs its people within a defined territory, has limited use here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the role of religion in Israel similarly vague?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, it is. Israel is not a religious state, only a few legal acts derive straight from the tenets of Judaism. However, an unwritten pact has been in place since Israel\u2019s inception, allowing religious institutions to oversee certain aspects of life, such as marriage, divorce, funerals, and conversion to Judaism. Another interesting topic is the observance of the Sabbath. Although Israel remains a secular state, public transport across most of the country halts operations on this day. The only exceptions are the metropolitan Tel Aviv and Haifa, where special \u201cSabbath-dedicated\u201d bus lines are active on this occasion. The subject of religious ban on transport during the Sabbath continually sparks debates. Some time ago, the first light rail line was set up in Tel Aviv, partially underground, partially overground. Despite the fact that Tel Aviv is almost exclusively a secular city, this light rail will not be operational during the Sabbath, because it comes under the Ministry of Transport, and they hold the opinion that public transport should not function during holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples from topics like constitution, national territory, population, or the role of religion clearly indicate that Israel grapples with many foundational questions. It\u2019s like the country is still under construction and trying to decide what kind of a state it really wants to be. In Israel, depending on who you ask, you might get answers as different as chalk and cheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the reason for this ambiguity regarding fundamental state functions? Is it due to a diversity of opinions within the society?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jews who settled in British Palestine represented a vast array of world views. They came to the Land of Israel\u2014a region that, according to their beliefs, was bestowed upon the Jews by Yahweh\u2014from all over Europe. With them, they brought an extraordinary amalgamation of orientations, traditions, doctrines, and opinions. To ensure the unified support of all Jewish communities in Palestine for the declaration of independence, some details were left intentionally ambiguous. Secular Jews would be lost in a religious state, just as devout Jews would be in a radically secular state. Resolving some foundational concerns was postponed for a time when the country would grow stronger and be more well-defined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marta Michalska: Silence is made up of \u201cdomesticated sounds\u201d<\/a><\/blockquote>