ISRAELI DEMOCRACY PAVILION Welcome to The Democracy Pavilion

We are currently celebrating the seventieth and democratic heritage that has produced an “Israeliness” that anniversary of the establishment of . combines perseverance, power, creativity, daring, cheek, compassion, and fraternity. The State of Israel was erected on the foundations of the autonomous institutions As we mark this seventieth anniversary, we must remind ourselves set up by the Jewish pioneers and the that it is up to each and every one of us, the citizens of Israel, to settlements they built, and on the basis of protect our democracy and ensure that it does not turn into a hollow the broad international recognition of the shell, with democratic institutions and processes for appearances Jewish people’s right to their own nation- only. Only a genuine, substantive democracy—one with a deep state in the . commitment to the principles of equality and freedom, respect for human dignity, and tolerance of others—will be able to cope with The Declaration of Independence, the tensions within Israeli society, with the challenges at home and composed while the Jews of Eretz Israel abroad, with the threats posed by terrorism, war, poverty, and hatred. 02 were under bloody attack, transcended the time and place of its 03 The Democracy Pavilion was made possible by creation, with words that defined Israel as a Jewish and democratic Democracy and all of its institutions, including the and the state. Its promise that Israel would guarantee equality and freedom to Supreme Court, whose role is to enable the realization of democratic the generous support of Taube Philanthropies all its citizens, and its call for partnership with its Arab residents and principles, are the glue that holds us together in a society that is peace with the neighboring Arab states, remain valid today. greater than the sum of its parts. If we protect our democracy it will Program generously supported by protect us; if we safeguard our democracy, it will enable us to prosper In its seventy years, Israel has faced many difficult challenges, while Amir Elstein, Isaac (Ike) Fisher and Lourdes Suarez as free and equal citizens in a Jewish nation-state. registering impressive achievements. The events that have shaped Planning and production: Diskin our society are a testament both to the fragility of Israeli democracy I hope that the experience of the Democracy Pavilion will bolster Architecture and design: Nati Ollech, Tami Ollech Lerer and to its strength. Uniquely, Israeli democracy draws both on the our faith in the fortitude of our democracy, while reinforcing our Booklet design: Dina Shoham Design universal democratic heritage of freedom and equality, and on commitment to ensuring its future. May we continue to draw on the Jewish humanistic tradition that evokes such values as “love the strengths of our Jewish and democratic legacy to confront the Press clippings courtesy of: your fellow as yourself.” Among other sources, it is our dual Jewish challenges that lie ahead. Hazofe Ltd.: 16.5.1948 Maariv: 9.1.1952, 6.6.1967, 7.6.1967, 15.8.1977, 18.11.1977, 20.11.1977 Yediot Ahronot: 7.6.1967, 20.11.1977, 5.11.1995, 4.9.2011 Yohanan Plesner | President, the Israel Democracy Institute Major Landmarks in the Evolution of Israeli Democracy

1948 1948 1950s The Declaration of The Altalena Affair and The Mass Immigration Independence the Disbanding of the from Asia and North pre-State Militias Africa On Friday afternoon, May 14, 1948 (the 5th One of the main challenges confronting the Israel’s self-definition as the national of Iyyar 5708), the members of the People’s newborn state was how to fuse the various home of the Jewish people, open for Council and invited guests met for a special underground militias that had operated the ingathering of the exiles, received session at the home of Meir Dizengoff in during the Mandate into a single national immediate and concrete expression and declared the establishment of army—the . The with the absorption of huge waves of the State of Israel. Thirty seven members low point came at the height of the War immigration soon after independence. of the Council signed the Declaration of of Independence, in June 1948, when the Within three years its population had 04 Independence, Israel’s founding document. Altalena, a ship bearing arms for the right doubled. The young state, with its scant 05 The Declaration recounts the justification wing Irgun Zva’i Leumi, or Etzel, arrived resources, found it difficult to cope with for the establishment of the state in off the shores of Tel Aviv. In the violent this colossal human wave. Treatment of Eretz Israel, the national homeland in clash that ensued, three IDF soldiers and the newcomers, especially the hundreds which the Jewish people realize their 16 Etzel fighters were killed. Later that of thousands of Jewish refugees from right to self-determination. It expresses year, David Ben-Gurion ordered that the Muslim countries, was distant and arrogant, the commitment of its signatories to the left wing Palmach, too, be disbanded and inflicting wounds that have not fully healed principles of liberty and equality, and gives merged into the IDF. The elimination of the to this day. The challenge of absorbing explicit guarantees of equality for all its militias and their incorporation into the immigrants from more than a hundred citizens. At a time when many speak of people’s army triggered harsh criticism of different countries is an ongoing one. deepening social divides, the Declaration Ben-Gurion, who was accused of employing serves as the glue that holds Israeli society excessive force on behalf of partisan together and the ultimate expression of the political motives. Others, however, thought values shared by all Israelis. his actions were appropriate and essential for consolidating the authority of the new state. , the head of the Etzel, put it well: “Civil war—never!” 1952 1967 1973 The Reparations The Six Day War and the The Agranat Commission Agreement with Germany Settlement Project In 1973, shortly after the end of the Yom In the early 1950s, the Israeli Government On May 14, 1967, Egyptian armed forces Kippur War, a State Commission of Inquiry, decided to conduct secret negotiations with moved into the Sinai Peninsula, which had chaired by Supreme Court president Shimon the government of West Germany about been demilitarized since the 1956 Suez War, Agranat, was appointed to examine the the payment of reparations—individual and threatening an imminent attack on Israel. military and political decisions that led to collective—for the unspeakable suffering On June 5, after tense weeks during which what was referred to as the mehdal—the experienced by Jews during the Holocaust. international diplomatic efforts to avert “fiasco.” The Commission concluded that the A fierce public storm erupted after the hostilities went nowhere, the IDF launched a senior military commanders bore personal negotiations were revealed. In January pre-emptive strike on Egyptian airfields. Over responsibility for lapses in judgment that 1952, at a mass demonstration against the the course of the next six days, Israel gained led to near disaster, and should be sacked. Government, Menachem Begin, the head control of territory that trebled its size. The But the commission absolved the political 06 of the opposition Herut party, delivered war’s outcome fundamentally altered the leaders—in particular Prime Minister Golda 07 an inflammatory speech, denouncing the alignments of Israeli politics and opened an Meir and Defense Minister —of reparations as blood money and calling for ideological chasm, which persists to this day, direct personal responsibility, while hinting civil disobedience. When the rally was over, between advocates of the Whole Land of that they might be held accountable under the crowd set out for the Knesset building. Israel and those in favor of partition of the the rubric of “ministerial responsibility”. Even though it was guarded by a phalanx of land under the slogans “land for peace” or The public storm that followed the report’s police, stones were hurled at the building. “two states for two peoples.” The former see publication led to Meir’s resignation and Dozens of police officers were hurt, some Israeli control of the territories conquered in Dayan’s exclusion from the new Government of the building’s windows were shattered, 1967, and encouragement of the settlement headed by . In addition to its and several Knesset members were injured project there, as expressions of the Jewish personal recommendations, the Agranat as well. people’s historic right to the land, as well Commission recommended a clearer division as a security imperative. Those who would of authority among the Government, the evacuate settlements believe that territorial Defense Minister, and the Chief of Staff. compromise is essential for achieving peace, This and other recommendations for reform and for preserving both the Jewish character contributed to better civil-military relations of the State and its democratic nature. in Israel. 1977 1977 1988 1984–1995 The Electoral Reversal President Sadat of Egypt The Disqualification of Aliya: Operation Moses, Comes to Israel Meir Kahane Operation Solomon, and After almost three decades of rule by Mapai (and its successor, the Labor the Exodus of Soviet Jewry In November 1977, Egyptian President The disqualification of electoral lists is one of Party/), the Likud party, led made a historic three-day visit the sharpest manifestations of the tension by Menachem Begin, staged a historic In 1984 and again in 1991 the Israeli to Israel, during which he spoke from the between the right of every citizen to run upset in the 1977 elections. The peaceful government carried out two dramatic Knesset rostrum: “We accept to live with you for political office and the need to defend transition of power between parties that operations to airlift thousands of Ethiopian in permanent peace based on justice. We other fundamental rights against those who were vehemently opposed to one another Jews to Israel. In parallel, the Cold War drew do not want to encircle you or be encircled would subvert them. In 1984, the Central was a major test of Israeli democracy, and to a close and the Soviet Union collapsed. ourselves by destructive missiles ready for Elections Commission rejected the Kach list, by all standards it passed with flying colors, Starting in 1990, a tidal wave of more than launching, nor by the shells of grudges and headed by Meir Kahane, on account of its setting an important precedent for the one million Jews made aliya from the Soviet hatred.” Sadat’s visit opened a new chapter racist platform. However, the High Court of future. Union and its successor states. This was a in the history of the conflict between Israel Justice overruled the Commission on the supreme test of the country’s commitment 08 and its neighbors. Sadat’s official visit to grounds that it had exceeded its statutory 09 to absorb immigrants and its ability to Israel, the first by an Arab leader, was a authority. As a result, Kahane ran and won integrate them into the fabric of Israeli life. turning point in a process that led to the a seat in the Knesset. Four years later, after Aliya is the outstanding expression of the conclusion of a peace treaty between the the Knesset had amended the “Basic Law: vision of the ingathering of the exiles. two countries in 1979, and the evacuation The Knesset” to bar racist parties, Kahane and return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt was disqualified again; this time the Court in 1983. upheld the Commission’s decision. In 2002, the law was amended again to permit the disqualification of parties or individual candidates who support armed struggle against the State of Israel. Since then, there have been several attempts to invoke this clause and bar Arab lists and candidates from running for the Knesset, but all of them have been overturned by the Court. 1995 1995 2000 The Assassination The Alice Miller Case The October 2000 of Prime Minister Riots and the Orr The ruling by the High Court of Justice Yitzhak Rabin on Alice Miller’s petition that she be Commission Report allowed to apply for the Israel Air Force The political process between Israel and pilot’s course is considered to be one of In October 2000, some of the country’s of persistent discrimination against the the Palestinians, the Knesset’s approval of its most important decisions to date. It Arab citizens joined the Palestinians Arab sector and its continued neglect by the Oslo Accords, and the wave of suicide was a precedent-setting statement that in Judea and Samaria in violent successive Israeli governments. terror attacks in 1994 and 1995 produced discrimination against women is illegal. demonstrations to express their The Commission also blamed inflammatory severe polarization between Israelis on In advance of her conscription, Miller, a disappointment with the political process statements by leaders of the Arab-Israeli the right and Israelis on the left. Right wing member of the academic reserve, had and anger over the visit to the Temple community for fanning the flames of opponents of the government blamed its asked to be considered for admission to the Mount by the then-leader of the Likud violence. It recommended major efforts to policies for exposing Israel to terrorism elite pilot’s course. Her request was denied opposition, . Over a span of reduce the disparities between the Jewish 10 and endangering the state’s existence. 010 on the grounds that standing orders barred ten days there were violent protests in and Arab sectors. The publication of the 11 They launched an aggressive public women from combat roles. With assistance which twelve Israeli Arab citizens were Commission’s report, along with the High campaign, claiming that the Government form the Association for Civil Rights and the killed by police gunfire. A State Commission Court’s ruling in 2000 that the policy of had forfeited its legitimacy. At some of these Israel Women’s Network, Miller petitioned of Inquiry, headed by Supreme Court leasing State land exclusively to Jews was protests, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was the High Court. The Court ruled in her Justice Theodore Orr, was appointed to discriminatory and illegal, contributed denounced as a “traitor.” The campaign of favor on the basis of the Basic Law: Human look into these events and their causes. Its to ongoing efforts to reduce inequality incitement against Rabin reached a new Dignity and Liberty, enacted in 1992, arguing report (published in 2003) stated that the between the state’s Arab and Jewish high in the autumn of 1995, after the signing that “human dignity” includes the right to violence had erupted in part as a result citizens. of the “Oslo 2” agreement. On November equal treatment. The ruling paved the way 4th, at the conclusion of a peace rally in for women to serve in many positions from what was then called Kings of Israel Square which they had previously been barred. In in Tel Aviv, Rabin was shot dead by a Jewish 2000, the law was amended to stipulate that assassin. The assassination traumatized the every woman has an equal right to serve in nation, and served as an illustration of the any position in the Israel Defense Forces, danger of civil strife and the importance of unless a concrete limitation is justified by unifying around core values. the nature of the position. 2005 2011 2013 2015 The Disengagement The Social Protests The Funeral of The Tribes of Israel Ovadiah Yossef Speech Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to The summer of 2011 was dominated by evacuate all the Israeli settlements in the a series of demonstrations across the Rabbi Ovadiah Yossef’s funeral, the largest In a landmark speech to the nation, Gaza Strip and a handful of settlements country. The social protests, which began on in the country’s history, came to be called President warned that in northern Samaria. The plan was Facebook, focused on the exorbitant level of the “Million-Man Funeral.” Rabbi Yossef was demographic trends and deepening social implemented in August-September 2005, rents and the high cost of living in general. the preeminent Sephardi religious authority divides were causing Israeli society to after a heated political debate. The fierce Protesters erected hundreds of tents on of his generation. He had served as Chief disintegrate into four separate tribes: the public protests against the plan raised Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, and then Rabbi of Israel and was the founder and ultra-Orthodox, the Arabs, the National fears of civil war. There were also concerns in other towns as well. In response, the spiritual mentor of the Shas party. His death Religious, and secular Jews. Rivlin called that soldiers affiliated with the National Government appointed the Trajtenberg was a major blow to many. on Israelis to build a unified society on the Religious camp would refuse to follow Committee to study the situation and The funeral attracted mourners from all basis of equality, respect for human dignity, orders. Nevertheless, the plan was carried propose ways to address the protesters’ sectors of Jewish-Israeli society—including and a shared sense of responsibility. out smoothly and without major incidents of 12 economic demands, especially the high ultra-Orthodox, National Religious, and 13 violence or insubordination. cost of living in Israel, and the expanding traditional Jews. social gaps. Some view the protests as an important turning point in the public mood: after a long period of apathy and escapism, the demonstrations expressed a renewed belief in the average citizen’s ability to influence public affairs. Select passages from the Declaration of Independence followed by quotes from eminent Jewish and Israeli leaders

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"There is one place in the world to which we never flee or immigrate, but to which we come home: the Land of Israel" Hanna Szenes

"My heart is in the east, and I in the uttermost west— How can I find savor in food? How shall it be sweet to me? How shall I render my vows and my bonds, while yet Zion lies beneath the fetter of Edom, and I in Arab chains?"

R. Judah Halevy (trans. Nina Salaman) EQUAL FULL AND EQUAL SOCIAL AND CITIZENSHIP We appeal—in the very midst of the POLITICAL onslaught launched against us now for months—to the Arab inhabitants of the It will be based on freedom, State of Israel to preserve peace and RIGHTS justice and peace as envisaged by participate in the upbuilding of the State the prophets of Israel By virtue of our natural and historic right It will ensure complete equality of on the basis of full and equal citizenship social and political rights to all its … [we] hereby declare the establishment inhabitants irrespective of religion, of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel …until the establishment of the It will be faithful to the principles race or sex; it will guarantee freedom We will set this on our hearts and purge "Fate has decreed that the two peoples elected, regular authorities of of the United Nations Charter " live here together. That being the case, we of religion, conscience, language, ourselves of the demon of denunciation and The Jewish nation is not only a national the State, in accordance with the education and culture division, as well as the hatred of the Torah " must transform this decree into constructive, Constitution which shall be adopted I believe, too, that there is nothing in and political unit; it embodies a spiritual- " and its laws, and clothe ourselves in the fruitful, and productive coexistence." by the Elected Constituent Assembly 16 our movement that allows room for the ethical will and has carried a historical attribute of supreme and faithful love that Yitzhak Navon If we had a Jewish majority in the country, assumption that we ostensibly desire vision ever since it appeared on the stage " the Torah enjoined us to display for all our the first thing we would do here is to establish foolishly to be arrogant or to separate of history." The day will come that our people brethren who are among us, as is written: " a situation of total, absolute, and complete ourselves in a hostile manner from the rest David Ben-Gurion It is possible for us to live together elects a government that will keep the first “You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I " equality of rights, with no exceptions of civilized humanity. On the contrary, we and coexist, despite everything, promise that was made to the people when am the Lord.” (Lev. 19:18). And with this same whatsoever: whether Jew or Arab, […] there is have always clearly emphasized that we see despite all the history." the state was born; namely, the election attribute we will also love the stranger in no difference before the law." our future existence as based on the unity THE Emile Habibi of a constituent assembly whose principal our midst, as is written: “The stranger who of all peoples and that we want to work task, in every country that has been reborn, Ze’ev Jabotinsky resides with you shall be to you as one of towards this unity. It follows that the Zionist is to grant the people a constitution that your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, INGATHERING idea does not reject the humane concepts of guarantees the liberty of the citizen and for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: The State of Israel will be open for Jewish love for all humankind; it includes them." OF THE the liberty of the entire people." “I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:34)." EXILES immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles Benjamin Ze’ev Herzl Menachem Begin Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel "Each and every one of us who had the privilege of being present at this event…cannot avoid sensing the unity of the Jewish people and the indestructible link between the reborn State of Israel and the People of Israel." The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) is an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy. IDI works to bolster the values and institutions of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. A non-partisan think-and-do tank, the institute harnesses rigorous applied research to influence policy, legislation and public opinion. The institute partners with political leaders, policymakers, and representatives of civil society to improve the functioning of the government and its institutions, confront security threats while preserving civil liberties, and foster solidarity within Israeli society. 019

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