Israeli Democracy Pavilion Brochure
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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 Israel. 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 Land of Israel. 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 Knesset 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 Tel Aviv and declared the establishment of army—the Israel Defense Forces. 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. Menachem Begin, 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 Moshe Dayan—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 Yitzhak Rabin. 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/Alignment), the Likud party, led Anwar Sadat 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.