Israeli Society Today Raphael Cohen-Almagor 11/23/2018 Israeli Society Today Raphael Cohen-Almagor First Annual Tel Aviv University Workshop on the Arab-Israeli Conflict 25 June 2006 November 23, 2018

Preliminaries Israel was established as a Jewish democracy 11/23/2018 Preliminaries Israel was established as a Jewish democracy Based on Liberal-Democratic values AND Jewish values November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Preliminaries Israel is a young democracy. It is still in process of development and undoubtedly it will face further tests. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Preliminaries The key factor for its success is its relationships with our neighbours. Security expenses exhausts a third of our budget, leaving insufficient resources for the development of other spheres. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Preliminaries The constant security threat destroys the tourism industry and preempts external investments essential for economic growth. Unemployment continues to be significant. Salaries going down in real terms. Welfare benefits are cut. November 23, 2018

Preliminaries Taxes are high and continue to rise. 11/23/2018 Preliminaries Taxes are high and continue to rise. Israel has the highest tax rate in the world, outside Scandinavia. High-tech industries, one of the country's strengths, experience what the rest of the world is experiencing. The only business that is flourishing is security. Stroll the streets and see soldiers, policemen, and personnel of many security operations. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Preliminaries November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Preliminaries People are worried about their physical security as well as about their economic security. About 70% of the population claims their expenses outweigh their earnings. About 25% of the population are below the poverty line. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Preliminaries No natural resources: no gold, no silver, no diamonds, no oil Lecture in South Africa “All this mess for face cream?” November 23, 2018

Preliminaries Our greatest asset is education 11/23/2018 Preliminaries Our greatest asset is education But it is not in the government’s priorities 20% cut in universities’ budget since 2001 November 23, 2018

Preliminaries Almost no new hiring 11/23/2018 Preliminaries Almost no new hiring Israelis study in the finest universities in the world, including yours, and then cannot find a job in their home country November 23, 2018

Preliminaries What is the good state? 11/23/2018 Preliminaries What is the good state? In a nutshell: A place where you wish your children grow up Israel is in problem in this regard: more than 900,000 Israelis left the country and live abroad November 23, 2018

Preliminaries Many because of the hardship of life 11/23/2018 Preliminaries Many because of the hardship of life Others because they cannot find a job Our best of people: engineers, physicians, high-tech, academic emigrated from Israel November 23, 2018

Arguments I argue for seperation between state and religion 11/23/2018 November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Arguments I argue for accommodating the interests of the Israeli-Palestinians, striving to safeguard equal rights and liberties for all citizens notwithstanding nationality, religion, race or colour, and insisting that citizens have also duties to fulfil. November 23, 2018

Arguments I argue for ending the occupation 11/23/2018 Arguments I argue for ending the occupation I argue for strengthening democratic values November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Arguments The most basic norms democracy has to secure are respecting others as human beings, and not to inflicting harm upon others. November 23, 2018

Society’s Profile No shared raison d'être 11/23/2018 Society’s Profile No shared raison d'être 20% wish to transform democracy into theocracy 20% do not endorse the Zionist ethos 20% of the population are immigrants from the former Soviet Union where no democracy existed November 23, 2018

Main Schisms Between Jews and Arabs 11/23/2018 Main Schisms Between Jews and Arabs Between secular and religious people Between Israel and the Occupied Territories November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Questions Can a liberal democracy allow minority groups to restrict the individual rights of society at large? November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Questions Can a liberal democracy allow minority groups to restrict the individual rights of their members, or should it insist that all groups uphold liberal principles? November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Live and Let Live We need to differentiate between the symbolic aspects and the modus operandi aspects. As far as the latter are concerned, separation between state and religion should be achieved. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Religion and State If an illiberal minority is seeking to oppress other groups, then most liberals would agree that intervention is justified in the name of self-defence and liberty November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Religion and State The secular majority in Israel has every right to object to attempts which aim at narrowing its freedom of conscience and to broaden the authority of religious orthodoxy. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Religion and State Democracy is supposed to allow each and every individual the opportunity to follow her or his conception of the good without coercion. Israel today gives precedence to Judaism over liberalism. I submit that on issues such as this one, the reverse should be the case. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Religion and State Israel, being the only Jewish state in the world, should strive to retain its Jewish character. The symbols should remain Jewish with some accommodations in order to make the state a home for its Palestinian citizens as well. Shabbat should remain the official day of rest. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Religion and State Palestinian villages and towns may make Friday their day of rest. Hopefully, one day, when security considerations would become less dominant and pressing, and the Israeli economy could afford two days of rest, as is the case in many parts of the world, then Friday and Shabbat will become the two official days of rest. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Religion and State while Shabbat should be observed, malls and shopping places outside the cities should be available for the many people who work during the week and do their shopping during weekends. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Religion and State Public transportation should be made available for all people who cannot afford having a car and for those who do not drive. The state should cater for the needs of as many citizens as possible. November 23, 2018

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11/23/2018 Religion and State Kosher shops and restaurants should be available and with them non-Kosher shops and restaurants for the secular, agnostic population. November 23, 2018

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11/23/2018 Religion and State Most importantly, the significant events in one's life: birth, wedding, divorce and death should be handled in accordance of the people's own choices. November 23, 2018

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11/23/2018 Religion and State If they so desire, people may involve rabbinate and other religious institutions in their private lives. But this option should be left to them. If people wish to have secular ceremonies then they should have the ability to conduct them and not to be forced to undergo practices which mean very little to them, if anything. The state should have as little as possible say in family, intimate affairs. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Religion and State Along Hevra Kadisha secular burial services should be offered. People need not travel outside the country to marry in civil marriage. 10% of the population are gay/lesbian. The liberal state should address their needs as well and allow them to marry as they see fit. November 23, 2018

inter-group relationships v. intra-group relationships 11/23/2018 inter-group relationships v. intra-group relationships One group has no right to coerce the entire society into following its conception of the good and abiding by its cultural norms. November 23, 2018

Internalized Coercion Vs. Designated Coercion 11/23/2018 Internalized Coercion Vs. Designated Coercion Unlike the internalized coercion, designated coercion is not concerned with a machinery aiming to convince the entire cultural group of an irrefutable truth November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Exit right The power of religious communities over their own members must be restricted so that individuals could freely and effectively exercise exit capacity November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Ufff… November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Stretching November 23, 2018

The Declaration of Independence 11/23/2018 The Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence holds that Israel will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; that it will be based on the foundations of liberty, justice and peace; November 23, 2018November 23, 2018

The Declaration of Independence 11/23/2018 The Declaration of Independence that it will uphold complete equality of social and political rights to all of its citizens irrespective of religion, race or sex, and that it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture. November 23, 2018November 23, 2018

Israeli-Palestinians 11/23/2018 Israeli-Palestinians Formal v. Full Citizenship Discrimination Racism November 23, 2018November 23, 2018

Israeli-Palestinians 11/23/2018 Israeli-Palestinians Arabic is one of the two official languages of the State of Israel. Therefore it should enjoy a dominant status and have the importance it deserves. Arabic should be taught at every primary and high school together with English. November 23, 2018November 23, 2018

Israeli-Palestinians 11/23/2018 Israeli-Palestinians Studies of all religions that exist in Israel should be made available. November 23, 2018November 23, 2018

Israeli-Palestinians 11/23/2018 Israeli-Palestinians Delegates of the Arab minority should be represented, in accordance with their size in society, in the Knesset and in the government. November 23, 2018November 23, 2018

Israeli-Palestinians 11/23/2018 Israeli-Palestinians To date, there has never been an Arab minister. This should be corrected. At the same time, Israel would like to see from all its citizens, without exception, a real and strong commitment to the state, to peace, and to the struggle against terror. November 23, 2018November 23, 2018

Israeli-Palestinians 11/23/2018 Israeli-Palestinians Guaranteeing representation for a minority Devolving power to local levels in just ways by just means November 23, 2018November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Duties Large sectors, mainly the ultra-orthodox, do not pay taxes, do not serve in the army, do not work; yet, they receive state support allowing them to study torah. Resources should be distributed equally to all sectors. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Duties Every citizen is expected to pay in accordance with his/her abilities. Israel should sponsor religious studies to the same extent that it supports university and other forms of high education. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Army/National Duty Citizens who have a problem in serving the army for religious, moral or national reasons should commit themselves to do national service for the required period of time (presently three years for men; two years for women) in their own communities, working to better the conditions of their own group. Army service – pretext for discrimination November 23, 2018

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Occupied Territories Ending the occuption 11/23/2018 Occupied Territories Ending the occuption Withdrawing settlements and the IDF Two state solution 1967 Borders The Fence November 23, 2018

Occupied Territories Ending terrorism and Qassam missiles 11/23/2018 Occupied Territories Ending terrorism and Qassam missiles The Right of Return The refugee problem Jerusalem November 23, 2018

Conclusions The severity of rights violations within the communities; 11/23/2018 Conclusions Relevant factors: The severity of rights violations within the communities; The extent to which formalized dispute resolution mechanisms exist within the community; November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Conclusions The extent to which these mechanisms are seen as legitimate by group members; The ability of dissenting group members to leave the community if they so desire; November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Conclusions The existence of historical agreements which base the national minority’s claim for some sort of autonomy November 23, 2018

Problems No shared raison d'être Many schisms 11/23/2018 Problems No shared raison d'être Many schisms Not-so-friendly neighbours Terror November 23, 2018

Problems Shaky economy 11/23/2018 Problems Shaky economy Problematic election system that bring about unstable Knesset and corruption Culture in which generals are heavily involved in politics during and after service November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Problems Racism Some thirty percent of Israeli citizenry wish to transform democracy into "a government based on strong hand", limit free expression and freedom of the press so as to have "better control". November 23, 2018

Remedies Every student of history needs to worry 11/23/2018 Remedies Every student of history needs to worry Strive for peace with Syria and Lebanon Modify election system – Germany November 23, 2018

Remedies Need to strengthen the democratic foundations 11/23/2018 Remedies Need to strengthen the democratic foundations Promote Civic Culture Education: There is no democratic education in Israel November 23, 2018

Center for Democratic Studies 11/23/2018 Center for Democratic Studies http://cds.haifa.ac.il/ November 23, 2018

Center for Democratic Studies 11/23/2018 Center for Democratic Studies The aim of The Haifa Center for Democratic Studies is to promote awareness and understanding of civic culture in democracy. Recognizing the growing need to secure the foundations of democracy and to facilitate conditions for pluralism, the Center establishes a national and international forum for deliberation and discussion. November 23, 2018

Center for Democratic Studies 11/23/2018 Center for Democratic Studies The Center aims to increase public awareness of liberal democratic values: liberty, tolerance, justice, equality and peace Focus is on the role of ethics and justice in all spheres of public life: politics; economy; culture; academy; business; law; media and medicine. November 23, 2018

Center for Democratic Studies 11/23/2018 Center for Democratic Studies Strengthening of active participation in public life, professional ethics, accountability for one’s actions, multiculturalism, diversity, and civic equality The Center also focuses attention upon abuse of power and violation of basic human rights. It will encourage open debate on the vital importance of freedom of expression, in its broad sense, in democratic life. http://cds.haifa.ac.il/ November 23, 2018

Center for Democratic Studies 11/23/2018 Center for Democratic Studies On this front the Center sees an urgent need for education on all levels: primary schools, high schools and universities. Develop a broad curriculum of recent history and civics, empowering civic education. November 23, 2018

11/23/2018 Thank you November 23, 2018