Democracy and Judaism - Between Conceptual Analysis and Public Discourse

Abstract

I view with mixed feelings the fact that in the years 1992-1994, the expression 'a Jewish and democratic state' was incorporated into the Basic Laws of Israel. On one hand, there is no question that this encouraged public discourse on the coherence of the combination and its desirability. On the other hand, it thrust the legal and judicial dimension of the debate into the forefront of all discussion. In my opinion this is unfortunate, for both discourse and jurisprudence. The prominence of this judicial sphere in this matter is part of a larger process at work in Israel, wherein the law is being perceived as a vehicle of solving problems that are not in their essence legal matters. In general, when an institution, no matter how prestigious, is called upon to solve problems that it cannot solve, either in principles of the reasons of absence of institutional competence, two problems may arise. First, the problem will not be resolved adequately. Second, the institution charged with this "mission impossible" is also impaired. I fear that both these pitfalls apply to the problem in hand.