Dignity, Equality, and the Rights of Cultural Minorities: Lessons from Israel
37 Pages Posted: 9 Oct 2011
Date Written: October 7, 2011
Abstract
The question whether and how the law should accommodate cultural differences stands at the center of an ongoing debate among legal and political theorists. The debate regarding the treatment of cultural minorities is often framed in terms of equality. Some argue that recognition of group-based cultural rights is needed in order to ensure the equal treatment of cultural minorities and their members, while others claim that the recognition of cultural rights contradicts liberal principles of individualism and neutrality and that a genuine commitment to a principle of individual equality should suffice to solve most of the challenges that members of cultural minorities face.
This article that a paradigm of equality is, in certain situations, ineffective in addressing the issue of cultural rights. Drawing on the case of the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel, I argue that in such situations, examining claims for cultural rights under a paradigm of dignity may offer both a better understanding of the rights and interests at stake as well as guidelines for resolving culture-based conflicts. I examine the understanding of the concept of human dignity in moral and legal discourse and the disputes between scholars on the meaning and interpretation of the concept of human dignity. I focus on the narrow, agreed-upon core of the concept of human dignity according to which the right to human dignity is understood as protection against humiliation. I then propose a culture sensitive, relational understanding of humiliation, under which determining whether a particular act constitutes humiliation requires examining the entire relationship between the parties involved. I conclude by demonstrating the application of a culture-sensitive, relational concept of dignity to a number of controversies revolving around the rights of the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel.
Keywords: Human Dignity, Equality, Cultural Rights, Cultural Minorities, Multiculturalism, Israel, Divided Societies, Humuliation
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