Judaism and Rechtsstaat

Résumé du document

The modern political philosophy, influenced by the Enlightenment and the ideal of individual liberty developed by Locke, considers that the political sphere must be independent from the religious sphere. In Israel, this separation between the State and the religion is not so clear. The Israel's declaration of independence explicitly defines Israel as "a Jewish state in the land of Israel". The religious and racial criteria are used in order to define Israel's identity. But, if Israel is a Jewish state, it cannot be a democratic one because a state employing racial criteria would be undeniably exclusive and a state based on religious principles would be by definition theocratic. According to Hans Kelsen, a country cannot be a liberal democracy without being a Rechtsstaat which literally means a "rule of law state "or "constitutional state".

Extraits

[...] In Israel, this separation between the State and the religion is not so clear. The Israel's declaration of independence explicitly defines Israel as a Jewish state in the land of Israel”. The religious and racial criteria's are used in order to define Israel's identity. But, if Israel is a Jewish state, it cannot be a democratic one because a state employing racial criteria would be undeniably exclusivist and a state based on religious principles would be by definition theocratic. According to Hans Kelsen, a country cannot be a liberal democracy without being a Rechtsstaat which literally means a “rule of law state or “constitutional state”. [...]

[...] Religious parties generally make modest demands and tend to focus on narrow interests. Increasingly, pragmatism in pursuing political aims seems to characterize the leadership of all the religious parties. Particularism and rivalry among them, considerably intensified by political involvement, threatens the capacity for common action. Actually, an appearance of greater religiosity is the growth of what has been labelled a new “civil religion” in Israel, in which traditional religious symbols assume an increasing importance in public life. The appropriation and secularization of religious elements as part of national identity. [...]

[...] On the contrary, the Halakha reinforces the Rechsstaat. Following Rousseau's philosophy, a state needs to have fundamental values. Therefore a religion. “Where there is no religion, there can't be a state” said Bakounine. Religion allows national unity. The Zionist compromise is actually a brilliant idea because it's always better to fight with a movement inside the system with legalist means than to fight with a mouvement outside the system. It is possible to control the movement and, sometimes, to convert it to the great values of the democracy. [...]

[...] Actually, Israel doesn't have a single state religion. Judaism is only one of the fourtheen established and state-supported religions (with Islam, Baha'i, the Druze faith and ten Christian denominations). Justice minister Daniel Friedmann intends to object to the initiative of the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee to introduce a constitution if it includes a compromise on matters of religion and state. Under the proposed compromise, religious legislation would be protected from invalidation by the Court and would not be subject to constitutional principles such as the principle of equality. [...]

[...] Démocratie et démocratisations hors d'Occident, Karthala For instance, though religious delegates to the first Zionist congress in 1897 were a small minority, Theodor Herzl made an important gesture in their direction by attending service at a Basel synagogue on the Sabbath before the Congress opened. Dowty Alan, The Jewish State. A century later, University of California Press Agudat Yisrael joined the government in 1948 until 1952 when Agudat left over the issue of military conscription of women. Dowty Alan, The Jewish State. [...]