ISRAEL’S CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE (REMOTE)

When the State of Israel was established in 1948, its founders declared that it would “be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel,” ensuring “complete equality of social and political rights” and guaranteeing basic freedoms. These statements have been the basis for the ongoing commitment to keeping Israel both democratic and Jewish. Yet, the balance between these values has increasingly been challenged, culminating in the crisis of democracy facing the country today. This course reviews the various approaches to Israeli democracy and surveys the evolution of the judiciary, which has become the center of the ideological battle over the future of Israel’s democracy and provides tools for understanding the current crisis.