Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/256529 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
SWP Comment No. 41/2018
Publisher: 
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), Berlin
Abstract: 
On 19 July 2018, the Israeli parliament passed legislation known as the nation-state law. It is highly controversial in Israel as well as internationally, although strictly speaking there is little new contained in it. Its advocates emphasise that it merely gives expression to existing realities. Critics argue that the law discriminates against minorities, runs counter to democratic values and, in particular, undermines the principle of equality. The debate reveals the social tension in Israel between its 'Jewish' and 'democratic' identity. In addition, it becomes clear that the main supporters of the law on the government side have more far-reaching intentions than its wording suggests. Their aim is to place Jewish collective rights above individual rights and freedoms. The law is, therefore, also a manifestation of current government policy aimed at leading Israel away from a more liberal democracy and towards a majoritarian democracy. In particular, this policy affects the Supreme Court as a defender of liberal principlest..
Document Type: 
Research Report

Files in This Item:
File
Size
302.6 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.