Gavison-Medan New Social Covenant on Religion and State Issues
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The "status quo" arrangement underpinning relations between the religiously observant and secular in Israel has begun to lose its force in recent years. Religious-secular tensions, as a consequence, have intensified, as various groups strive to impose their political will in order to achieve a decisive victory.
The raison d'etre of the Gavison-Medan Covenant is that relations among Israeli Jews should be based on consensual agreement. The Covenant's authors, Professor Ruth Gavison and Rabbi Yacov Medan, rooted in divergent ideological worlds, succeeded after three years of dedicated effort to formulate understandings that hold the possibility of gaining the acceptance of the Israeli Jewish public. The authors were guided in their work by the principle that each side should stand by what it considers absolutely essential to its existence, but should be willing to make concessions on less essential principles for the sake of mutual agreement.
The Covenant's power and importance derives also from being a detailed social compact that proposes solutions for all of the religion-state issues currently under debate: citizenship and the right of return, the Sabbath, marriage and divorce, burial, religious councils, and other topics. The authors' efforts have produced a comprehensive and exhaustive document that can serve as a starting point for any consensual resolution of religion-state controversies.
Please find attached the shorter version of "The Gavison-Medan Covenant: Main Points and Principles", written by Yoav Artzieli under the guidance of the Covenant's authors, in English language PDF format. The document was published under the auspices of the AVI CHAI Foundation and the Israel Democracy Institute. The PDF file of the shorter version can also be downloaded in Russian. The full version is only available in Hebrew.
The Gavison-Medan Covenant - Main Points and Principles.pdf - The Gavison-Medan Covenant - Main Points and Principles