Constitution for Israel?
"Israel is a country where constitutional debates center not on the questions whether it should have a constitution and what should be in it but on whether it has one. This undesirable and anomalous situation results from the fact that constitutio...
The Sixteenth Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee Sitting as The Committee for the Preparation of a Constitution by Broad Consensus - Proposals for a Constitution
A Constitution, particularly its preamble, are supposed to be a declaration of the “I believe” and the identity of the society the Constitution is supposed to form or to serve. Constitutions are supposed to strengthen civil unity by creating a com...
All constitutions seek to enable government, structure its powers and limit them. To do this effectively, constitutions must enjoy a legitimacy which is broader and deeper than that enjoyed by any specific organ of government or any specific polic...
MKs hear proposals on changing lyrics to national anthem
The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in the past month debated a number of proposals to change the lyrics to the national anthem so that it will also apply to non-Jewish citizens of Israel, particularly the state's Arab citizens. Th...
An Anthem for All Nationals
In the future, will the national anthem "Hatikva" include the line "nefesh Yisraeli homia" (the Israeli soul is aflutter) instead of "nefesh Yehudi homia" (the Jewish heart is aflutter)? It will if the Knesset accepts the proposal discussed last w...
The controversy over Israel's Bill of Rights*
Israel is among the few countries in the world that do not have a formal, written Constitution or an entrenched Bill of Rights. The question of whether Israel should have an entrenched Bill of Rights has always been shrouded in controversy, center...
The Israeli Constitutional Process: Legislative Ambivalence and Judicial Resolute Drive
The paper analyses the development of the constitutional process in Israel since 1950, and especially since the 1992 basic laws. It argues that this process should be viewed within a frameworks distinguishing between three stages of constitution-m...
The Israeli Constitutional Process: Legislative Ambivalence and Judicial Resolute Drive
In most constitutional regimes, legislatures as well as other constitutional powers operate under and within an agreed-upon constitution. Often, they are established by it and gain their legitimacy and stability, to a large extent, from it. The co...
Hamilton, Madison and Jay in Jerusalem
An article describing the international conference on the Federalist papers held in Jerusalem in february 2002 and Gavison's concluding speech on a constitution for Israel. Gavison wrote (with Allan S. Shapiro) the introduiction to the Hebrew tr...
Israel Ponders Constitution With Head Throbbing
For 52 years, Israel has avoided drafting a constitution for fear of provoking a civil war between secular and religious Jews. But when Prime Minister Ehud Barak returned empty-handed from his latest frustrations with the peace effort, he switched...