Background on Key Issues

Palestinian Statehood

Once a hot-button topic supported by the extreme left, the notion of a Palestinian state has gradually gained acceptance since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. This acceptance culminated with former Prime Minister’s Ariel Sharon's recognition of the Road Map peace plan which explicitly calls for the creation of a Palestinian state. The acceptance of a Palestinian state was advanced farther by the Sharon led Disengagement from Gaza and Northern Shomron which is the first physical step on the road to a Palestinian state. Today, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks openly and plainly about a Palestinian state and has supported plans to disengage from more territory in the West Bank to make a Palestinian state possible.

The idea of creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel is not new. The idea - basically that of partitioning western British Mandatory Palestine into an Arab and Jewish State - was first proposed in 1937 by the Peel Commission. On November 29, 1947 the UN voted to accept a similar partition plan to replace British colonialist rule of the area. Representatives of the Jewish population in Mandatory Palestine accepted the partition, paving the way for Israel's establishment. The Arabs rejected the plan, and launched a failed bid to "unify" Palestine by crushing the fledging Jewish State in a military campaign that started as the Brits set sail for England on May 14, 1948.

Nevertheless, from 1948 - 1967 most of the land set aside by the UN partition plan for an Arab state was ruled by Jordan (Judea, Samaria - or the "West Bank" of the Jordan River) and Egypt (Gaza Strip). These countries never attempted to honor the UN plan by initiating Palestinian sovereignty in the areas. Instead they incorporated them into their respective countries.

When, in 1967, Israel captured these areas from the Jordan and Egypt in a defensive war, Israelis believed they would be able to negotiate a settlement with the Arab countries in exchange for returning captured areas. However, the Arab response to the crushing defeat was the infamous "Three No's" of the Arab League Conference in Khartoum: "No peace with Israel; No negotiations with Israel; No recognition of Israel."

After fighting existential wars twice within 19 years, Israelis understood that any future peace agreements with the Arab states would have to take into consideration the Jewish State's security needs. Those needs - which have been validated over the past years of violence - call for changes to the 1948 armistice line (the so-called "green line"), which left Israel particularly vulnerable to attack and destruction.

The Arab League’s outright rejection of Israeli peace overtures in the aftermath of the Six-Day War, coupled with Israeli security needs and political aspirations led to the establishment of Israeli communities in the captured territory by both right and left wing governments. Today, these communities are alternatively viewed as obstacles to the creation of a Palestinian State, bargaining "chips" on the way to the creation of such a state or physical barriers to further attempts at Israel's destruction.

The 1993 Oslo Accords jolted Israeli society by recognizing the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and granting this organization the land and military wherewithal to implement self-rule. In practice, it also re-introduced the idea of "partition" as Oslo's architects increasingly spoke of Palestinian statehood as the ultimate outcome of the process.

Ironically, in response to Ehud Barak's offer of a Palestinian state at the 2000 Camp David negotiations, Yasser Arafat launched a war of terror against Israel that undermined much, if not all, of Oslo's potential.

In the midst of Arafat's terror war, Ariel Sharon rose to power on the strength of his security background with the promise of ending terror with a firm hand. Under Sharon's leadership, Israel disproved the long-held belief that there 'was no military solution to terror' and the IDF has been successful in reducing terror to a limited level.

Despite his success in fighting terror Sharon publicly proclaimed that there was no partner for peace and set out on a path of unilateralism. His goal was to consolidate Israeli lines and improve Israel's demographics by removing Israeli communities from hard to protect areas - a policy known as Disengagement that was implemented in August 2005.

Ehud Olmert followed in his predecessor’s footsteps by openly espousing his support for a Palestinian state and for further disengagements. Olmert stated that he wished to cede territory to a Palestinian ‘partner’ but when Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, now led by Hamas, showed no willingness to negotiate, Olmert planned to withdraw further from the West Bank unilaterally. Subsequently, the Lebanon War coupled with Hamas’ obstinacy and violence meant that Olmert could not fulfil any of his earlier promises.

The Peace Process

Achieving peace with neighboring states has been as goal of Israel since its inception as witnessed by Israel's Declaration of Independence that reads: "We extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East."

However the process of achieving "good neighborliness" has not been easy. Only after vicious and painful wars in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973 did Egypt sue for peace. Syria, under father Hafez Assad and son Bashar, has failed to show a willingness to seriously address Israeli security concerns. Instead that state actively agitates by send Syrian backed emissaries from Lebanon to attack Israel's northern border. The Oslo process was supposed to pay a "peace dividend" of Arab countries normalizing relations with Israel. Only one, Jordan, fully took advantage of the opportunity before Oslo disintegrated.

Despite limited success, making peace and the managing the peace process are the focus of most campaign rhetoric on both sides of the political spectrum. Following are key milestones in the peace process, each of which have left legacies that reverberate in the current election campaign.

November 1977 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat Visits Israel

This unimaginable act - an Arab head of state visiting Israel - paved the way for the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement signed on March 26, 1979 between Sadat and Likud Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The agreement stipulated that the "stat e of war between the Parties will be terminated and peace will be established between them" and "Israel will withdraw all its armed forces and civilians from the Sinai," captured from Egypt in the 1967 Six-Day War.

As a result, Begin instructed Defense Minister Ariel Sharon to evacuate civilians and dismantle the Israeli communities established in the Sinai during Israel's rule. Neither Begin nor Sharon wanted Israel's willingness to return the entire Sinai Peninsula and uproot settlements there to become a precedent for future peace agreements. Yet, undoubtedly this enactment of "land for peace" influenced the expectations of all other parties - from Syria to the Palestinians.

October 1991 - The Madrid Peace Conference

Following George Bush Sr.'s Gulf War, a peace conference in Madrid inaugurated direct peace talks between Israel and her immediate Arab neighbors for the first time in history. The conference spawned bilateral negotiations between Israel and Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinians, as well as multilateral talks on key regional issues. While the talks with the three Arab states were aimed at achieving peace treaties, the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians were based on a two-stage formula: 5-year interim self-government arrangements, to be followed by negotiations on the permanent status issues. To date, these negotiations have resulted in a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, and a series of interim agreements with the Palestinians.

September 1993 - Israel - PLO Mutual Recognition

Like Sadat's visit, Israel - PLO mutual recognition was an unimaginable act that jolted Israel and sent shockwaves throughout the world. Following intense behind-the-scenes contacts between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Oslo, an agreement was achieved between Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. On September 9, 1993, Chairman Arafat sent a letter to Prime Minister Rabin, in which he stated unequivocally that the PLO:

As it is well known, the Oslo Accords, as the Israeli-Palestinian interim agreements are known, have failed to deliver peace. Although explanations abound, from the Israeli perspective, the primary reasons cited for its collapse are the Palestinian insistence on a "right of return" coupled with intensification of Palestinian terror throughout the entire process. Both are viewed as fundamental breeches of the agreement inasmuch as they challenge Israel's existence and security, respectively.

October 1994 - Peace Treaty Between Jordan and Israel

For a change, this peace agreement came as no real surprise. Jordan and Israel had discreet ties for years after the Six-Day War. Aside from sharing a long border, Israel and Jordan both wanted to afford the Palestinian population in both countries relative freedom of movement. Even though technically at war, Israel and Jordan maintained an "open bridges" policy allowing people and goods across the border. Although this peace agreement is viewed as an achievement of the Madrid framework, it was implemented only after the Oslo Accords were operable. Despite some ups and downs in the last twelve years, the peace between Israel and Jordan has proven to be a positive development for both countries. While anti-Israel sentiment still exists in Jordanian society, business ties and government cooperation have generally remained strong.

April 2003 - The Road Map to Peace

The performance based, Road Map, sponsored by the Quartet (the US, the UN, the EU and Russia) was hailed as the last step that would lead to peace between Israel and the Arabs by 2005-clearly a time-line that has not been met. The basic premise is that a two-state solution to the conflict will only be achieved through an end to violence, when the Palestinian people have a leadership acting decisively against terror and willing and able to build a practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty, and through Israel's readiness to do what is necessary for a democratic Palestinian state to be established, and a clear, unambiguous acceptance by both parties of the goal of a negotiated settlement as described in the plan. The three phases of the plan are:

  1. Fighting Terrorism

  2. Palestinian State with Provisional Borders

  3. International Conference with negotiations of permanent status issues

However, as a performance-based plan, progress is dependent upon the good faith efforts of the parties, and their compliance with each of the obligations outlined in the plan. Since the Palestinian Authority never moved to fight the terrorists within its population, the plan never moved forward. When Israel introduced the Disengagement plan back in December of 2003, the Road Map was basically suspended until after Disengagement's implementation in August 2005. By September 2005, there was renewed talk of resuming progress towards the goals of the Road Map. However, in light of the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections, there is no consensus in Israel or among the parties of the Quartet on how to move forward.

In 2006, Ehud Olmert ran on a platform to achieve a settlement with the Palestinians. Olmert and his party Kadima, wished to give the Palestinians a chance to negotiate further Israeli withdrawals. The Palestinian ‘partner’ never materialised and Olmert was forced to concentrate on other issues, notably the Second Lebanon War.

Seeing that there was an impasse in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the Arab League endorsed a Saudi Arabian plan for peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The plan calls for a return to the pre-1967 borders in return for peace and recognition by the Arab League. This proposal which was first espoused in 2002, met with conflicting responses from the Israeli political spectrum.

Most Israelis were nervous about the wording on the possible return of Palestinian refugees, which Israelis from across the political spectrum see as an end to the Jewish State. Many Israeli leaders were unhappy that this plan set its parameters as the unequivocal starting point of negotiations, which left many Israelis wondering what else they could offer. However, Prime Minister Olmert felt that the plan was of interest to Israel as it offered recognition to Israel and even a place at the negotiating table with states that had previously denied its existence. Olmert has invited all Arab leaders to come to Jerusalem to discuss the peace proposal to the Israelis.

Iran

As a documented state sponsor of terrorism for years, Iran has long-been on the radar of the Israeli security services and government officials as a threat to the security of the State. However, the election of conservative President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in August of 2005 and Iran's continued insistence on pursuing nuclear capabilities has brought Iran to the fore of Israeli and international consciousness as an existential threat to Israel's existence and world peace.

Ahmadinejad's virulent anti-Semitism and continued public statements denying the Holocaust and calling for Israel 'to be wiped off the Earth' are cause for concern by themselves.

However, when coupled with the continued pursuit of nuclear technology Iran has shot to the top of Israeli security concerns. In addition, with the rise of Hamas and Tehran's pledge to financially support the newly elected government of the PA the fear non-conventional weapons falling into the hands of terrorists in the West Bank and Gaza is a real fear among the Israel's security officials.

To date, Israel has been satisfied to allow international diplomacy led by the US, UK, Germany, France, Russia and to impose sanctions at the UN. It is clear that the diplomatic path may not bear fruit, forcing the world to forcefully address the issue through military attack. Israel would obviously prefer to allow the US, NATO or the UN deal directly with this issue, but reports have started to surface that the IDF has been preparing plans if the world fails to deal with what Israeli security views as an existential threat to Israel security and future existence. Not surprisingly, all Israeli parties (save the Arab parties which have been fairly quiet on the subject) are adamant that Iran not be allowed to take the final necessary steps towards nuclear power. Israel diplomats are actively lobbying world leaders to deal strongly and with real determination to ensure that the Iranian threat does not come to fruition.

Iran is also a constant thorn in the side of Israel by supporting, equipping and creating groups that pose a threat to Israel’s security. During the recent war in Lebanon, it was widely known that Hizbullah were receiving funds and arms directly from Iran. Many felt that this war was the first confrontation between Iran and Israel. This was made even more obvious after rockets that were fired on an Israeli ship off the coast of Lebanon were proven to be Iranian and the constant sightings of Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Hizbullah strongholds during the fighting.

Iran is also known to fund and support Hamas and many other rejectionist terrorist organizations operating in Palestinian areas.

Syria

Syria is rife with internal and external problems which are cause for concern for Israel's security establishment. In the wake of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister and business leader, Rafiq al-Hariri , and the implication that Syria was behind the attack, Syria was forced to withdraw its forces from Lebanon ending its decades long de facto control of the country. Many see the recent fighting within Lebanon, particularly in Palestinian refugee camps, as a signal of a return to Syria’s meddling in Lebanon’s affairs. Syrian President Bashar el-Assad has been under immense international pressure to reform the Syrian system and end Syrian sponsored terrorism. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal holds court in Damascus under the watchful eye of the Syrian regime and is allowed to dictate his rejectionist objectives.

The world had high hopes for Assad when he came to power falling the death of his father in June 2000, however, he has not been able to escape the long shadow of his legendary father and is perceived as a weak leader with no internal backing. He has been under constant pressure since assuming the Presidency.

Many in Israel see conflicting reports emanating from Damascus as a sign that Syria is willing to re-enter peace negotiations over the Golan Heights. While some in the Israeli security apparatus approve of this move, others say that they would be meaningless and dangerous and are just meant to distract attention away from Syria’s meddling in terrorism and Lebanese internal politics.

Jerusalem

Today's capital of Israel, Jerusalem, was the center of Jewish life during the First and Second Temple periods and the focal point of Jewish yearning for Zion after exile by the Romans in 70 C.E. Israel established Jerusalem as its capital in December 1949, and on January 1, 1950 transferred the entire government to the then-divided city.

Jerusalem's Heart - The Dome of the Rock sits atop the site of the first and second Jewish Temples. The "Western Wall" is the western retaining wall of King Herod's enormous Temple Mount plaza.
Jerusalem's Heart - The Dome of the Rock sits atop the site of the first and second Jewish Temples. The "Western Wall" is the western retaining wall of King Herod's enormous Temple Mount plaza.

In the 1967 Six Day War, Jerusalem was captured after the Jordanians entered the war on the side of Egypt and Syria. Jerusalem's reunification was an epic event in Israeli history and - for the first time since 1948 - Jews were allowed access to their holiest site, the Western Wall. Israel moved to unify the city under one municipality while safeguarding the religious rights and shrines of all denominations. In addition, Israel cleared and reconstructed much of the historic Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City and built new neighborhoods throughout the unified city.

The status of Jerusalem is a hotly debated topic in Israel, which appears to be split almost down the middle on this issue. While there are those who say that Jerusalem must be re-divided and become the capital of both Israel and a Palestinian state, there are those who say it is too important to ever be divided again. During the celebrations of 40 years of re-unification, Israelis felt snubbed as not a single nation’s ambassadors came to any of the ceremonies or celebrations.

Another issue surrounding Jerusalem is that of demographics. While the non-Jewish population is growing the Jewish population is shrinking. This prompted Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski to appeal to the government to act against this trend as he felt this may mean groups like Hamas gaining a significant foothold in Israel’s capital city.

Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria-'the Settlements'

A hot button issue since 1967, the debate surrounding the settlements after the Disengagement of last summer has taken on a very different tone. For thirty years, the settlements were considered sacrosanct by many and it was thought that all the settlements would be a permanent presence on the hills of Judea and Samaria. Now, after the Disengagement and the removal of 25 settlements in Gaza and Northern Samaria, it is clear that the settlements are not as permanent as most previously believed.

In general, there are two types of communities - security and ideological. Security related communities are those that have been created in areas of strategic defense importance to Israel. Examples include communities in the Jordan Valley, along the Jordan River. These communities are traditionally seen as an obstacle to invading Arab armies from the East. Other security settlements are located on high peaks of the Judea and Samaria - places from which hostile forces could control or seriously disrupt life in Israel's major population centers.

Ideological communities are those in locations where the Jewish People have a historic or spiritual affinity. Examples include Hebron, communities in the area of Shechem and - according to the US State Department - neighborhoods of Jerusalem, including the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

Most Israelis agree that Israel can not return to the pre-1967 borders and major settlement blocks should remain under Israeli sovereignty under any peace agreement. These include the Etzion, Ariel and Ma’aleh Adumim blocks where most Israelis who live over the Green Line reside.

Democracy and Diversity in Israel

When the term 'democracy' comes to mind most people immediately think of voting and free elections. While elections are at the fore in any discussion of democracy, there are other issues that are just as crucial. One of these issues is minority rights. The most diverse countries with the highest degrees of minority rights in the world are all democracies. In the modern world, a democracy is judged on the rights of its minority population(s).

Israel, as the only true democracy in the Middle East, is at the forefront of minority rights. Israel's minorities, Muslims and Christians, Druze and Circassians and many others are all afforded more and stronger protections than their co-religionists in any other country in the region. Israel's Supreme Court regularly rules on the sides of Israel's minorities in cases of governmental responsibility, religious freedom and protection and many other cases.

There are three major issues where Israel stands proud in its dealings with minority rights:

  1. Arab Rights

  2. Religious Rights

  3. Women's Rights

Arab Rights

Arab's make-up approximately 15% of Israel's population (the majority are Muslims, but there are sizable Christian and Druze populations as well). While Israel is regularly castigated by the world which accuses her of mistreating its Arab population, the reality of the situation is quite different.

Arabs, like all citizens of Israel, have complete freedom of religion, freedom of press, equal voting rights, etc. and Arabic is an official state language alongside Hebrew. There is currently an Arab Supreme Court justice and many members of Knesset who represent both Arab parties as well as Kadima, Labor, Likud, Meretz and others. While Arabs are officially exempt from mandatory service in the IDF (a concession which allows Israeli Arabs to avoid the potential of fighting there brethren in neighboring countries) there are many Druze and Bedouin who proudly serve in the IDF and police forces, many opting to make the military a career eventually becoming officers.

Religious Rights

From the earliest days of the State, as outlined in the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, Israel has guaranteed religious freedom for all. In fact, religious minorities in Israel are afforded religious rights far beyond what many would encounter if they lived in countries where their brethren are the majority. Each officially recognized religious community (there are five officially recognized religions in Israel-Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Druze and Baha'i-as well as eleven denominations within Christianity) is overseen by their own religious councils, with officially recognized clergy, State recognition of their Sabbath and holidays and the right to establish their own, State-funded religiously affiliated schools. Even religions that are not officially recognized are granted full religious expression in Israel.

In addition to the original clause in the Declaration ensuring freedom for all, the Knesset has since adopted the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. This law, which refers to Israel as a Jewish and democratic State, concretizes in law the fundamental rights of every individual.

In addition to these legal documents, the Israeli court system has consistently ruled in favor of religious freedom for all of her citizens. In ensuring religious freedom, the courts have relied upon basic democratic principles as well as international law like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant of Political and Civil Rights . In one prominent case Justice Moshe Landau wrote, 'the freedom of conscience and worship is one of the individual's liberties assured in every enlightened democratic regime'.

Women's Rights

Just like the Arab minority and religious practitioners of all stripes, women are afforded full and equal rights in Israeli society. In 1969 Golda Meir (who was also an American immigrant) became only the third woman to be head of state in the world when she became Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Previously she had served as Ambassador to the Soviet Union and as Foreign Minister. Today, women serve in the Knesset, as Government ministers and as Supreme Court Justices; currently, Tzipi Livni serves as Foreign minister and Dalia Itzik held the post of acting-President for a number of months. In addition, more and more women serve in elite army units and, in the last few years, have been accepted to the pilot's course widely regarded as the most elite course in the IDF.

The ratio of female students enrolled in institutions of higher learning (55.9%) ranks Israel seventh in the Western world with regard to the percentage of women studying in higher education.

The status of women in Israel is similar to that of women in America with similar percentages of women in Congress and the Knesset and similar cabinet opportunities. While Israeli women trail some of their Western European counterparts in some measures of advancement, when compared with other countries in the region (Jordan, Egypt, Syria, etc), Israeli women have opportunities of which their neighbors can only dream. Israeli Arab women are far beyond their brethren in neighboring countries and vociferously reject the notion of being included as citizens of a future Palestinian state with the full knowledge that their lives as they have come to enjoy could not be replicated living under an Arab led government.

Demographic Issues

Demographic issues can be defined as those that affect (or have the potential to affect) the character of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Within this category are three major issues - Aliyah (Jewish immigration) to Israel; rights of the minority citizens of Israel; and the question of the Palestinians. The 'Demographic Question' has played a large role in the public discourse over the past number of years and had been used as one of the supporting arguments for the Disengagement and for future unilateral withdrawals. Many proponents of further disengagements argue that Israel must remove itself from areas heavily populated by Arabs to ensure the continued Jewish and democratic nature of Israeli society.

As a fundamental tenet of the Jewish State, most political parties are ardent supporters of Aliyah. 2005 saw the largest number of North American olim to Israel in well over twenty years, a positive trend that is likely to continue with the help of Nefesh b'Nefesh and other pro-Aliyah groups.

Some of the religious parties would like to see Israel's Law of Return amended to prevent the influx of non-Jewish immigrants who take advantage of the legislation's loose interpretation of "who is a Jew." These parties argue that many immigrants are simply escaping from a bad situation to enjoy Israel's relatively good standard of living. By allowing the establishment of a large non-Jewish immigrant population, the parties claim, Israel is inadvertently fuelling the demise of its own Jewish character as expressed by holiday observances, traditions and culture. In addition, the non-Jewish immigrant population poses challenges to religious councils that oversee lifecycle events such as birth, marriage, death and burial.

Minority relations have been strained as a result of the last Intifada. The Arab population deeply empathizes with the Palestinians. Unfortunately, there have been instances in which Israeli Arabs have carried out or played a critical role in assisting suicide bombers reach their civilian targets. The death of 13 Israeli Arabs during riots following the outbreak of the Intifada in 2000 has also negatively impacted the Arab Israelis' relationship with the State. Israel affords full rights to minority citizens and they enjoy the same rights as the Jewish citizenry. Relations were further starined when prominent Arab politician Azmi Bishara, who even ran for Prime Minister in the past, was indicted by the police for meeting with and passing on information to Hizbullah during the recent Lebanon War. Bishara fled the country and has stated that he will not return to face charges.

In the absence of a peace agreement, many are concerned that the Palestinian population may grow to pose a demographic threat to Israel's character as a Jewish State. Indeed, the primary impetus for parties on the far Left, such as Meretz, in pushing for a Palestinian state is to safeguard Israel's Jewish and democratic nature. If Israel were forced to rule the Palestinians for coming decades, these parties fear that Israel will have to forfeit either its Jewish character or democratic system of government - neither an attractive option.

Economy & Social Welfare

Over recent years, all Israeli governments have practiced a moderate economic policy, gradually moving towards a free market economy. Privatization of state-owned businesses was common the 1990's and continues under the government of Ehud Olmert.

The agents driving the changes in Israel's economy were the meltdown of old socialist methodology and institutions, high immigration rates, rapid globalization and the spread of technology. Pragmatic as ever, most Israelis aren't bothered by the incongruity of kibbutz-initiated deals which turn pioneer-plowed fields into shopping malls replete with massive parking lots. The new free market economy is, however, raising the attention of the religious parties who are vexed by the opening of businesses and shopping malls on Shabbat, challenging the long-held religious status quo.

There are economic holdovers from the "old days" however. A benefit is Israel's socialized health care system that provides care at a reasonable cost to the entire nation.

The recent successes of the Israeli economy have alerted the attention of the world’s financial institutions as well as the biggest names in the business world to Israel. Israel even astounded economists when it was able to continue maturing economically even while at war, something virtually unheard of.

Religion & State

In Israel, religion and state are intertwined. Due to the Jewish nature of the state, the official day of rest day Saturday (Shabbat) and national holidays are those of the Jewish calendar. In accordance with Jewish tradition, the law prohibits work on the Sabbath and Jewish festivals. However, political activists, shop owners and mall proprietors have challenged the laws by opening on the Jewish Sabbath. In some cases the government has issued fines, but this has not prevented an increasing number of leisure businesses from opening. The religious parties also understand the importance of these issues and a member of the National Religious Party has recently introduced the idea of a two day weekend similar to that in the US and Europe as a way of calming tensions over the Shabbat.

Religious pluralism within Judaism is another issue affecting Israeli society. The orthodox political parties, representing a traditional Jewish perspective, hold significant political power and are charged by small minorities of reform and conservative Jewish movements of stifling alternative expressions of Judaism. At the same time, Jews can practice (or not) any form of Judaism they please with little or no interference from religious authorities. The major exception is lifecycle events such as marriage and burial, which are regulated by religious authorities. Some Israelis marry abroad - Cyprus is a popular destination - as a protest. However, many Israeli leaders are introducing legislation that would legalize civil marriage and burial within Israel, a move that would dramatically alter the current religious status quo in Israel.

While the perceived lack of pluralism vexes Western Jewish supporters of Israel, army exemptions for full-time religious scholars irritates a large percentage of Israelis, including many devoutly religious citizens. The exemptions - introduced by Israel's founder David Ben-Gurion - have lasted 57 years. At first, the exemption was meant to placate the ultra-religious community while simultaneously strengthening Jewish learning decimated by the Nazi Holocaust. Since then, no government has dared risk losing the critical support of the ultra-orthodox (haredi) parties by forcing a change in the status quo.

Therefore thousands of able-bodied men do not serve the compulsory three years in the Israel Defense Forces (soon to be reduced to two years). Until recently, exemption from the army was contingent upon full-time study. The result was that even ultra-orthodox men well beyond draft age could not officially join the workforce without being automatically drafted into the IDF - something few would risk. This situation prevented thousands of tax-dollars from entering the economy even as religious political parties safeguarded government assistance to the large families within their community.

The way to address these issues - some political parties claim - is to simply separate religion and state. Critics of this plan say it jeopardizes the Jewish character of the state and will only exacerbate the problem, as the religious community will feel under attack. Compromise proposals have recently been concluded paving the way for non-IDF veterans to enter the workforce and the establishment of ultra-orthodox army units that adhere to the strictest measures of Jewish law.


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Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.
Golda Meir
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