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Israel at 60

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Title: Israel at 60


1
Israel at 60 Challenges on the Road to
Tranquility
  • Raphael Cohen-Almagor

2
Preliminaries
  • Israel is still in process of development and
    undoubtedly it will face further tests.
  • Never a dull moment.
  • Missing component Tranquility.

3
The main challenges
  • Relations with Neighbours
  • Integration of the Israeli-Palestinians
  • State and Religion
  • Economy under Stress.

4
Neighbours
  • Authoritarian regimes surround it.
  • The key factor for success is its relationships
    with our neighbours.

5
Preliminaries
  • Israel survived seven wars, Iraqi Scud attack,
    and two Palestinian uprisings in 60 years of
    independence.
  • It is hard to maintain normality under such a
    hostile environment.

6
Preliminaries
  • Security expenses exhausts a third of our budget,
    leaving insufficient resources for the
    development of other spheres.
  • The constant security threat destroys the tourism
    industry and preempts external investments
    essential for economic growth.

7
Arguments
  • I argue for ending the occupation
  • I argue for strengthening democratic values

8
Arguments
  • I argue for accommodating the interests of the
    Israeli-Palestinians, striving to safeguard equal
    rights and liberties for all citizens
    notwithstanding nationality, religion, race or
    colour, and insisting that citizens have also
    duties to fulfill.

9
Arguments
  • I argue for separation between state and religion

10
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
  • Between the Jordan River and the sea there are
    now about 7 million Israelis (among them 1.3
    million Arabs/Palestinians) and 4 million
    Palestinians.
  • The annual growth rate of the Palestinians is
    among the highest in the world. There is a need
    for separation in order not to reach the point of
    an apartheid state.

11
Occupied Territories
  • Ending the occupation
  • Historian Lord Acton (1834-1902) said "Liberty
    is not a means to a higher political end. It is
    itself the highest political end... liberty is
    the only object which benefits all alike, and
    provokes no sincere opposition."
  • In 2000 I started my international campaign for
    Gaza first.
  • This idea was largely adopted by Prime Minister
    Sharon.
  • Sharon did not think we will get in return the
    Hamas and Qassams.
  • Still, we should have tried it.
  • Now we will be much more careful in carrying out
    unilateral steps.

12
Occupied Territories
  • Securing our borders
  • Building trust and good-faith
  • Upon having a partner and reaching agreement,
    withdrawing settlements and the IDF
  • Hopefully two (not three) state solution
  • 1967 Borders
  • The Fence

13
The Fence
  • For bridges, not fences
  • Turning point Passover, March 2002, Netanya
    Hotel Park
  • Divorce
  • death toll has dropped by over 70 percent, and
    number of injured has dropped by more than 80
    percent
  • The route should be fair

14
The Fence
  • The Fence should have been built along the 1967
    Green Line, with some accommodations necessary to
    include large cluster settlements in the
    Jerusalem area and Ariel, and compensating the
    Palestinians in other areas.
  • The idea of using the Fence to create
    geographic-political facts that in effect make
    greater Israel and smaller Palestine is unfair,
    discriminatory, unwise and unjust.
  • The Fence should be moved, and it will. The
    questions revolve only about time, money and
    blood involved.
  • In the Bible, there is one word for both money
    and blood "Damim". Israeli politics eloquently
    and forcefully explains why.

15
Occupied Territories
  • Evacuate isolated settlements
  • Consolidate economic conditions for Palestinians
  • Bolster security on both sides
  • Stop enlarging existing settlements
  • Dismantle checkpoints to make the lives of
    Palestinian civilians easier.
  • Develop the nautilus against rockets and other
    anti-rocket mechanisms

16
Occupied Territories
  • Clean the atmosphere fight bigotry, racism,
    incitement and hate on both sides of the fence.
  • This includes a close study of the Palestinian
    and Israeli education curricula
  • Utilize the media to promote peaceful messages of
    reconciliation and mutual recognition.
  • Demand the Palestinians to fight down terrorism.
    Zero tolerance in this sphere.
  • The Right of Return
  • The refugee problem international economic
    effort
  • Jerusalem
  • Mount Temple International Zone

17
Societys Profile
  • No shared raison d'être
  • 20 wish to transform democracy into theocracy
  • 20 do not endorse the Zionist ethos
  • 20 of the population are immigrants from the
    former Soviet Union where no democracy existed

18
Schisms
  • In addition, Israel suffers from internal
    schisms
  • between Israeli-Palestinians and Israeli-Jews
    inside the Green (1967) Line

19
Schisms
  • between orthodox Jews and secular Jews
  • between the ideological right and the ideological
    left Peace v. Land, now transformed to Security
    and Demography v. Land

20
The Declaration of Independence
  • The Declaration of Independence holds that
    Israel will foster the development of the country
    for the benefit of all its inhabitants that it
    will be based on the foundations of liberty,
    justice and peace

21
The Declaration of Independence
  • that it will uphold complete equality of social
    and political rights to all of its citizens
    irrespective of religion, race or sex, and that
    it will guarantee freedom of religion,
    conscience, language, education and culture.

22
Israeli-Palestinians
  • Formal v. Full Citizenship
  • Discrimination
  • Racism

23
Israeli-Palestinians
  • Arabic is one of the two official languages of
    the State of Israel. Therefore it should enjoy a
    dominant status and have the importance it
    deserves.
  • Arabic should be taught at every primary and high
    school together with English.

24
Israeli-Palestinians
  • Studies of all cultures and religions that exist
    in Israel should be made available.

25
Israeli-Palestinians
  • Delegates of the Arab minority should be
    represented, in accordance with their size in
    society, in the Knesset and in the government.

26
Israeli-Palestinians
  • Guaranteeing representation for a minority
  • Devolving power to local levels in just ways by
    just means

27
Israeli-Palestinians
  • At the same time, Israel would like to see from
    all its citizens, without exception, a real and
    strong commitment to the state, to peace, and to
    the struggle against terror.

28
Army/National Duty
  • Citizens who have a problem in serving in the
    army for religious, moral or national reasons
    should commit themselves to do national service
    for the required period of time (presently three
    years for men two years for women) in their own
    communities, working to better the conditions of
    their own group.
  • Army service pretext for discrimination

29
Questions
  • Can a liberal democracy allow minority groups to
    restrict the individual rights of society at
    large?

30
Live and Let Live
  • We need to differentiate between the symbolic
    aspects and the modus operandi aspects. As far as
    the latter are concerned, separation between
    state and religion should be achieved.

31
Religion and State
  • If an illiberal minority is seeking to oppress
    other groups, then most liberals would agree that
    intervention is justified in the name of
    self-defence and liberty

32
Religion and State
  • The secular majority in Israel has every right to
    object to attempts which aim at narrowing its
    freedom of conscience and to broaden the
    authority of religious orthodoxy.

33
Religion and State
  • Democracy is supposed to allow each and every
    individual the opportunity to follow her or his
    conception of the good without coercion.
  • Israel today gives precedence to Judaism over
    liberalism.
  • I submit that on issues such as this one, the
    reverse should be the case.

34
Religion and State
  • Israel, being the only Jewish state in the world,
    should strive to retain its Jewish character.
  • The symbols should remain Jewish with some
    accommodations in order to make the state a home
    for its Palestinian citizens as well.
  • Shabbat should remain the official day of rest.

35
Religion and State
  • Palestinian villages and towns may make Friday
    their day of rest.
  • Hopefully, one day, when security considerations
    would become less dominant and pressing, and the
    Israeli economy could afford two days of rest, as
    is the case in many parts of the world, then
    Friday and Shabbat will become the two official
    days of rest.

36
Religion and State
  • while Shabbat should be observed, malls and
    shopping places outside the cities should be
    available for the many people who work during the
    week and do their shopping during weekends.

37
Religion and State
  • Public transportation should be made available
    for all people who cannot afford having a car and
    for those who do not drive.
  • The state should cater for the needs of as many
    citizens as possible.

38
Religion and State
39
Religion and State
  • Kosher shops and restaurants should be available
    and with them non-Kosher shops and restaurants
    for the secular, agnostic population.

40
Religion and State
41
Religion and State
  • Most importantly, the significant events in one's
    life birth, wedding, divorce and death should be
    handled in accordance of the people's own
    choices.

42
Religion and State
43
Religion and State
  • If they so desire, people may involve rabbinate
    and other religious institutions in their private
    lives.
  • But this option should be left to them. If people
    wish to have secular ceremonies then they should
    have the ability to conduct them and not to be
    forced to undergo practices which mean very
    little to them, if anything.
  • The state should have as little as possible say
    in family, intimate affairs.

44
Religion and State
  • Along Hevra Kadisha secular burial services
    should be offered.
  • Today people need not travel outside the country
    to marry in civil marriage.
  • 10 of the population are gay/lesbian. The
    liberal state should address their needs as well
    and allow them to marry as they see fit.

45
Duties
  • Large sectors, mainly the ultra-orthodox, do not
    pay taxes, do not serve in the army, do not work
  • yet, they receive state support allowing them to
    study torah.
  • Resources should be distributed equally to all
    sectors.

46
Duties
  • Every citizen is expected to pay in accordance
    with his/her abilities.
  • Israel should sponsor religious studies to the
    same extent that it supports university and other
    forms of high education.

47
Economy
  • Unemployment continues to be significant
  • Salaries going down in real terms (35 of
    lecturers salaries from 1997 till now).
  • Welfare benefits are cut.
  • Taxes are high and continue to rise.
  • Israel has the highest tax rate in the world,
    outside Scandinavia.

48
Economy
  • People are worried about their physical security
    as well as about their economic security.
  • About 70 of the population claims their expenses
    outweigh their earnings.
  • About 25 of the population are below the poverty
    line.

49
Economy
  • No natural resources no gold, no silver, no
    diamonds, no oil
  • Lecture in South Africa
  • All this mess for face cream?

50
Education
  • Our greatest asset is education
  • But it is not in the governments priorities
  • 20 cut in universities budget since 2001
  • In 2007, a 90-day universities strike, longest in
    our history

51
Economy
  • Israels economy is still dependent at large on
    the USA.
  • We should strive to gain independence and
    autonomy.
  • Stop the brain drain.
  • Decrease the increasing gap between the small
    rich cream and the large poor sector.

52
In Conclusion
  • Security remains the main preoccupation
  • Strive for co-existence with neighbours
  • Mitigate schisms
  • Narrowing the gap between rich and poor

53
Thank you
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