Democratic and anti-democratic roots of the israeli political system

Benyamin Neuberger

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This article explores the ideological underpinnings of the major Jewish political camps in Israel and the Yishuv-the left, the Orthodox, the national right, the bourgeois center-and evaluates the extent to which they are compatible with liberal democracy as commonly understood in the West. It also analyzes quasi-democratic and non-democratic aspects of older Jewish traditions based on the Torah, the Talmud, and the Halakhah. While the history of Zionism and the Zionist movement contained definite democratic components, Israel's political system was shaped by a range of anti-democratic traditions whose resonance is still felt today.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)55-74
Number of pages20
JournalIsrael Studies Review
Volume34
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Association for Israel Studies.

Keywords

  • Democracy
  • Knesset
  • Liberalism
  • Nationalism
  • Political culture
  • Political parties
  • Totalitarianism

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