Defining Israel: The Jewish State, Democracy, and the Law is the first book in any language devoted to the controversial passage of Israel's nation-state law. Israel has no constitution, and though it calls itself the Jewish state there is no agreement among Israelis on how that fact should be reflected in the government's laws or by its courts. Since the 1990s a number of civil society groups and legislators have drafted constitutions and proposed Basic Laws with constitutional standing that would clarify what it means for Israel to be a "e;Jewish and democratic state."e; Are these bills liberal or chauvinist? Are they a defense of the Knesset or an attack on the independence of the courts? Is their intention democratic or anti-democratic? The fight over the nation-state law-whether to have one and what should be in it-toppled the 19th Knesset's governing coalition and, even after its passage on July 29, 2018, remains a point of contention among Israel's lawmakers and increasingly the Israeli public. Defining Israel brings together influential scholars, journalists, and politicians, observers and participants, opponents and proponents, Jews and Arabs, all debating the merits and meaning of Israel's nation-state law. Together with translations of each draft law, the final law, and other key documents, the essays and sources in Defining Israel are essential to understand the ongoing debate over what it means for Israel to be a Jewish and democratic state.

Defining Israel: The Jewish State, Democracy, and the Law is the first book in any language devoted to the controversial passage of Israel's nation-state law. Israel has no constitution, and though it calls itself the Jewish state there is no agreement among Israelis on how that fact should be reflected in the government's laws or by its courts. Since the 1990s a number of civil society groups and legislators have drafted constitutions and proposed Basic Laws with constitutional standing that would clarify what it means for Israel to be a "Jewish and democratic state." Are these bills liberal or chauvinist? Are they a defense of the Knesset or an attack on the independence of the courts? Is their intention democratic or anti-democratic? The fight over the nation-state law-whether to have one and what should be in it-toppled the 19th Knesset's governing coalition and, even after its passage on July 29, 2018, remains a point of contention among Israel's lawmakers and increasingly the Israeli public. Defining Israel brings together influential scholars, journalists, and politicians, observers and participants, opponents and proponents, Jews and Arabs, all debating the merits and meaning of Israel's nation-state law. Together with translations of each draft law, the final law, and other key documents, the essays and sources in Defining Israel are essential to understand the ongoing debate over what it means for Israel to be a Jewish and democratic state.

PrefaceIntroduction Jewish and Democratic According to the LawSimon RabinovitchPart I. SourcesReport: Constitutional Anchoring of Israel's Vision: Recommendations Submitted to the Minister of Justice (November 19, 2014)Ruth GavisonDraft Bills: A. Basic Law Proposal: Israel--The Nation-State of the Jewish PeopleThe 18th Knesset, August 3, 2011 (resubmitted May 26, 2014) B. Basic Law Proposal: Israel--The Nation-State of the Jewish PeopleThe 19th Knesset, July 22, 2013 (resubmitted June 9, 2014) C. Basic Law Proposal: The Declaration of Independence and the Jewish and Democratic StateThe 19th Knesset, July 22, 2013 D. Announcement of the Cabinet Secretary at the End of the Cabinet Meeting [regarding the drafts for the Basic Law: Israel--The Nation-State of the Jewish People]November 23, 2014 E. Basic Law Proposal: The State of IsraelThe 19th Knesset, November 24, 2014 F. Basic Law Proposal: The State of IsraelThe 20th Knesset, June 29, 2015 G. Basic Law Proposal: Israel--The Nation-State of the Jewish PeopleThe 20th Knesset, July 29, 2015Part II. Reflections 1. Lightness in Times of DarknessMichael Marmur 2. The Current Crisis in Israel's ConstitutionYoram Hazony 3. The Hegemony of Neo-Zionism and the Nationalizing State in IsraelAmal Jamal 4. The Triumph of the Majority, and the Decline of DemocracyDavid N. Myers 5. Was it Right to Try to Pass a Nation-State Law?Gideon Sapir 6. A Manual on How Not to Write a ConstitutionAlexander Yakobson 7. Who Needs the Nation-State Law? The State of the Jews, Fears, and Fear MongeringIsrael Bartal 8. On the Essence of the State of IsraelZe'ev B. Begin 9. On the Dangers of Enshrining National Character in the LawNir Kedar 10. Medina Yehudit and the Jewish Nation-State LawAmnon Lord 11. Enshrining Exclusion: The Nation-State Law and the Arab-Palestinian Minority in IsraelYousef T. Jabareen 12. Religion, Religious Ideologies and the Nation LawKalman Neuman 13. Mind the Gap: The Cost of Overlooking Gender in the Jewish Nation-State QuestionTanya Zion-Waldoks 14. Double Decolonization and the Loss of HegemonyNahum Karlinsky 15. Too Jewish?Moshe Koppel 16. What is a Nation-State For?Yehudah MirskyEpilogue Reflections on the Nation-State DebateRuth GavisonSuggestions for Further ReadingContributor Biographies