Co-Sponsored by the UCLA School of Law

Israel is often described as a (or the) Jewish state. Some argue that it cannot be both Jewish and democratic, so it must choose either the one or the other. In the recent negotiations with the Palestinians Israel demanded that a final status agreement will include recognition that Israel is a Jewish state or the nation-state of Jews. It is claimed that the Palestinians refused to do so and claimed that no other country that signed a peace treaty with Israel was asked to offer such recognition. Finally, a few MPs proposed a Basic Law: Israel as the Nation state of Jews, arguing that this aspect of Israel's vision is being eroded and challenged in Israel and abroad. People who object to the proposal argue that the law is not needed, and that it will legitimate discrimination against the Arab minority in Israel and strengthen theocratic tendencies within Israel.

Against this background, a new examination of the meaning and implications of the Jewishness of Israel is indeed required. The talk will look into all of these issues. It will argue that Israel can and must be in some senses both Jewish and democratic; that this means neither theocracy nor discrimination of the Arab citizens of the state; that explicit recognition of Israel as a Jewish state may not be necessary in a peace agreement with the Palestinians but that it is critical that the agreement is based on the understanding that the two states are indeed for two peoples and not two states one of which is Palestinian and the other a neutral territorial state; and that affirming the vision of Israel as the nation state of Jews does not require that the vision, or a part of it, be entrenched in a basic law.

About the speaker: 

Professor Ruth Gavison is a founding member and former chairperson and president of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. Since 2005, she has served as founding president of Metzilah – a Center for Zionist, Jewish, Liberal and Humanist Thought. She co-authored, with R. Yaacov Medan, a well-received Proposal for a New Covenant among Jews on State-Religion issues in Israel. Gavison served on a number of state commissions in Israel, including the Winograd Commission, which investigated the 2006 Lebanon War. Her areas of research include the relationships between law and politics; the identity of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; processes of constitution-making; privacy and the private-public distinction, and the role of laws and courts in divided democracies.

Directions to Parking Structure 3: From Hilgard Ave. enter the east side of campus at Wyton Dr. Make an immediate right turn onto Charles E. Young Dr. East and signs will direct you to Parking Structure 3. From the ground level of Structure 3, enter the underpass (or from the street level cross Charles E. Young Dr. North and proceed down steps) and walk straight alongside Melnitz and Macgowan Halls. After reaching the Sculpture Garden, proceed to the left and follow the walkway past the LuValle Commons to the UCLA School of Law. Pay-per-space parking is available in Parking Structure 2 for $6 for two hours or $12 all day. The pay stations accept bills in $1 and $5 increments or credit cards (VISA, Mastercard, Discover), but no coins. Handicapped parking is also available in Lot 3 for $4 all day. For additional directions to campus, visit www.ucla.edu/map.

Cost : Event is free and open to the public. RSVP is required.

www.international.ucla.edu/israel

Sponsor(s): Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies