April-26-09, 11:08:01 AM Abz
The State of Israel is both "democratic and Jewish", a first-ever Israeli constitution is set to declare. In a two-part article Jonathan Cook lays open a contradiction in terms
An Israeli Knesset committee is currently formulating a constitution for Israel -- the first such attempt in its 56 years. The task was abandoned early in the state's history, after the country's founding fathers feared that giving a precise definition to the state's character would tear apart the fragile consensus between secular and religious Jews and that a Bill of Rights would enshrine in law rights it wanted to deny the Palestinians. Instead, the founding document of the state, the Declaration of Independence, made a promise: that Israel would "uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of religion, race or sex".
Read Part one hereand Part Two here
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