Israel's Challenge: Balancing Jewish and Democratic Values
Brief
The goal of this program is to introduce campers to the dichotomy of Israel as both a Jewish and Democratic state, and engage campers in dialogue about how Jewish and democratic values can be synthesized. The activity should ideally be preceded by the “Escape the Room” program, a standalone activity on Israel’s Declaration of Independence. This program should be run on a different day. The facilitator should be knowledgeable about the nature of Israeli society, especially the tension between being a Jewish and Democratic state.
Equipment
Escape the Room files
“Only in Israel” pictures
Elements of a Jewish state for “Team Jewish”
Elements of a democratic state for “Team Democratic”
Large board to display combined list of values
Screen or large tablet to view the reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Activity length: 50-60 minutes
“Choose Your Israel Picture” (10 minutes)
Team Jewish and Team Democratic separate meetings (15-20 minutes)
All group session to negotiate and compromise (20-25 minutes)
Conclusion (5 minutes)
Age Groups
Middle School, High School, Staff
Topics
Community, Politics, Zionsim
Topics
Adaptable for Shabbat
The program is Shabbat appropriate if the video is not shown.
Download for Printing
Goals & Overview
To begin a conversation on how the State of Israel can be both a Jewish and a Democratic state.
To explore how reflective listening can lead to compromise and mutual understanding.
Thought Questions / שאלות למחשבה
What does it mean to say that Israel is a Jewish state?
What does it mean to say that Israel is a democratic state?
How can sometimes competing needs and values be reconciled?
For the facilitator
The facilitator of this activity should be knowledgeable about the nature of Israeli society, especially the tension between being a Jewish and Democratic state.
The intention of the activity is for campers to envision what a Jewish and Democratic State of Israel would be like in the ideal sense. They are not expected to propose solutions to current political and social problems.
Background information to support discussion:
In 1947, the United Nations voted to adopt a plan to partition the British Mandate for Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. While the leadership of the Yishuv (the community of Jews living in British Mandate Palestine) accepted the plan, the Arabs rejected it, leading to war.
The State of Israel was formally established on May 14 1948 when Ben Gurion read the Declaration of Independence at a public ceremony in Tel Aviv. This marked a pivotal moment in Jewish history, only three years after the Holocaust, a time when Jews were seeking refuge and a place of safety.
Israel does not have a constitution to guide its leaders and define what it means to be a Jewish and Democratic State. Writing a constitution amidst a time of uncertainty and war, which would require harmonizing diverse needs and viewpoints, would have been difficult. Therefore Israel’s leaders decided to postpone writing a constitution. This task has not been undertaken in Israel’s 75 years history.
While the word democracy does not appear in Israel’s Declaration of Independence, the document does outline democratic principles. It guarantees equal rights for all citizens, regardless of religion or ethnicity, and emphasizes the importance of a representative government.
When the State of Israel was formed, agreements were made that the Chief Rabbinate would control certain aspects of society (marriage, divorce, burial, kashrut) in exchange for their support.
Israeli society is diverse in terms of religious identity. According to the Pew Research Center, the percentages are as follows:
Jewish Hiloni (secular)- 33%
Jewish Masorti (traditional but not observant)- 25%
Jewish Dati (Orthodox)- 9%
Jewish Haredi (ultra-Orthodox)- 8%
Islamic- 18%
Christian- 2%
Program
Choose your Israel picture (10 minutes)
The goal of this exercise is to encourage campers to think about Israel’s Jewish and democratic aspects.
Method
Spread “Only in Israel” pictures on a surface. Alternatively, create a media presentation from the photos. Ask the campers to choose a picture that depicts a moment that happens "only in Israel" and explain why they find it unique to Israel.
Team Democratic and Team Jewish (15-20 mins)
The facilitator should divide the group into two teams - “Democratic” and “Jewish.
Distribute notecards or slips of paper with each team's ideal elements.
Ask the group members to work as a team to identify the seven most important elements from the collection of elements. NOTE: The elements reflect an ideal circumstance, not what is in place in Israel today.
Negotiate and Compromise (20-25 mins)
Bring the two groups together.
Create a new list of the most important elements for Israel as a whole to be both Jewish and democratic.
As the group creates the new list, the facilitator should point out situations where elements might contradict each other. For example: “All public transportation will be shut on Shabbat" conflicts with "The state will guarantee the right to freedom of movement."
The facilitator should encourage the group to seek compromise and problem solve. For example:
The group that chose to shut down all transportation on Shabbat should be asked to explain how someone that doesn’t own a car can get to a synagogue that is on the other side of the city for a Bar Mitzvah service.
The group that chose to allow chametz to be sold on Pesach without restriction should be asked to explain how to accommodate the halakha, followed by religious Jews, that chametz cannot be seen on Pesach.
The facilitator should ask the group to suggest how Israel, as a country that is both Jewish and democratic, can solve these challenges.
Conclusion (5 mins)
Invite a camper to read from the Declaration of Independence that speaks about the core values we strive to uphold as we navigate these complexities (document in resources folder).
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