The Foundation for Constitutional Democracy

In 1917, the British government drafted the Balfour Declaration, which recognized that Palestine, on BOTH sides of the Jordan River, belongs exclusively to the Jewish people. The members of that government make those who belong to the Right in present day Israel appear as leftists, if only because the latter would be satisfied if Jews controlled—at most—only the left bank of the Jordan.

The Balfour Declaration was approved by America’s devoutly religious President Woodrow Wilson, a man of the Right. (more…)

The key to understanding Hebraic civilization will be found in parashat (weekly Torah portion) Lech-Lecha, which portrays the character of the first Jew. God says to Avram:

Go for yourself—away from your land, from your birthplace, and from the home of your father, to the land that I will show you (Genesis 12:1).

Avram is first presented as the archetype of selfhood, of individuality. But later his name is changed: the letter Hei, representing God, is added to his name and Avram becomes Avraham. Whatever else his name means (of which, more later), Avraham is the personification of kindness—Hesed.

At first glance, there seems to be a tension between selfhood or self-concern and kindness, concern for others. But this is not so in Avraham, as Rabbi Matis Weinberg, who has plumbed many secular disciplines, will explain. (more…)

Israel’s Chief Justice Aaron Barak: Part I

Back in March 1992, the Knesset enacted two basic laws, Basic Law: Human Dignity and Freedom, and Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation. According to Justice Aaron Barak, who at the time was not president of Israel’s Supreme Court, these two Basic Laws were nothing less than a “constitutional revolution.” The first mentioned Basic Law was passed by a vote of 32-21, that is, with less than half the Knesset voting, while the second passed by the underwhelming vote of 23-0.

Well, you see dear reader, there was an impending Knesset election, and Israel’s MKs were preoccupied with more important matters, like saving their seats. Yet these Basic Laws are supposed to be part of Israel’s so-called “emerging constitution.” It’s been emerging for decades! Emerging or not, can anyone imagine amending a country’s constitution, its fundamental law, by a mere 20% of its legislature, representing, we may suppose, a mere 20% of that country’s population! Would anyone take such a amendment seriously, or feel that it should have the status of a fundamental law superior to ordinary legislation? (more…)

The hand of the Eternal still guides the people of Israel— even now when they are oppressed by a government of Jewish scorners on the one hand, and threatened with destruction by Arab barbarians on the other. Ponder, therefore, these words of the Prophet Isaiah (28:14-18) which I shall partly paraphrase:

“Hear these words, you scorners who rule in Jerusalem: Your covenant with Israel’s enemies is but a covenant with death and an agreement with the devil [translated by the Targum as a ‘covenant with terrorists’!]. You believe that this covenant will spare you from an overflowing scourge. But you have only made lies your refuge, and under falsehood have you hid yourselves. Therefore, saith HaShem: (more…)

I. ROOTLESS POLITICIANS, ROOTLESS JUDGES

Commenting the Torah portion, the “Life of Sara” (in his monumental ouvre, Frameworks), Matis Weinberg writes: “With the Cave of Machpela, Avraham discovered … the intensity of his love of Sara, the depth of his roots in the earth, and his own need to remain rooted …”

In a marginal note, Rabbi Weinberg quotes Simone Weil: “To be rooted is perhaps the most important and the least recognized need of the human soul.” Unfortunately, Israel’s two most powerful office-holders, Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Supreme Court President Aaron Barak, are oblivious of this simple but profound truth, being themselves severed from the roots of the Jewish People. That such men should be at the helm of the supposed-to-be Jewish state is a mockery of Judaism and the Jewish heritage. (more…)

The Middle East may well be on the verge of a major regional war. Numerous sources in the region report that the supreme rulers—both civilian and military—in most Arab states, as well as in Iran and Pakistan, are convinced that the present vulnerability of Israel [resulting from the Oslo Accords] is so great that there is a unique opportunity to … begin the process leading to the destruction of Israel….Toward this end, several Arab states [including Egypt], as well as Iran and Pakistan, have been engaged in a frantic military build-up and active preparation in the last few months….

The PLO’s preparations for an imminent war are evident. In Gaza, Arafat ordered the marked acceleration of the building of a personal bunker, four stories deep. Moreover, the PLO is rapidly building all over Gaza a chain of command centers, ammunition and weapons-storage areas—all of them underground and well-fortified to even withstand Israeli bombing and shelling. The PA’s [Palestinian Authority’s] security forces are also accumulating large stockpiles of anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, including missiles, even though they are forbidden by the Oslo Accords.

Congressman Jim Saxton, House of Representatives
Task Force Report International Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare
December 12, 1996 (more…)

On December 23, 2003, Ha’aretz’s Baruch Kra published a summary of a video that links the entire Sharon family to a Greek island tourist resort project. If this summary is accurate—and if it isn’t, Ha’aretz can expect a massive libel suit—mass demonstrations should be organized demanding Prime Minister Sharon’s immediate resignation. Here are the main points of the incriminating video.

“In October 1999, Omri Sharon said that if the Greek island project succeeded ‘there would be enough money to pay us all and get us out of here’ (emphasis added). The Prime Minister’s son is heard saying this to security firm owner David Spector on a videotape (more…)

There are three types of Galut Jews in Israel—and if we are humble and understanding, we will be grateful to all three. The first type is secular. It matters not whether this type of Jew is a leftist or rightist: His mentality is not rooted in the Torah, of which he is basically ignorant. For him the Torah (including the Oral Law) is neither the touchstone of his personal life nor of his outlook on public affairs, domestic or foreign. For the secular Jew the Torah is irrelevant in the domain of Statecraft.

Yet it was secular Jews who founded the modern State of Israel. (more…)

Israel is losing its Jewish character. Zionism has metamorphosed into post-Zionism. Superficial observers blame Labor for this decadent state of affairs. But the Likud is little more that right-wing of Labor’s leftward sliding party. No less culpable are the religious parties which, despite their promotion of Torah education, have contributed to the corruption and contraction of the Jewish state.

The seed of this national decay was planted in the opening sentence of Israel’s so-called Declaration of Independence (which four rabbis signed). (more…)

Countless Jews are appalled by the Sharon government. They cannot understand how this government, notwithstanding American pressure, can vote for a Palestinian state that will inevitably result in the abandonment of the 250,000 Jews now living in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.

The Prophets and Sages of Israel predicted that, in the end of days, the Jews would have such a government. They foresaw that Israel would be ruled by “scorners” of the Torah. These scorners, said the Prophet Hosea (12:1-3), will fill Israel with lies and deception. They will strive after wind (“peace”) and make alliances with Israel’s enemies. The Zohar (Exodus 7b) reiterates this prophecy. (more…)

[This is an updated version of my article “Two-and-a-Half Types of Diplomacy,” Crossroads, No. 34, 1991].

Negotiation between Israel and her Arab neighbors exemplifies different types of diplomacy. Unless these types of diplomacy are understood on theoretical as well as practical grounds, Israeli negotiators may commit—indeed, they have already committed—tragic errors.

Theoretical Analysis

Negotiation between democracies and dictatorships is bound to be rendered difficult by the basic differences in the political character of the two regimes. Diplomacy is not an ideologically neutral affair. How and why states negotiate—their methods and objectives—depend mainly on their principles of government. The diplomacy of a government based on consent—on freedom of discussion, pluralism and compromise—will differ profoundly from the diplomacy of a government based on coercion, propaganda and conformity. (more…)

A Dahaf poll of 9 August 2002 reports the following:

Asked, “Is Ariel Sharon a reliable prime minister?”—63% of Israelis say YES. Asked, “Do you count on Sharon to successfully lead the nation?”—57% say YES. Asked, “What grade do you give to the performance of Sharon as prime minister?”—63% say GOOD.

Yet, when asked, “Does Sharon have a diplomatic program?”—only 36% say YES, while 55% say NO!

To compound this confused state of mind, asked “Does the Sharon Government know how to wipe out terrorism?”—only 36% say YES, while 60% say No! (more…)

Accountability is a basic Jewish concept, awesome during Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. Whereas the Torah Jew knows he is accountable to G-d, the Government of Israel is accountable to no one.

The leaders of this Government boast that Israel is a democracy. One should then expect them to be accountable to the people. But Israeli politicians are accountable to the people only during elections. (more…)

The rule of law is a basic principle of the Torah and of classical democracy. The rule of law affirms that those who make the laws are obliged to obey the laws. Accordingly, Jewish law enables private citizens to bring public officials—including a king—to the bar of justice. Consistent therewith, the American Supreme Court held that a private citizen can institute a civil suit against a President, as indeed occurred in the case in which (former) President Bill Clinton was accused of sexual harassment.

The rule of law as just defined hardly exists in Israel. Abbie Nathan and Shimon Peres made contact with Yasser Arafat in violation of the 1986 Prevention of Terrorism Act. Mr. Nathan, a private citizen, was incarcerated for six months for that felony. Shimon Peres was never indicted. (more…)

by Professors Paul Eidelberg and Will Morrisey

Winston Churchill defined Mein Kampf as “the new Koran of faith and war.”[1] Consistent therewith, Haj Amin al-Husseini, the notorious former Mufti of Jerusalem, declared, “There is a definite similarity between the principles of Islam and the principles of Nazism.”

Although Hitler and Muhammad shared an enthusiasm for military adventurism and a hatred of Jews, still, their world views would seem to be diametrically opposed. Let us see. (more…)

People in Israel and abroad wonder what it is that makes politics and politicians so erratic in the Jewish state.

First and foremost the lack of a written constitution in this country, one that prescribes the powers of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of government. Instead, Israel has a welter of Basic Laws enacted haphazardly over the course of decades, which laws, far from being “basic,” are easily changed and so vague as to allow politicians and judges enormous latitude. (more…)

The Hebrew term for king, melech, primarily implies a chief “counselor,” a president whose intellectual and moral qualities warrant his elevation and authority. What follows is the Scriptural basis for kingship in Israel (Deut. 17:14-15):

“When you come to the land which the L-rd your G-d is giving you, and shall have taken possession of it and have settled therein, you will eventually say: ‘We would appoint a king, just like the nations around us.’ You must then appoint a king from among your brethren; you may not appoint a foreigner …” The last verse suggests that clause of the American Constitution which requires a president of the United States to be a native-born American. Contrast Israel. (more…)

by Bat Yeor

At the dawn of the new millennium, the world is being confronted with an absolute culture of hate, characterized by paroxysms of international terrorism against civilians, and religious intolerance. This culture of hate has multiple heads from Algeria to Afghanistan, to Indonesia, via Gaza and the West Bank, Damascus, Cairo, Khartoum, Teheran, and Karachi. It scatters the seeds of terrorism from one end of the earth to the other.

This hate, which suppresses freedom of thought, and condemns difference, calls itself “Islamic jihad.” It draws on religious texts whose interpretation other Muslims dispute. Moreover, because these moderate Muslims challenge this interpretation of jihad, wishing to live in peace with the non-Muslim peoples and nations of the world, their lives are threatened. (more…)

For 55 years, Israeli prime ministers—all secularists—have banished God from the domain of statecraft, and with the compliance of the religious parties. May there not be a connection between the absence of God in Israeli statecraft and the absence of wisdom, courage, and Jewish pride among Israeli politicians?

How is it that Israel, once so powerful in war, has succumbed to the gang of terrorists still led by Yasser Arafat? Can it be because Israel’s ruling elites are godless in contrast to Arafat, who never fails to invoke the name of Allah? (more…)

Introduction

Jewish statesmanship does not exist in Israel. Jews do become prime ministers, as did Benjamin Disraeli and Pierre Mendes France. But no sober person expected Jewish statesmanship from these English and French Jews. No one expected them to incorporate Jewish laws and principles into the legislation of their respective countries, or to pursue foreign policies inspired by distinctively Jewish goals. These Jews did not think like Jews but like Gentiles. Much the same may be said of the prime ministers of Israel. If statesmanship be defined as the application of philosophy to action, then Jewish statesmanship is the application of Jewish philosophy to action. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton were architectonic statesmen. They studied the greatest philosophers, those who addressed themselves to such questions as “What is man?”, “How should man live?”, and “What kind of government is most conducive to human excellence?” A Jewish philosopher will then ask: “What is a Jew?”, “How should Jews live?”, and “What kind of government is most conducive to Jewish excellence?” (more…)