Constitution could make Israeli democracy stronger
Professor Tomer Broude told The AJN that replacing the system of basic laws with a formal written constitution might provide a way for Israel to emerge as a stronger society.
Israel probably needs to have a written constitution if the kinds of protests about judicial reform happening now are to be avoided in future.
That’s according to Professor Tomer Broude, Dean of Law at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
In an interview with The AJN ahead of his visit to Australia next month, Broude said he believes the current judicial reforms which have sparked significant political protest and social disruption threaten Israel’s national and economic security and may lead to a constitutional crisis.
“As a result of the strong resistance to the judicial reforms, it’s likely the government’s proposals will be scaled back. But even if the government falls tomorrow, the country can’t just go back to the situation as it was before,” he said.
Broude said replacing the system of basic laws with a formal written constitution might provide a way for Israel to emerge from the current situation as a stronger society.
“It’s time to hammer out a constitution. But that’s a process that takes time, a good constitution doesn’t happen overnight. It would require time, patience and goodwill,” he said.
A group of Israeli academics and activists is already writing a detailed proposal for establishing a Constituent Assembly.
Professor Yuval Shany, a colleague of Broude at the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is quoted in the Jerusalem Post as supporting the idea, saying, “In a way, Israel missed the boat in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when it would have been ideal to write a constitution. The longer we wait, the harder it gets.”
Overseas Jewish communities need to decide for themselves what stance to take on the events in Israel he said, but Broude believes strong voices are needed because the issue is tearing Israel apart.
“I heard from someone in the Canadian Jewish community who told me they had always defended Israel no matter what because they could at least point to the existence of a functioning, independent judiciary protecting civil rights. He wanted to know what they should say if that is no longer the case,” he said.
Professor Broude will be giving a talk in Caulfield on Sunday, September 3 on the future of democracy in Israel, sponsored by Zionism Victoria, the Zionist Federation, Australian Friends of the Hebrew University and Habayit. Book: trybooking.com/CKIOR
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