Law-making and the Securitization of the Jewish Identity in Israel

Abstract

This article explores the role of law-making in the securitization of ethnic identities in Israel. The article examines the laws passed and bills proposed between 2000 and 2011 by the Israeli Knesset. The evidence suggests that despite consistent attempts to securitize the ethnic identity of the state, they have, for the most part, failed. A brief comparison between Israel and other liberal democracies also reveals that the banality of securitization, i.e. the use of ordinary rather than extraordinary measures in the securitization process, is not unique to Israel. This article demonstrates most clearly how the process of securitization contributes to the ease with which illiberal practices can creep into the democratic system without the need to resort to exceptional action.

The securitisation of hybrid warfare through practices within the Iran-Israel conflict - Israel's practices to securitize Hezbollah's Proxy War

“…While securitisation can assist scholars in analysing the process of how an issue transforms into a security threat, notably through practices, as outlined above, this article uses securitisation theory in order to explore how the State of Israel confronted Iran and Hezbollah's precision missile project, which has posed a security threat for the Jewish State. While other scholars used securitisation theory for analysing how security issues evolve in Israel (Abulof, 2014;Olesker, 2014aOlesker, , 2014bOlesker, , 2018Lupovici, 2014Lupovici, , 2016, the Israeli securitisation of Iran and Hezbollah's precision missile project can shed light on the topic of the securitisation of hybrid warfare, which is one of the greatest security challenges of the 21 st century, especially for the western democratic world. In the next sections, this article will look at the history of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, from the establishment of the Shiite organisation in the 1980s to the Iranian decision after the Second Lebanon War in 2006 to significantly upgrade its rocket fire capability in order to threaten strategic targets and population centres in Israel.…”

The Global North Goes to the Global North Minus? Intersections of the Integration of Highly Skilled, Non‐Jewish Female Partner and Spousal Migrants from the Global North in Israel

“…This ongoing status quo, and Israeli societal developments writ large, have an impact on both the legal and bureaucratic levels, and serve as indicators of the substantiating Jewishness of the country over time (Olesker, ). In the early days of Israel, non‐Jewish spouses might have made aliyah with Jewish spouses and come to Israel but, like their ole/ola spouses, lacked documentation.…”

“…If and how far the Nationality Law (), which defines the State of Israel as the Jewish homeland will impact on legal developments and bureaucratic praxes concerning non‐Jewish immigration will show in near future. The newest of Israel's Basic Laws (which serve in place of a written constitution), it lacks the word “equality” to define the relationship between Jewish, and non‐Jewish Israeli citizens, thus evidencing the processes of a legally substantiating Jewishness, as described by Kranz () and Olesker () further.…”

L’écrit comme pratique de sécuritisation : analyse des évolutions législatives sur la nationalité française

“…Bien que cette loi soit adoptée, nous ne la comprenons pas comme une « securitization practice » ainsi que l'entendrait Olesker (2013), mais comme un « securitization move », puisqu'elle marque ici seulement une première rupture dans la doxa attachée à la nationalité française. D'ailleurs, la loi de 1998 revient sur certaines des mesures adoptées en 1993.…”

“…générale, les études sur la sécuritisation ne montrent finalement plus seulement ce qui fait la sécurité, mais également ce qu'elle fait. Nous constatons cependant un désintérêt général, à quelques exceptions près (Roe 2008 ;Basaran 2010Basaran , 2011Neal 2013 ;Olesker 2013), vis-à-vis de la « pratique » législative dans les processus de sécuritisation. Cet article invite ainsi les études critiques sur la sécuritisation à mettre davantage l'accent sur la performativité écrite des législations, à travers une étude ethnographique des modifications législatives en matière de nationalité en France entre 2003 et 2011 4 .…”