The ethnic democracy debate: how unique is Israel?

Berent, Moshe

doi:10.1111/j.1469-8129.2009.00421.x

Cited by 19 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…10 For a good historical overview of this debate, see Conforti (2011). 11 For a presentation of this argument, see Berent (2010). 12 For a defence of distinguishing between new and mature democracies, see Spinner-Halev (2002).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

When is anti‐Zionism morally legitimate?

Oxman

2017

Nations and Nationalism

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The claim that Zionism is fundamentally or intrinsically morally compromised is unfortunately more commonly articulated and expressed than it deserves to be. While there are certainly good reasons to be critical of Israeli governmental policy (both now and in the past), those who question the very right of a Jewish state to exist on land approximating the current territory of Israel without extrapolating this principle to other cases are being philosophically disingenuous. While I concede that it is perfectly reasonable to object to the creation and maintenance of a Jewish state on the basis of either its exclusionary character or its problematic history, I suggest that such arguments should equally apply to virtually every other nation‐state. Thus, while anti‐Zionism is not necessarily a morally illegitimate claim, unless its claims are paired with a more radical rejection of the nation‐state tout court, it should be considered as such.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

When is anti‐Zionism morally legitimate?

Oxman

2017

Nations and Nationalism

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“…that its ethnic boundaries are closed to whoever is non-Jewish by origin or by religion, thus hindering the possibility of creating a community of equal citizens. 87 In our opinion, Ben Gurion was well aware of this democratic problem, thus allowing non-Jews to immigrate and integrate into Israel's Jewish society, including those not of Jewish origin. He sought to integrate civic and cultural elements into the Jewish ethnic nationality, enabling non-Jews to enter it, 88 as long as they would assimilate into the Jewish collectivity.…”

Section: From the 1950s To The Presentmentioning

confidence: 97%

Integrating non-Jewish immigrants and the formation of Israel's ethnic–civic nationhood: from Ben Gurion to the present

Fisher

Shilon

2016

Middle Eastern Studies

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The character and values of communities and countries are reflected in the way they define their boundaries and by the means they provide for those who wish to join them. Thus, immigration policy based on primordial ethnic affinities points to a society which anchors its collective identity in the past, while a state with joining rules based on individual civic requirements reflects a more open and inclusive concept of nationalism. The immigration and naturalization policy of each state is determined at the time of its inception, and the definition of these boundaries infuses practical content into its vision. However, both the vision and its content may undergo modifications depending on historical circumstances. For example, US immigration policy, adopted after the Second World War, was based on neutral criteria of immigrant admission reflecting the fact that it is a country of immigrants whose civic identity lies on individual-liberal foundations. Similarly, at the beginning of the 2000s, Germany integrated civic principles into its ethnic naturalization laws to facilitate veteran immigrants' assimilation and naturalization. On the other hand, the ethnic citizenship laws in the Baltic states, which emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union, endowing citizenship to descendants of nationals despite years of their living abroad, reflect the importance of ethno-historical foundations of national identity from these countries' perspective. 1 In this article, we intend to focus on the Israeli case and explain the link between its immigration and naturalization policy and its collective self-perception. We argue that Israel's policy was designed at the time of the state's establishment by David Ben Gurion, in an attempt to construct a national Jewish identity based on a creative interpretation of religious tradition, oriented also towards building a modern inclusive Jewish nation. In Israel, as in some other countries, changes in immigration policy have been made. However, in our view, in the Israeli case, these changes have not replaced the basic principles originally set by Ben Gurion; rather, they have actually confirmed the continued commitment to these fundamental principles.

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“…Bagno 2011a: 20). "These categories [imply] the exclusion of others, but at the same time go for an explicitly national agenda in order to catch-all possible eligible 22 On the discussion of the concept itself, see for example Berent 2010;Danel 2009;Peled/ Navot 2005;Ghanem et al 1998;Peled 1992;and Yiftachel 1992. votes" (Bagno 2011a: 21). 23 Another feature Bagno mentions in this context is a "catch-all ethnic party's" "loyal[ty] to the establishment" (Bagno 2011a: 22)-a feature Pedahzur (2001) would strongly disagree with with regard to IB.…”

Section: Is Yisra'el Beitenu An "Ethnic Party"?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Inclusion through Exclusion

Schmidt-Kleinert¹

2018

Edition Politik

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How do young people from immigrant families become engaged in politics? Anja Schmidt-Kleinert examines the case of young Israelis who are actively engaged with the nationalist Yisra'el Beitenu party, led by the Israeli minister of defence, Avigdor Lieberman. She explores how the activists present Israeli citizenship in a way that is exclusionary to non-Jewish citizens and analyses their strategy to actively construct a sense of belonging to Israeli society or, more precisely, to the Jewish collective by (re-)producing the ethno-nationalist discourse.

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The ethnic democracy debate: how unique is Israel?

Cited by 19 publications

References 16 publications

When is anti‐Zionism morally legitimate?

When is anti‐Zionism morally legitimate?

Integrating non-Jewish immigrants and the formation of Israel's ethnic–civic nationhood: from Ben Gurion to the present

Inclusion through Exclusion

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