Malcolm Rivera
Israel is one of six countries in the world without a formal constitution. The country has been a constitutional democracy since 1948, but has not ratified a constitution due to its fluid identity and refusal to identify its borders. This reflects decades of Palestinian dispossession and land usurpation. The non-adoption of a constitution has been rooted in the religious-secular conflict in Israel, driven by the politics of Jewish identity. The unresolved struggle concerning Israel’s identity suits Tel Aviv’s long-term reluctance to define its political order and identity.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Religious-secular conflict | Driven by the politics of Jewish identity |
| Tensions between secularists and ultra-Orthodox groups | Deliberately delayed to prevent social clashes |
| Competing interests of Orthodox Jewish base, hardcore Zionists, and secularists | |
| Long-standing differences between secularist founders and fundamentalist Jews | Fundamentalists consider Israel as their God-given "promised land" |
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What You'll Learn
- Israel's fluid identity and refusal to identify its borders
- The religious-secular conflict in Israel
- The country's reluctance to define its political order and identity
- The competing interests of its Orthodox Jewish base, hardcore Zionists, and secularists
- The long-standing differences between the 'secularist' founders of the Israeli state and 'fundamentalist' Jews
Israel's fluid identity and refusal to identify its borders
Israel is one of six countries in the world without a formal constitution, despite establishing the state in 1948, which mandated it to become a constitutional democracy. Israel's fluid identity and refusal to identify its borders are key reasons for this. This phenomenon reflects decades of Palestinian dispossession and land usurpation.
Hanna Lerner, the head of the School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs at Tel Aviv University, wrote that the non-adoption of a constitution "mirrors Israeli consensus regarding the necessary avoidance of ultimate solutions to controversial questions concerning the identity of the state".
Lerner's 2004 article, *Democracy, Constitutionalism, and Identity: The Anomaly of the Israeli Case*, argued that the non-adoption of the constitution has been rooted in "the religious-secular conflict in Israel", which has been "driven by the politics of Jewish identity: the struggle between opposing visions on the very nature of the Jewish state".
Batuhan Ustabulut, an academic on constitutional law at Türkiye’s Kocaeli University and the Director of Legal Research at the Economic and Social Research Center (ESAM), says that the process of making an Israeli constitution has been "deliberately delayed in order to prevent social clashes" between secularists and ultra-Orthodox groups.
Richard Falk, a leading American Jewish legal expert and an emeritus professor of international law at Princeton University, agrees that the unresolved struggle concerning Israel’s identity suits Tel Aviv’s "long-term reluctance to define its political order and identity" by drafting its constitution.
Ankara-based theology historian Eldar Hasanoglu, who specialises in Judaism and teaches at Haci Bayram Veli University, highlights long-standing differences between the "secularist" founders of the Israeli state, such as David Ben-Gurion, its first prime minister, and "fundamentalist" Jews. The latter consider Israel as their God-given "promised land" and demand that political leaders adhere to the principles of the Torah instead of a man-made constitution.
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The religious-secular conflict in Israel
Israel is one of six countries in the world without a formal constitution, despite establishing the state in 1948, which mandated it to become a constitutional democracy. The religious-secular conflict in Israel has been a key factor in the country's failure to ratify a constitution.
The conflict is driven by opposing visions of the nature of the Jewish state and the struggle between religious and secular identities. On the one hand, there are the secularists, who founded the Israeli state and sought to develop a modern, democratic country. On the other hand, there are the fundamentalist or Orthodox Jews, who consider Israel as their God-given "promised land" and demand that political leaders adhere to the principles of the Torah. This conflict has resulted in persistent divisions and tensions between the two groups, with each side having competing interests and ideologies.
The early Israeli leadership, recognising these divisions, sought to develop a middle ground by enacting separate Basic Laws for government institutions rather than a single compact constitution. However, this approach did not ease tensions, and the country continues to struggle with the question of its identity and political order. The process of drafting a constitution has been deliberately delayed to prevent social clashes between secularists and ultra-Orthodox groups, reflecting Israel's reluctance to define its borders and political order.
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The country's reluctance to define its political order and identity
Israel is one of six countries in the world without a formal constitution, despite establishing the state in 1948, which mandated it to become a constitutional democracy. The country's reluctance to define its political order and identity is rooted in the religious-secular conflict in Israel, driven by the politics of Jewish identity. There are persistent divisions and tensions between secularists and ultra-Orthodox groups, with the latter considering Israel as their God-given "promised land" and demanding that political leaders adhere to the principles of the Torah instead of a man-made constitution.
The process of making an Israeli constitution has been deliberately delayed to prevent social clashes between the two camps, according to Batuhan Ustabulut, an academic on constitutional law. This unresolved struggle concerning Israel's identity suits Tel Aviv's long-term reluctance to define its political order and identity by drafting its constitution, according to Richard Falk, a leading American Jewish legal expert.
The country's fluid identity and refusal to identify its borders, a phenomenon that reflects decades of Palestinian dispossession and land usurpation, also play a role in the lack of a formal constitution. Hanna Lerner, the head of the School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs at Tel Aviv University, wrote that the non-adoption of a constitution "mirrors Israeli consensus regarding the necessary avoidance of ultimate solutions to controversial questions concerning the identity of the state".
The competing interests of Israel's Orthodox Jewish base, hardcore Zionists, and secularists further complicate the issue. Early Israeli leadership sought to develop a middle ground by enacting separate Basic Laws for government institutions, but this did not ease tensions. The lack of a formal constitution in Israel is a unique case compared to other countries without a written constitution, such as the United Kingdom, which does not have a single written point of reference for delivering justice.
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The competing interests of its Orthodox Jewish base, hardcore Zionists, and secularists
Israel is one of six countries in the world without a formal constitution, despite establishing the state in 1948, which mandated it to become a constitutional democracy. The country's fluid identity and refusal to identify its borders reflect decades of Palestinian dispossession and land usurpation.
The non-adoption of a constitution has been rooted in the religious-secular conflict in Israel, driven by the politics of Jewish identity and the struggle between opposing visions of the nature of the Jewish state. This conflict has been characterised by persistent divisions and tensions between secularists and ultra-Orthodox groups, with the former seeking to establish a secular state and the latter demanding that political leaders adhere to the principles of the Torah instead of a man-made constitution.
The process of making an Israeli constitution has been deliberately delayed to prevent social clashes between these two camps. The unresolved struggle concerning Israel's identity suits Tel Aviv's long-term reluctance to define its political order and identity by drafting a constitution.
The competing interests of Israel's Orthodox Jewish base, hardcore Zionists, and secularists have thus played a significant role in the country's lack of a formal constitution. The Orthodox Jewish base, consisting of fundamentalist Jews, considers Israel as their God-given "promised land" and opposes a man-made constitution. On the other hand, secularists, including the founders of the Israeli state such as David Ben-Gurion, seek to establish a secular state based on democratic principles. Hardcore Zionists, meanwhile, prioritise the establishment and maintenance of a Jewish homeland, which has often been at odds with the interests of both the Orthodox Jewish base and secularists.
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The long-standing differences between the 'secularist' founders of the Israeli state and 'fundamentalist' Jews
Israel is one of six countries in the world without a formal constitution. This is due to the country's fluid identity and refusal to identify its borders, a phenomenon that reflects decades of Palestinian dispossession and land usurpation.
Hanna Lerner, the head of the School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs at Tel Aviv University, wrote that the non-adoption of a constitution mirrors Israeli consensus regarding the necessary avoidance of ultimate solutions to controversial questions concerning the identity of the state.
Lerner's 2004 article, *Democracy, Constitutionalism, and Identity: The Anomaly of the Israeli Case*, argued that the non-adoption of the constitution has been rooted in the religious-secular conflict in Israel, driven by the politics of Jewish identity and the struggle between opposing visions on the very nature of the Jewish state.
Ankara-based theology historian Eldar Hasanoglu, who specialises in Judaism and teaches at Haci Bayram Veli University, highlights long-standing differences between the secularist founders of the Israeli state, such as David Ben-Gurion, its first prime minister, and fundamentalist Jews. The latter consider Israel as their God-given promised land and demand that political leaders adhere to the principles of the Torah instead of a man-made constitution.
Batuhan Ustabulut, an academic on constitutional law at Türkiye’s Kocaeli University and the Director of Legal Research at the Economic and Social Research Center (ESAM), says that due to persistent divisions and tensions between secularists and ultra-Orthodox groups, the process of making an Israeli constitution has been deliberately delayed in order to prevent social clashes between the two camps.
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Frequently asked questions
Israel has not ratified a constitution due to the country's fluid identity and refusal to identify its borders. The country's Orthodox Jewish base, hardcore Zionists, and secularists have competing interests.
The lack of a constitution in Israel has led to persistent divisions and tensions between secularists and ultra-Orthodox groups.
Israel has an uncodified constitution spread across various sources, including statutes, common law, conventions, and legal documents like the Magna Carta.
Yes, Israel is one of six countries in the world without a formal constitution. The United Kingdom, for example, does not have a single written constitution.
