Democracy.....in Israel?!

Democracy is a government by the people, for the people. Throughout my education, I have learned the ins and outs of American politics and government. While I may be a citizen of the United States, this year Israel is my home, and today, I had the opportunity to sit down and learn about the framework of the Israeli government as both a democracy and a Jewish state. At the Ulpan, the building where we meet for Hebrew language courses, we had a "Lunch and Learn" titled Israel as a Jewish State and a Democracy. Every week, Young Judaea offers an optional lecture or class on various topics ranging from Jewish law to Israeli Current events to how scribes write in the Torah and pretty much anything that has to do with Jews, Israel, or all of the above. Also, as the title implies, the courses speak to our minds and our stomachs by providing us with delicious lunches.

            Today we learned about Israel's paradoxical government. By nature, democracy allows each person one equal vote, with no guaranteed majority party. However, Israel is a Jewish state, implying that governance and laws should be based on that of the Jewish people, and that the Jewish people can and will always be the majority. So how do the two coincide? That's where things get difficult. I have always found politics to be interesting, compelling, and a great way to polish my debating skills so I was in just the right place at Lunch and Learn today. As my madricha, Adina, explained to us the basics of the Israeli government, we all tried to apply the skills we learned in American government classes to make our assumptions and arguments, but it did not quite work out just the way we'd like. The Israeli government functions entirely differently. For example, I learned that education is a very heated topic in Israel. The government provides a basic set of guidelines for the schools, but whether or not the schools chose to comply are in their hands. A school can get government funding and only teach Jewish history, but every school that is funded by the State is required to teach Tanach (or Bible), even to non-Jewish students.

            Life in Israel is truly a world apart from America. Everything about everyday society in Israel is completely different, but when I moved here, I didn't quite think about the political aspect. Moving countries, whether you think about it or not, means moving governments, and today I learned about the inner workings of the country I now call home.