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Symposium on the Renewal of Israeli Republicanism—Challenges and Obstacles
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Event Date(s):
5/17/2011
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Date Published:
4/16/2011
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Last Updated:
6/16/2011
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Category:
Events
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On Wednesday, May 18, 2011, IDI convened a full-day symposium on The Renewal of Israeli Republicanism (mamlachtiyut). This symposium was held within the framework of IDI’s Nation State project, headed by IDI Senior Fellow and Israel Prize laureate Prof. Anita Shapira. The event was open to the public with advance registration.
 This event was broadcast live on the IDI website. Full video coverage is available below (Hebrew).
Symposium on The Renewal of Israeli Republicanism
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The Israel Democracy Institute, Jerusalem
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Background
Republicanism (mamlachtiyut) is the branch of Zionist ideology that is concerned with citizenship and national policy. Since its very beginning, Israel’s society has been a vibrant civil society with a deep commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and civic values. This commitment was shared by all the influential groups in Israeli society—from Herut on the right to Mapam on the left, and by religious and secular alike. Republicanism also established civil ties that—alongside national and religious affinities—bound the citizens of Israel together with a sense of partnership and civic responsibility. Republicanism is therefore an important foundation of Israeli society.
Over the years, Israel’s approach to civil society has changed in many ways. As in other countries, there has been a decline in the concept of the welfare state and in the state’s commitment to civil society in Israel. At the same time, multicultural, sectorial, and communal approaches have become stronger, and processes of economic privatization have intensified. Yet, even in an era of privatization, post-Zionism, and multiculturalism, Israeli society still identifies with republicanism and its related values.
The Symposium held by IDI on the Renewal of Israeli Republicanism explored the possibility of strengthening republicanism in Israel in light of today’s reality. It examined the conditions for the renewal of republicanism in Israel at the start of the third millennium, redefined republicanism as a civic idea, and discussed the challenges and obstacles that Israeli republicanism faces given the trends of privatization, multiculturalism, post-nationalism, and post-modernism that characterize today’s society. Similarly, it considered the boundaries of civil-republican-state discourse in Israel and examined ideas related to the renewal of republicanism in Israel today. Topics that were explored at the symposium included: politics and state education; whether a democratic state should have a professional army or an army “of the people”; right wing republicanism vs. left-wing republicanism; relations between the individual and the community in a multi-cultural, republican society, and how Israeli republicanism compares to civil-republican approaches in other countries.
Additional information about Israeli republicanism can be found in the English abstract of Israeli Republicanism, a policy paper by Dr. Avi Bareli and Dr. Nir Kedar (IDI 2011).
Full Program
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9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. |
Registration |
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9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. |
Opening Presentation: Republicanism—Then and Now: What is New and Why is Renewal Necessary?
Dr. Nir Kedar, Senior Lecturer, Law Faculty, Bar-Ilan University |
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10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. |
Session One: Challenges in the Renewal of State Institutions: The State Education System
Chair: Dr. Arye Carmon, President, The Israel Democracy Institute
Presenters:
- Dr. Shimshon Shoshani, Director General, Ministry of Education
Parents and Students' Range of Choice in State Education
- Dr. Dan Gibton, School of Education and Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University; Senior Researcher, University of London
Republicanism, Privatization, Sectorialization, and Law in Education: An International Comparison
- Dr. Yossi Dahan, Human Rights Division, Academic Center of Law and Business; The Adva Center
The State in the Service of Privatization
Respondent: Rabbi Shay Piron, Researcher, IDI; Executive Director, Hakol Hinuch; Head of the Petach Tikva Hesder Yeshiva and its affiliated High School
Discussion |
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12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. |
Break |
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1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. |
Session 2: Republicanism on the Right, Republicanism on the Left: The Proper Scope of Regulation
Chair: Dr. Momi Dahan, Senior Fellow, IDI; Head, School of Public Policy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Presenters:
- Prof. Avi Ben Bassat, Senior Fellow, IDI; Department of Economics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Government’s Policy Approach in the Market Economy
- Prof. Daniel Gutwein, Department of the History of the Jewish People, Haifa University
From the Neo-Liberal Dictionary: Government Regulation as a Means of Privatizing the Welfare State
Respondent: Ms. Merav Arlozorov, TheMarker Magazine
Discussion
Closing Remarks: Dr. Momi Dahan, Senior Fellow, IDI |
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3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. |
Break |
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3:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
Concluding Discussion: Republicanism and Sectorialization
Moderator: Prof. Anita Shapira, Senior Fellow, IDI; Professor Emeritus, Department of Jewish History, Tel Aviv University
Participants:
- Dr. Avi Bareli, Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, Ben-Gurion University
- Dr. Uri Cohen, Department of Education Policy and Administration, School of Education, Tel Aviv University
- Prof. Asher Cohen, Department of Political Science, Bar-Ilan University
- Prof. Menachem Mautner, Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
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