The first activity of the day was a lecture from Guy Ben-Porat. He is a professor at Be’er Sheva University and an expert on the topic of Israeli politics regarding the separation, or therefore lack of, between state and religion. Porat graduated from Tel Aviv University and later went on to earn a Ph.D. In political science from Johns Hopkins University. He then wrote two books and is an accomplished author.
It is very interesting to me that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, and is the most closely related government/political system to the United States. Yet integration of religion in the political system makes for extreme differences in the everyday lives of Israelis and Americans. For example, a marriage is not recognized in Israel unless it is officiated by an orthodox rabbi. While for many years people have found ways around it, such as going to Cyprus to get a marriage license, people are now standing their ground a bit more firmly and believe that they should be able to get married in their homeland, in the personal and individualized way that they are accustomed, to.
Absence of public transportation and the mandatory closing of businesses and stores is another example of an issue brought about by the lack of division between state and religion in Israeli democracy. Saturday is Shabbat, and therefore has been declared by law the national day of rest. Weather or not one is religious does not matter according to the law.
This brings us to the next, and most significant underlying point of the entire discussion. Is Israel a Jewish state, or a state of Jews? Can a democracy enforce laws heavily based on religion, weather or not individuals practice that religion? And if so, what exactly is a Jewish state, and what boundaries should there be for making laws that inevitably effect the lives of each individual residing in Israel? These questions were left pretty much unanswered, both in the seminar this morning, and in the government today, because there really is no answer. These questions are the consistent issues in Israeli society today, and are the main struggles that have been significant in society since the establishment of the state.
So what did we walk away with? I can personally say that while I may have walked away with questions, I definitely walked away with more knowledge as well. I believe that these unanswered questions will leave me with a thirst for further knowledge that will further involve both myself and my peers in the future of Israel.