Ignorance Is Weakness - Know The Truth
Self-Inflicted Ignorance Is Suicide
The Freeman Center Is A Defense Against Ignorance
 
========================
"Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time, and your
government when it deserves it." (Mark Twain)
==================
 
 
 
A Rational Plan:How to Empower the Jewish People
 
 

A.     Introduction
 
 
 
by Prof Paul Eidelberg

1. The State of Israel is disintegrating.  Some 300,000 Jews are threatened with deportation from Judea and Samaria in violation of both domestic and international law.  At fault are not only flawed politicians and irrational policies, but also a decrepit system of government. This system entrenches these politicians in power and enables them to violate the law as well as the cherished beliefs of the Jewish people with impunity. What's wrong with this system?

 2. Serious political scientists describe this system as “cabinet dictatorship.”  Here’s why.  Parties in Israel compete for Knesset seats on the basis of proportional representation.  Since no party has ever won a majority of Knesset seats, the cabinet invariably consists of a multiplicity of rival party leaders.  And since Knesset members owe their position and perks to their parties and not to the votes of constituents, they can’t oppose their party leaders without committing political suicide, especially when their party leaders are cabinet ministers. Cabinet dictatorship follows.

 3. The primary concern of these party leaders is not to unite behind a common program, but “to divide positions of influence and the national budget”—to quote David Ben-Gurion’s memoirs.  Hence, it’s virtually impossible for a prime minister to pursue a coherent and resolute long-term national strategy.  This tempts him, on controversial issues, to ignore his cabinet and actunilaterally, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did on June 14, 2009 when he endorsed the creation of a Palestinian State in Judea and Samaria. By so doing, he violated Basic Law: Government, which requires the Prime Minister to submit policies of national significance to his cabinet for approval. 

 4. Moreover, since the prime minister and his coalition partners are notindividually elected by or accountable to the voters in constituency elections, they can ignore public opinion with impunity.  Thus, although Ariel. Sharon campaigned in the January 2003 election against Labor’s unilateral withdrawal policy, he has willfully betrayed the public by imposing that policy on his cabinet. We see here not only flawed politicians but also a flawed system of government. We must change the system!

 B.  Constitutional Reform
 
1. Multi-party cabinet government must be replaced by a popularly electedPresident whose cabinet will no longer consist of diverse party leaders from the Knesset. This will promote national unity and coherent, resolute policies to deal with terrorism and the nation’s domestic problems. Diversity belongs in theLegislature, not in the Executive.
 
2. A strong Legislature is needed to check the Executive.  Knesset members must be individually elected by and accountable to the voters in regional elections—the practice of 80 out of 84 democratic countries, many of which are smaller in size and population than Israel.  This reform will shift power from parties to the people.

 3. The Supreme Court must also be democratized.  Judges should be nominated by the President (advised by a council learned in secular as well as Jewish law) and confirmed by the Knesset.   Eminent Israelis across the political spectrum say that the court has become a self-perpetuating oligarchy.  Many judicial decisions violate the cherished values of the Jewish people.  Even though the judges are not military experts, they feel free to veto IDF security measures.  Jews have been killed as a consequence. 

These democratic reforms will give Israel, for the first time, the institutional checks and balances required for honest and responsible government. However, a Constitution will be necessary to define the powers of the three branches of government.  This Constitution must unite all Jews and preserve Israel as a Jewishpolity. 
 
4.  The present writer has designed a Constitution that affirms Israel’sJewish essence as the paramount principle of the State to which all other principles are subordinate.  This Constitution is unique: it uses Jewish principles to make Israel more democratic, while using democratic principles to make Israel more Jewish!  
 
C.             Empowering the Jewish People

 1. The Economy: We favor:

 ● A free market economy to create new jobs, increase productivity, reduce bureaucracy, and lower taxes.
● Closing the income inequality in Israel (which exceeds that of the U.S.!!!) by having the wages of a worker supplemented by shares in his company.
● Free labor unions to prevent Histadrut-domination of the economy which leads to strikes that paralyze the country.

 2. Education:  The primary sources of Judaism must form the core of education in the public schools, supplemented by secular studies with emphasis on science and mathematics.  More funds, derived from new energy sources, should be devoted to scientific research.

3. Loyalty: All citizens should be required to pledge loyalty to Israel as aJewish State.  The Government must therefore enforce the Citizenship Law, which empowers the Interior Minister “to revoke the citizenship of any Israel national that commits an act of disloyalty to the State.” However, the term “acts” should be defined to protect freedom of speech and press. The Government must also enforce Basic Law: The Knesset, which prohibits any party that negates the Jewish character of the State.

4.  Justice— Israel needs:
 
● Legislation that enables a private citizen who suffers injury from the act of any public official to sue the official for compensatory and punitive damages. 
 
● Legislation that enables victims of Arab terrorism to sue, without any statute of limitations, terrorists and any Arab state or organization responsible for such criminal acts. 

 ● Legislation that no person convicted of a felony will be released from jail prior to the termination of his sentence without approval of a parole board consisting of qualified private citizens.  This will preclude the release of terrorists.

 5. The IDF: The Soldiers Code of Ethics should emphasize “Judaism,” “Zionism,” and “Eretz Israel”—terms deleted by the 1992-95 Rabin Government.

D.    Conclusions


 1.     The expulsion or deportation of Jews dictated by Netanyahu’s autocratic decision to create a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria will divide and demoralize Israel and lead to its demise.

2.  This Oslo-generated decision violates Jewish law as well as Basic Law: Freedom and Human Dignity, and it could not be implemented if Israel had constitutional checks and balances.

3. To repeat: We have designed a Constitution that uses Jewish principles to make Israel more democratic, while using democratic principles to make the country more Jewish. ☼