Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA)

Strategic Alliances for a Secure, Connected, and Prosperous Region

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Israel’s Democracy and Comparative Politics

October 2, 1989

This paper indicates how fruitful the integration of Israeli politics into comparative politics may be both for the study of Israeli politics and for theory-building in comparative politics. Special characteristics of the Israeli polity? constitutional government without a constitution, the religion-state relationship, the control system of the Arab minority, the political role of the "non-political" army, the consociationalism between Orthodox and secular elites, and the impact of the occupied territories on Israel's democracy? can be better understood in comparative perspective. In the same way comparative political studies in areas such as the rise and fall of dominant parties, the mode of operation of grand coalitions, the role of the military-industrial complex in a liberal democracy, the problem of "new" minorities, the influence of diasporas, and the constitutional dilemmas involved in constitutional engineering in deeply divided societies could very well benefit from a closer study of the Israeli polity.

The Study and Teaching of Jewish Political Materials in Courses on Political Philosophy

October 2, 1989 | Morton Frisch

Jewish political philosophy appeared rather late in Judaism, but on its appearance became very much a part of medieval political philosophy. Medieval political philosophy, however, has a questionable status within the field of political philosophy, partly because of its belief that the highest political teaching is contained in revelation or divine law and partly because most medieval texts are seen either as little more than commentaries on Aristotelian texts or as attempts to reconcile philosophy with theology. The reality of revelation was the decisive presupposition of the medieval philosophers, and that is the reason why medieval political philosophy is so rarely studied today and when studied it seems so alien.

Political Philosophy and the Jewish Political Tradition: Can They be Integrated?

October 2, 1989

The maturation of the field of Jewish political studies has produced a substantial literature on several topics, among them Jewish political thought. Yet conventional teaching of political philosophy in Western universities tends to ignore this literature. The questions of why this should be the case and how material from the Jewish, political tradition might be integrated into the teaching of political philosophy are addressed. Several themes that appear in the field of political philosophy are discussed with suggestions as to how Jewish political thought might apply to them. These themes include: the ideal polity, the achievement and maintenance of legitimacy, the nature of the political community, the obligations of individual citizens, the rights of citizens, balancing rights and obligations, the basis for political authority, equality, the significance of the state in the system, the creation of the just society, the exercise of power, and the ethical dimensions of war and peace.

Bible and Pedagogy in the Teaching of Western Civilization

October 2, 1989

Studying and Teaching Jewish Political Studies in the University

October 2, 1989

Revolutionary Times in the Soviet Union

October 2, 1989

Inside American Orthodoxy: A Survey of Social and Sexual Attitudes

September 15, 1989

Jews and Arabs in a “Dialogue for Peace” in Toledo

September 1, 1989 | Daniel J. Elazar

Islamic Fundamentalism Among the Palestinian Arabs

August 15, 1989

The Recent Government Crisis and Israel’s Political Future

August 8, 1989 | Daniel J. Elazar

Peace, Beauty and Intifada: An American Jewish Political Scientist Returns to Jerusalem

July 16, 1989

Israel’s Labor Movement: What Went Wrong?

July 2, 1989

The Emerging Generation of Canadian Jewish Leaders

June 15, 1989

Interest Groups and the State in Israel

June 1, 1989

The PLO After Algiers, Stockholm and Geneva: Rhetoric and Substance

May 15, 1989