Minister of Justice, MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home), spoke at the "breakfast forum" conference Monday morning on the subject of a Jewish and Democratic State in Bar Ilan University.
The minister said that the term "Jewish and democratic" is a new term, which did not exist when former Prime Minister Ben-Gurion declared the founding of the state. “This formula of bring 'Jewish and democratic' is totally new."
"The world’s political and materialistic culture that poured into the legal mold of the 1992 basic laws was not created out of thin air. It was formed over the years by the leaders in our society,” said Shaked, “the perception of "Jewish" and "democratic” are actually disconnected concepts, and the concept was not only one who thinks this to be true in practice, but that it would worthy of it too.”
Shaked quoted the words of Justice Aharon Barak, "a Jewish state is the state of the Jewish people. A Jewish state whose language is Hebrew and main festivals reflect the national rebirth. A state which fosters Jewish culture, Jewish education, and love for Judaism. A State whose values are derived from its religious tradition, the laws of marriage and divorce according to Torah law.”
The Justice Minister referred to a national law she submitted by the Knesset last year, "during the previous Knesset, I submitted with my colleague, the Minister Yariv Levin, the Basic Law: Israel as the national and religious state for the Jewish people.
“We want to establish a ‘Jewish and democratic’ state, where each of the components in this pair gets its full meaning,” said Shakied, “None of the concepts have to bow their heads in front of the other. Both need to find the harmony that can be used side by side. Israel's Jewishness is my vision that does not remain a hollow symbol. It must take on a life of its own”
MK Shaked explained how she believed that these two concepts do not contradict each other but rather that they reinforce each other, “I believe we will be a more democratic state as we become more of a Jewish state, and I believe we'll be more of Jewish State as we become a more democratic country.”