The Israel Democracy Institute has recently inaugurated the Democracy Pavilion in Tel Aviv, which it describes as "a large geodesic dome at the heart of 1 Rothschild Plaza, which conveys the values of equality and freedom and highlights the pluralism and diversity that characterize Israel's democracy."
But anyone looking at the content of this initiative would come to the realization that its real goal is not to tell Israel's story but to tell the history of Israel's democracy. The ultra-liberal zeitgeist in Israeli media has recently taken on a new meaning. It now seeks to negate Israel's Jewish character in every possible dimension.
According to the institute, one can glean three stages in the history of Israel's democracy:
- The early decades of statehood: Israel is described in the Declaration of Independence as a Jewish state and this Jewish character is part of the consensus. The declaration says that Israel will guarantee the full and equal rights for all its citizens but makes clear in multiple points that Israel is a Jewish state.
- The 1990s: The term "Jewish and democratic state" becomes part of the general discourse and is even legislated into some of Israel's basic laws. It enshrines Israel's democratic underpinnings alongside its Jewish foundation, which is considered more elevated.
- Recent years: "Israeli society" and the "Israeli democracy" have become the dominant terms in the liberal camp. The term "Jewish and democratic state" becomes a derogatory term among the elite and a preferred term among the uneducated masses who have yet to embrace the wonders of a nation void of identity.
It appears that the most defining moment of the third stage was the "tribe speech" delivered by President Reuven Rivlin in 2015, in which he said Israel has become a patchwork of tribes whose only common denominator is democracy.
Most Israelis are unaware of the fact that "Jewish" is no longer an integral part of the description of the state. Unfortunately, the speech has become a new declaration of independence, which will be used as the tool through which Israel will transform its identity.
Using highfalutin terms such as the "The Israeli Hope Project," the President's Residence has been actively working to obscure Israel's Jewish character and to supplant it with a secular character to which every citizen could relate, whether Jewish or not and whether Zionist or not.
The activities run by "The Israeli Hope Project" are mostly positive; they encourage dialogue, tolerance and acceptance among the various Israeli sectors. But the terms that have defined this project make it an anti-democratic and biased project that promotes extremist views that oppose the will of the voters.
For some unexplained reason, the speech has become a defining text for the state when in the various courses and programs for training officials in the public service.
However good the intentions may be, the controversial aspects of the text cannot be overlooked. Neither can the fact that it compartmentalizes Israel's Jewish population through a simplistic and artificial analysis.
The Israel Democracy Institute realized that the speech had much potential in offering a clear alternative to the underlying values upon which the Jewish state was founded. The institute seized on this potential and it is therefore hardly surprising that the speech is the highlight of the Democracy Pavilion.
