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as it appeared to its founders, from a Jewish, social, and international point of view, and
neighborly relations with the surrounding nations.
Equality and its limitations
In setting forth the Jewish, civic and social character of the state, the proclamation reads:
"The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the
Exiles […]; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets
of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its residents
irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience,
language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it
will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations."
In the economic sphere, the state will "foster the development of the country for the benefit
of all its residents."
This paragraph is characterized by the intention and desire to ensure complete equality
and equal rights in all spheres of life, faith, and world-view for its residents, "irrespective
of religion, race or sex.” This promises more than just formal equality in the eyes of the law
– principles which are unquestionably upheld in practice – but real equality in the social,
economic, and political realms. Despite the claims and complaints voiced by various
groups amongst both the Jewish and Arab populations, the state, as such, through all its
various institutions and services, does in fact uphold the principle of equality in these
areas. The right to vote, for local government and for the Knesset, is extended to everyone
equally. In this realm – and in fact in every other realm – there is no discrimination on the
basis of ethnic origin, skin color, religion, faith, or lack of faith. The extra right extended
to Jewish immigrants, who receive Israeli citizenship upon arrival in the country, arises
from Israel's definition as a Jewish state, with the declared Zionist purpose of removing
the curse of the Diaspora from the Jewish People and gathering dispersed Jews from all
over the world.
It is interesting that it was specifically the Supreme Court, charged with upholding
citizens' fundamental rights on an equal basis, as declared in the Scroll of Independence,
that justified negating the right of a party list to participate in the Knesset elections when
it was found that most of its candidates were hostile towards the very existence of the state
and sought its destruction and annihilation. In the elections for the sixth Knesset, the
Central Elections Committee disqualified the "Socialists' List" that had been submitted
to it, "since its initiators oppose the integrity of the State of Israel and its very existence."
The majority view of the President of the court, Agranat, and of Justice Zussman, with
a dissenting view by Justice Chaim Cohen, upheld the disqualification by the Elections
Committee. Agranat emphasized the assertion in the Scroll of Independence that the state
was established "as a Jewish state in the Land of Israel," and this was first and foremost "by
virtue of the natural and historic right of the Jewish People to live like every other nation
242 The Friday That Changed Destiny
neighborly relations with the surrounding nations.
Equality and its limitations
In setting forth the Jewish, civic and social character of the state, the proclamation reads:
"The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the
Exiles […]; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets
of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its residents
irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience,
language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it
will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations."
In the economic sphere, the state will "foster the development of the country for the benefit
of all its residents."
This paragraph is characterized by the intention and desire to ensure complete equality
and equal rights in all spheres of life, faith, and world-view for its residents, "irrespective
of religion, race or sex.” This promises more than just formal equality in the eyes of the law
– principles which are unquestionably upheld in practice – but real equality in the social,
economic, and political realms. Despite the claims and complaints voiced by various
groups amongst both the Jewish and Arab populations, the state, as such, through all its
various institutions and services, does in fact uphold the principle of equality in these
areas. The right to vote, for local government and for the Knesset, is extended to everyone
equally. In this realm – and in fact in every other realm – there is no discrimination on the
basis of ethnic origin, skin color, religion, faith, or lack of faith. The extra right extended
to Jewish immigrants, who receive Israeli citizenship upon arrival in the country, arises
from Israel's definition as a Jewish state, with the declared Zionist purpose of removing
the curse of the Diaspora from the Jewish People and gathering dispersed Jews from all
over the world.
It is interesting that it was specifically the Supreme Court, charged with upholding
citizens' fundamental rights on an equal basis, as declared in the Scroll of Independence,
that justified negating the right of a party list to participate in the Knesset elections when
it was found that most of its candidates were hostile towards the very existence of the state
and sought its destruction and annihilation. In the elections for the sixth Knesset, the
Central Elections Committee disqualified the "Socialists' List" that had been submitted
to it, "since its initiators oppose the integrity of the State of Israel and its very existence."
The majority view of the President of the court, Agranat, and of Justice Zussman, with
a dissenting view by Justice Chaim Cohen, upheld the disqualification by the Elections
Committee. Agranat emphasized the assertion in the Scroll of Independence that the state
was established "as a Jewish state in the Land of Israel," and this was first and foremost "by
virtue of the natural and historic right of the Jewish People to live like every other nation
242 The Friday That Changed Destiny
