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"The matters set forth in the Declaration of Independence, especially as regards
the basing of the State "on the foundations of freedom" and the securing of
freedom of conscience, mean that Israel is a freedom-loving State. It is true that
the Declaration "does not consist of any constitutional law laying down in first
any rule regarding the maintaining or repeal of any ordinances or laws" […] but
insofar as it "expresses the vision of the people and its faith" […], we are bound
to pay attention to the matters set forth in it when we come to interpret and give
meaning to the laws of the State, including the provisions of a law made in the
time of the Mandate and adopted by the State after its establishment, through the
channel of section 11 of the Law and Administration Ordinance, 1948;1 for it is
a well-known axiom that the law of a people must be studied in the light of its
national way of life."
S ince its publication in 1953, the Kol HaAm ruling has not only been an important
precedent in all matters pertaining to freedom of expression, as a basic value in Israeli
law, but has also created the basis for a wide range of rulings that used the first and third
sections of the Proclamation of Independence as expressions of fundamental principles
reflecting the spirit of the law applicable in Israel. Such use of the Proclamation is only
made in instances where a certain issue comes to the court for resolution, and the court
is required to interpret existing laws. The Proclamation and its principles are considered
a factor that may guide public authorities in their day-to-day activities when a certain
question is not regulated under any explicit legislation.
Thus, for example, there is no explicit law in Israel prohibiting a public authority, in
all its activities, from discriminating between one person and another on the basis of
religion or race. However, a prohibition on such discrimination has been set down many
times in High Court rulings that based themselves on the Proclamation of Independence.
In a certain instance, which did not reach the courts, the Ministry of Construction and
Housing approached the Attorney General, asking for his response to an appeal addressed
to the Ministry, asking that the Ministry prevent the sale of apartments to both Jews and
non-Jews within the same building or within the same neighborhood.
The Attorney General at the time, Prof. Yitzhak Zamir, clarified the legal situation in
Israel in his letter to the Ministry of Construction and Housing (dated January 10, 1984),
with the following words:
"The Proclamation of the State of Israel, which includes the principles guiding the
country's government and citizenry, asserts that the State of Israel will maintain complete
equality of social and political rights among all its citizens, irrespective of religion,
race or sex. According to the law practiced in Israel, all public authorities must avoid
discrimination between a Jewish resident and a non-Jewish resident with regard to the
sale of an apartment, or lease of an apartment, as in other matters."
T he Declaration at a Distance 255
the basing of the State "on the foundations of freedom" and the securing of
freedom of conscience, mean that Israel is a freedom-loving State. It is true that
the Declaration "does not consist of any constitutional law laying down in first
any rule regarding the maintaining or repeal of any ordinances or laws" […] but
insofar as it "expresses the vision of the people and its faith" […], we are bound
to pay attention to the matters set forth in it when we come to interpret and give
meaning to the laws of the State, including the provisions of a law made in the
time of the Mandate and adopted by the State after its establishment, through the
channel of section 11 of the Law and Administration Ordinance, 1948;1 for it is
a well-known axiom that the law of a people must be studied in the light of its
national way of life."
S ince its publication in 1953, the Kol HaAm ruling has not only been an important
precedent in all matters pertaining to freedom of expression, as a basic value in Israeli
law, but has also created the basis for a wide range of rulings that used the first and third
sections of the Proclamation of Independence as expressions of fundamental principles
reflecting the spirit of the law applicable in Israel. Such use of the Proclamation is only
made in instances where a certain issue comes to the court for resolution, and the court
is required to interpret existing laws. The Proclamation and its principles are considered
a factor that may guide public authorities in their day-to-day activities when a certain
question is not regulated under any explicit legislation.
Thus, for example, there is no explicit law in Israel prohibiting a public authority, in
all its activities, from discriminating between one person and another on the basis of
religion or race. However, a prohibition on such discrimination has been set down many
times in High Court rulings that based themselves on the Proclamation of Independence.
In a certain instance, which did not reach the courts, the Ministry of Construction and
Housing approached the Attorney General, asking for his response to an appeal addressed
to the Ministry, asking that the Ministry prevent the sale of apartments to both Jews and
non-Jews within the same building or within the same neighborhood.
The Attorney General at the time, Prof. Yitzhak Zamir, clarified the legal situation in
Israel in his letter to the Ministry of Construction and Housing (dated January 10, 1984),
with the following words:
"The Proclamation of the State of Israel, which includes the principles guiding the
country's government and citizenry, asserts that the State of Israel will maintain complete
equality of social and political rights among all its citizens, irrespective of religion,
race or sex. According to the law practiced in Israel, all public authorities must avoid
discrimination between a Jewish resident and a non-Jewish resident with regard to the
sale of an apartment, or lease of an apartment, as in other matters."
T he Declaration at a Distance 255
