Why was the Constitution Created?
Understanding the Purpose of the Constitution and the Reasons for the Constitution
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Constitution
Israel does not have a written constitution, even though according to the
a constituent assembly should have prepared a constitution by October 1, 1948. The delay in the preparation of a constitution resulted primarily from problems that emerged against the background of the alleged clash between a secular constitution and the Halacha (the Jewish religious law).
Background
Despite what the
of the State of Israel states regarding the preparation of a constitution by the , Israel has no written constitution in the formal sense, even though it has a constitution in the material sense - in other words, laws and basic rules that lay down the foundations of the system of government and the rights of the individual. Some of these are formulated in , some are scattered in other laws, and part - at least until the passing of basic laws dealing with human and civil rights - were interpreted and formulated in a series of decision by the .
There were those who were inclined to view the Proclamation of Independence as a constitution, since it dealt with the foundations of the establishment of the state, its nature, part of its institutions, the principles of its operation and the rights of its citizens. However, in a series of decisions the Supreme Court ruled that the Proclamation of Independence does not have the validity of a constitutional law, and that it is not a supreme law, in light of which laws and regulations that contradict it are nullified. Nevertheless, article 1 of the
and of the
relates to the principles mentioned in the Proclamation of Independence as a normative source. According to this article &the basic human rights in Israel are based on recognition of the value of man, the sanctity of his life and his being free, and they will be respected in the spirit of the principles (mentioned) in the proclamation of the establishment of the State of Israel.&
The debate in the
on the issue of the constitution even
before the establishment of the state, the National
Council Executive set up a committee, headed by MK
Zerah Warhaftig (Mizrahi), to deal with the issue
of the constitution. However, already in this committee
it became apparent that the work of preparing a constitution
would not be easy. The first Knesset held several
debates on the issue.
Arguments in Favor
The main arguments in favor of a constitution were: the fact that the founders of the state favored the preparation of a constitution and the explicit declaration to this effect in the Proclamation of I the need for a document that would bind all the state institutions, including the legislature, and would serve as the basis for the rules by which the need to respect
of the United Nations General Assembly of November 29, 1947, which dealt with the plan for the partition of Palestine into a Jewish and and Arab state. The resolution called for the preparation of a democratic constitution by a Constituent Assembly, which was to include instructions relating to the preservation of the basic rights of the state' the fact that most state the educational and cultural value that is embodied in a constitution, to the light of which the younger generation can be educated and which serves as the state' the value of a constitution in advancing the &melting pot& and the value of a constitution as an expression of the revolution that took place in the life of the Jewish people.
Arguments Against
The main arguments put forward by those opposed to the constitution, headed by
and the religious parties, were: the idea of the constitution developed in previous centuries, against the background of social and economic struggles
despite and perhaps even because of the absence of a written constitution in Great Britain, the rule of law and democracy there are solid, and civil the
includes within it the basic principles of any progressive constitution, and the Transition Law of 1949, which was passed by the Constituent Assembly, constitutes a fulfillment of the state's obligations toward only a minority of the Jewish people is in Israel, and the state does not have the right to adopt a constitution that will bind the millions that
because of the nature and special problems of the state, it is difficult to reach a consensus regarding the spiritual principles which are to shape the image of the people and the essence of its life, and the debate about the constitution could lead to a cultural war between the religious and the State of Israel is in the midst of a continuous process of change and crystallization, and this does not go together with a rigid constitution.
The Harari Proposal
At the end of the debate, on June 13, 1950, the Knesset
decided to adopt a resolution known as “the
Harari proposal,” named after MK Yizhar Harari
of the Progressive Party, who proposed it. According
to this proposal &the First Knesset assigns
to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee the
preparation of a proposed constitution for the state.
The constitution will be made up of chapters, each
of which will constitute a separate basic law. The
chapters will be brought to the Knesset, as the
Committee completes its work, and all the chapters
together will constitute the constitution of the
state.& Following the passing of this resolution,
the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee set
up a sub-committee on the Constitution.
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