Jewish state

The term "Jewish state" is sometimes used to describe the State of Israel and refers to its status as a nation-state for the Jewish people. This concept of an ethnic Jewish homeland is enshrined in Israeli national policy and reflected in many of Israel's public institutions. The concept was codified in the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948 as well as in the Law of Return, which was passed by the Knesset on 5 July 1950, and stated "Every Jew has the right to come to this country as an oleh," an "oleh" being an immigrant Jew http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Immigration/Text_of_Law_of_Return.html. This is intended to make citizenship easier to acquire for Jews.

A Jewish commonwealth

Advocates of Israel becoming a more narrowly Jewish commonwealth face at least the following practical and theoretical difficulties:

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• How to deal with the non-Jewish Arab minority in Israel (and the non-Jewish majority in the West Bank and Gaza (of whom an absolute majority support some form of a secular state devoid of Jewish identity) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Peace_Plan.
• How to alleviate concerns of Jews in Israel who favor a relatively secular state. http://www.hagalil.com/GuShalom/shonoth/demokrat.htm
• What relationship should official Judaism hold vis-a-vis the Government of Israel and vice versa? http://www.wzo.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=1447&subject=181
• What role do schools play in supporting Jewish heritage, religion, culture, and state?http://www.wzo.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=1555&subject=181
• How will the government be organized (theocracy, constitutional theocracy, constitutional republic, parliamentary democracy etc.)?http://www.wzo.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=1449&subject=181
• Should the Justice system be based on secular common law, secular civil law, a combination of Jewish and common law, a combination of Jewish and civil law, or pure Jewish law?http://www.hagalil.com/GuShalom/shonoth/demokrat.htm
• On what mandate should the constitution of a Jewish state be based? http://www.hagshama.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=1447&subject=177
• How to integrate the economy of the state in line with Jewish law.

Theorists who grapple with these issues focus on the future of the State of Israel and realize that although the sovereign political state has been established, there is still much work to be done in relation to the identity of the state itself. http://www.wzo.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=1448&subject=181

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