intelligent in the annals of that organization. As one who strenuously opposed it, I recognize its wisdom.
September 25, 2004
It sounds like a joke, but it is quite serious.
The government of Israel does not recognize the Israeli nation. It says that there is no such thing.
Could you imagine the French government denying the existence of the French Nation? Or the government of the United States of America not recognizing the (US) American nation? But then, Israel is the land of unlimited possibilities.
Every person in Israel is recorded in the Interior Ministry's "registry of inhabitants." The registration includes the item "nation." This entry also appears on the identity card that every person in Israel is legally obliged to carry with them at all times or risk criminal prosecution.
The Interior Ministry lists 140 recognized nations that its officers can register. This includes not only established nations ("Russian," "German," French," etc.) but also "Christian," "Muslim," "Druze," and more.7 The "nation" of an Arab citizen of Israel, for example, may be recorded as "Arab," "Christian," or "Catholic" (but not "Palestinian"-the Interior Ministry is not yet aware of the existence of such a nation).
Most Israeli inhabitants carry, of course, identity cards saying "Nation: Jewish." This has now become a subject of debate.
A group of 38 Israelis have asked for the cancellation of their registration as "Jewish" and its replacement with "Israeli." The Interior Ministry refuses, saying that no such nation appears on its list. The group has petitioned the High Court of Justice to instruct the ministry to register them as belonging to the "Israeli" nation. This week, the case came before the court.
The 38 include some of the most eminent professors in Israel (historians, philosophers, sociologists, and the like), well-known public figures, and others (including my humble self). One of the initiators is a Druze. They are far from belonging to one political camp-indeed, they include both leftists and rightists. One of them was Benny Peled, former commander of the air force, a very right-wing person, who died after the petition was submitted.
The Supreme Court (sitting as the High Court of Justice) handled the case like a hot potato (though Justice Mishal Heshin was delighted to find in the ministry's list the "Assyrian" nation: actually a small