The Anatomy of Human Rights in Israel: Constitutional Rhetoric and State Practice PDF
Preview The Anatomy of Human Rights in Israel: Constitutional Rhetoric and State Practice
The Anatomy of Human Rights in Israel Why is there such a large gap between the declarations thatcountriesmakeabouthumanrightsandtheirimper- fect implementation of them? Why do states that have enacted laws and signed treaties about human rights choose not to enforce these laws in daily life? Why have activists failed to achieve the goals of ensuring human rightsdomesticallyandinternationally?Thisbookexam- ines the issue of human rights in the Israeli domestic arena by analyzing the politics and strategies of defend- inghumanrights.Todoso,itintegratesthetoolsofsocial choice theory with a unique institutionalist perspective thatlooksatbothformalandinformal,andlocalandinter- national factors. The book offers an analysis explaining the processes through which Israel is struggling to pro- motehumanrightswithinaspecificinstitutionalenviron- ment, thus determining the future of Israeli democracy anditsattitudetowardhumanrights. Assaf Meydani is an Associate Professor in the School of Government and Society at the Academic College of Tel Aviv–Yaffo, Israel. His research interests include public policy, politics and law, and political economy. He is the author of several books, including The Israeli SupremeCourtandtheHumanRightsRevolution:Courts as Agenda Setters (2011), Political Transformations and PoliticalEntrepreneurs:IsraelinComparativePerspective (2009),andPublicResponsibilityandPoliticalConsump- tion(2009,inHebrew).Hisarticleshaveappearedinjour- nalssuchasIsraelStudies,IsraelLawReview,Policyand Society,ConstitutionalPoliticalEconomy,Rationalityand Society, Land Use Policy, Contemporary Security Policy, and the International Journal of Public Administration, as well as in the Encyclopedia of Public Administration andPublicPolicy. TomybeloveddaughtersRomiandAlma forabetterworldofhumanrights The Anatomy of Human Rights in Israel Constitutional Rhetoric and State Practice ASSAF MEYDANI TheAcademicCollegeofTelAviv–Yaffo 32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,NY10013-2473,USA CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge. ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthe pursuitofeducation,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternational levelsofexcellence. www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107054578 (cid:2)C AssafMeydani2014 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2014 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Meydani,Assaf. TheanatomyofhumanrightsinIsrael:constitutionalrhetoricandstate practice/AssafMeydani. pagescm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-1-107-05457-8(hardback) 1.Humanrights–Israel. 2.Humansecurity–Israel. 3.Israel–Politics andgovernment. I.Title. JC599.I68.M49 2014 323.095694–dc23 2013040687 ISBN978-1-107-05457-8Hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtoin thispublicationanddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis, orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. Contents Acknowledgments pagexi 1. Introduction 1 1.1 TheStructureoftheBook 8 2. InstitutionalTheoryandSocialChoice Studies:UnderstandingtheAnatomyof HumanRights 13 2.1 HumanRightsTheory:Towarda PracticalPositivistApproach 15 2.2 TheBook’sContribution–Human RightsOrganizationsintheProcessof PolicyMaking 19 2.2.1 TheRelationshipbetweenthe PublicandPoliticians 21 v Contents 2.2.2 NongovernmentalOrganizations asInterestGroups 23 2.2.3 TheInvolvementofBureaucrats inHumanRightsPolicies 24 3. BetweenConstitutionalRhetoricandState Practice 29 4. StructuralandCulturalVariablesFavoring aShort-TermOrientation 39 4.1 NongovernabilityinIsrael 40 4.1.1 TheGovernment’sCore Instability 44 4.1.2 TheParliamentarySupervision oftheExecutiveAuthority 48 4.1.3 TheFormalandInformalRoles oftheStateComptroller 53 4.1.4 TheFunctioningofthe LegislativeandParliamentary Authorities 55 4.1.5 TheLocalAuthority 57 4.1.6 TheDefenseEstablishment 61 4.1.7 SummaryofNongovernabilityin Israel 64 4.2 LiberalPoliticalCultureversus NonliberalPoliticalCulture 66 4.3 OrientationtowardOutcomesversus OrientationtowardProcess 68 vi Contents 4.4 EffectsoftheCultureandInstitutions ontheBehaviorofIndividualsina NonliberalPolity 72 4.5 Judicialization:AWell-Known StrategyofHumanRightsNGOs 77 5. TheRighttoBeFreefromtheThreat ofTorture 81 5.1 TheInstitutionalArena 83 5.2 PublicDemandforSupervisionofthe GSS 85 5.3 TheGSS:APoliticalSurvivor 91 5.4 Judicialization:AnAlternativeRoute forHumanRightsActivists 97 5.5 SecurityIssues:ObstaclesforHuman RightsActivists 102 5.6 TheTortureCaseasaCatalyst 103 5.7 PublicPolicyReformasElectoral Capital 110 5.8 SummaryandConclusions 114 6. TheRighttoEquality:GenderSegregation onOrthodoxBusesFollowingtheIsraeli HighCourtofJustice’s2011Rulingonthe “SegregatedLines” 115 6.1 “WetheOrthodoxCommunityDon’t WantAnyFavorsfromThisState” 121 6.2 NongovernmentalOrganizationsas InterestGroups 122 vii Contents 6.3 TheLangerCommitteeversustheHigh Court:RhetoricorPractice 126 6.4 ThePublic–ADeclineintheBeliefin HumanRights 131 6.5 Politicians:TheMotivation ofReelection 135 6.6 Summary 142 7. TheRighttoEnjoyaDecentLifestyle:The CaseoftheLaronLaw–NationalInsurance Law(Amendmentno.109)of2008 EncouragingtheDisabledtoWork 145 7.1 RhetoriconRightsbutFailurein Practice 148 7.2 PublicAttitudesinIsrael 152 7.3 VariousGroupsAdvocatingforthe DisabledasanObstacle 159 7.4 BureaucratsandTheirInfluence 161 7.5 Politicians’PositionasaCatalystin PromotingRights 167 7.6 Summary 170 8. TheHumanRightsCommissioninIsrael ThatNeverWas 173 8.1 “Manifesto”:APublicAppeal 177 8.2 PublicExposure:Impedimentor Catalyst? 179 8.3 CivilServants:Impedimentor Catalyst? 181 viii
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