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Last update - 13:35 10/05/2008 Pretty united after all By Israel Harel Tags: Independence Day, Tel Aviv The vociferous voices doubting the basic beliefs that resulted in the establishment of the State of Israel as the national home for the Jewish people were heard again on the eve of Israel's 60th Independence Day. But it was the Knesset, of all the relevant establishments, that proved in an act of renewed solidarity with the Declaration of Independence that even if the doubters speak loudly, they are few. The formative document of the Jewish State was reaffirmed, to the surprise of even many Knesset members, by a majority of 90 legislators. The reaffirmation project was carried out by the Institute for Zionist Strategies, of which I am a member. The decision to focus on the MKs as a representative image of the ideological viewpoint of the general public was made, in part, on the assumption that beyond their being - as they see it, at least - the successors of the original signatories, they will also vote according to how they decipher their constituents' ideological code. Advertisement And, indeed, the main conclusions from their reaction according to these standards attest to a widespread sense of solidarity with this document, whose detractors among the Jewish Israelis belong to the absolute majority of the ultra-Orthodox community and the absolute minority of seculars. The results show then that despite the dramatic changes that Israel has seen, the absolute majority of the people's elected representatives stand by the formative text of Jewish independence. Granted, some of the reaffirmers seek to alter various passages in the declaration, according to the developments that have unfolded in the past 60 years. But they, too, have come to realize that a declaration of independence is written only once in a nation's history, and should therefore be honored as it is. The members of Shas, who did not sign, said they would have signed if the document had named the Lord, "like they do in America." Most of the members of the Zionist left ascribed to the respectable and historical attitude that sees formative texts as inexorable scripts. Not only did the majority of them refrain from voicing any real opposition to the reaffirmation, but leading leftist figures had helped the drafters find more signatories. The good atmosphere that people like the members of Meretz helped to generate undoubtedly contributed to the clarification of the ideological map of the 17th Knesset. Everyone will agree that the 30 MKs who refused to sign comprise a significant number. Members of the radical left, the communists, whose political ancestors signed in 1948, refused to sign in 2008. The ultra-Orthodox also refused, unlike the group's 1948 representatives. These groups, then, have withdrawn their support for the state's formative ideology. But there is a crucial difference between these two groups. The ultra-Orthodox, unlike the Arab Israelis, do not position themselves in opposition to the basic identity - and perhaps even the existence - of Israel as a Jewish state. On the contrary, the refusal of the ultra-Orthodox stems from their belief that the state is an imitation of other secular nations, instead of being a Jewish state according to the standards of Jewish law, halakha. By contrast, the Arab Israelis' refusal to sign stems from the state's being, in their opinion, so Jewish that they are left with no means to express their identity and their national aspirations. The leaders of the Arab minority, which constitutes 20 percent of Israel's population, expressed their positions in several "vision papers." In these manifestos, they wholly reject Israel's being a Jewish state and a national home for the Jewish people in the Diaspora, as noted in the declaration. The importance of dealing with the challenge of the Arabs' negation of the existence of the Jewish State can hardly be overstated. It is difficult to maintain a national state in the face of such resistance - not always ideological - to what the majority sees as the ethos for that state's existence. Dealing with this problem is no less important than preparing for the Iranian nuclear threat, triumphing over terrorism, setting permanent borders and vouchsafing the continued existence of the Jewish people in the Diaspora - a subject to be discussed next week at an emergency meeting at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. Bookmark to del.icio.us   A few good celebs Some of Hollywood's top guns congratulate Israel in a clip played in Times Square. Chosen, shmosen 'Religion is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions,' wrote Albert Einstein.   1.   Who cares? 14:59  |  Marilyn 10/05/08   2.   arab spreaking state 14:58  |  aryeh shore 14/05/08

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