The Road Not Taken

Menachem Begin's Position on the Formation of a Democratic Regime for Israel

in Israel Studies Review
Author:
Maya Mark Postdoctoral Fellow, Azrieli Center for Israel Studies, Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel markmaya@tauex.tau.ac.il

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/isr.2021.360208
Keywords:
constitution; Israeli right; Likud; Menachem Begin; presidential democracy; separation of powers
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Abstract

This article explores the position taken by the Herut party and its leader, Menachem Begin, on fundamental issues of democracy and regime type. It analyzes the democratic model that Begin and Herut sought to promote during Israel's formative years: a presidential democracy with a clearly defined separation of powers preserved in a rigorous formal constitution that includes both judicial supremacy and a mechanism for judicial review. The article illuminates an important and unexplored chapter in Israeli historiography—the right wing's position on the formation of Israel's democratic regime—and addresses the ideological roots and foundations of the Likud movement in the spheres of government and law.

Contributor Notes

MAYA MARK is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Azrieli Center for Israel Studies at the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Her PhD dissertation dealt with Menachem Begin's view of law and regime. E-mail: markmaya@tauex.tau.ac.il

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Cover Israel Studies Review
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
17
Keywords:
constitution; Israeli right; Likud; Menachem Begin; presidential democracy; separation of powers
Print Publication Date:
01 Sep 2021
Online Publication Date:
01 Sep 2021
Copyright:
© Association for Israel Studies 2021

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