Israel's 'Constitutional Revolution': The Legal Interpretation of Entrenched Civil Liberties in an Emerging Neo-Liberal Economic Order

Abstract

Deregulation of domestic markets, recommodification of public services, and the gradual transition toward a more market structure have become worldwide phenomena during the last twenty years. These processes have been described by legislators and bureaucrats as inevitable steps in the constant battle of capitalist markets, especially those in small trade-dependent countries, to remain competitive and viable in the global economy. In many countries, the gradual adoption of more flexible production conditions has been accompanied by the rise of a neo-liberal ideology emphasizing extreme social atomism, by the emergence of an international stock-exchange culture, and by placing the values of efficiency, flexibility, and economic rationality in the highest possible esteem. In the legal arena, many countries have enacted provisions to facilitate the adaptation of domestic markets to the demands of the global market, and have revived a laissez-faire interpretation of law as well as economic and social rights. In short, a new economic and legal order has been establishing itself in the arenas of production, labor, and social entitlement. This wide-ranging process has not left the Israeli polity untouched. There are five main particularities of its impact that make the Israeli case interesting: the long tradition of Hebrew labor and collectivism as central values of Zionism; the historical role of the Labor Movement and especially the Federation of Jewish Labor in Israel (hereinafter, the Histadrut) in the formation of the state; the deeply collectivist roots of Jewish ethno-republicanism underlying the country's political culture; Israel's involvement in a fragile reconciliation process with its neighbors; and the accompaniment of the