The Constitutionality of Israel’s Nation State Law Considered in Light of the Principles Underlying the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Abstract

Entrenched within Israeli Legislation is a constitutional provision known as the Nation State Law (“the Law”), which prescribes additional Jewish characteristics to the unwritten constitution of the State of Israel, albeit not in the traditional form that a constitution generally takes. The Nation State Law purports to be built on the constitutional principles by which Israel has operated since its inception, principles that are not ingrained in a constitutional document, but that come from various sources of legislation, judicial rulings, and Knesset discussions. This paper will examine the unwritten Israeli constitution, drawing comparisons to the Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In doing so, this paper seeks to understand whether the Nation State Law is constitutionally valid not only on the basis of Israeli constitutional law, but, also, in light of Canadian and universal constitutional principles. As well, it will emphasize the importance of the historical process by which Israel became a Jewish state, founded to protect Jews across the world from consistent persecution and widespread anti-Semitism.