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PS121 Lecture 11: Comparing Regimes (4 continued):
Democracies: Israel
1. Israel as the Middle East’s Only Continuously
Democratic Regime: Meeting Robert Dahl’s
Criteria—and others
2. Foundations: Declaration of Independence But No
Constitution; Instead Basic Laws Passed by the
Knesset (Parliament). A Jewish and Democratic State:
potential problems and potential changes. Banning the
Kach Party.
2. Demography: Population 6.5 million. Divisions:
Jews 80%; Arabs (14% Sunni, 3% Christian, 2%
Druze) 19 percent; others 1%. Among Jews: Sabras
(natives) 39 percent; Ashkenazim (Europeans,
including recent immigrants from the former USSR)
36 percent; Sephardim (“Orientals”) 25 percent;
4. Social Structure and Economy: from Agriculture to
Industry to High Tech
5. The Multiparty System: A Legacy of the Zionist
Movement
6. PR and the Threshold for Seats—Now 2%
(compared to 10% in Turkey, 5% in Germany)
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