Reference no: EM132281483

Write down your answers

Question 1: Explain the meaning of David Easton's political system and its use as a standard to evaluate Israeli government and politics. Use any on-line resources.

Question 2: What logistical and practical issues make direct democracy difficult, if not impossible, in a large society such as Israeli? Given the opportunity, do you think you would be able - or willing - to participate directly in governing your town, state, or nation?

Question 3: Carl Schmitt was a German legal theorist whose book, The Concept of the Political, came to have an enormous influence on both the anti-liberal "left" and the anti-liberal "right." Schmitt posited, "the specific political distinction ... can be reduced to that between friend and enemy."

The most important part of Schmitt's attack on classical liberalism (max Weber) was his insistence that liberals were wrong about social harmony, wrong that exchange was a moral alternative to conquest, wrong that debate could replace combat, wrong that toleration could replace animosity, and wrong that a peaceful world was even possible. What do you think Schmitt would say about Israeli-Palestinian conflict? [just your opinion]

Question 4: Describe the primacy of national security in Israel and its effects on Israeli society and politics. In your answer, refer to Carl Schmitt notion of emergency. In your opinion, does Israel abuse its emergency powers?

Question 5: It has been asserted that Israel's presence in the territories violated UN Security Council Resolution 242 of 1967, one of the cornerstones of the peace process. This allegation ignores both the language and the original intent of 242. The framers of this resolution realized that the pre-1967 borders were indefensible, and deliberately chose to use the term withdrawal "from territories" (and not "from all the territories" as the Palestinians claim) in order to indicate the need to change any future borders. What is the status of the territories? Israel's presence in the territory is often incorrectly referred to as an "occupation."

However, under international law, occupation occurs in territories that have been taken from a recognized sovereign. The Jordanian rule over the West Bank and the Egyptian rule over the Gaza Strip following 1948 resulted from a war of aggression aimed at destroying the newly established Jewish State. Their attacks plainly violated UN General Assembly Resolution 181 from 1947 (also known as the Partition Plan).

Accordingly, the Egyptian and Jordanian seizures of the territories were never recognized by the international community. As neither territory had a prior legitimate sovereign, under international
law, these areas could not be considered as occupied and their most accurate description would be that of disputed territories. In your opinion, are these territories occupied or settled?

Question 6: The State of Israel was established with the goal of providing a homeland for every Jew in which they could live as free and equal citizens without fear of discrimination on the basis of their religious beliefs or ethnic background. The need for a homeland for the Jewish people was apparent after centuries of unequal treatment and persecution.

It was recognized by the international community in 1922, when the League of Nations adopted the Mandate to Administer Palestine and in 1947, when the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 (the Partition Plan). The Law of Return (1950), which states "every Jew has the right to immigrate to the country," thereby fulfilled both the will of the international community and the goal of the Zionist movement. What is the Palestinian claim against the Law of Return (1950)?