The Demographic Demon - Jewish existential uncertainty: En analyse af Israels sikkerhedsliggørelse og opretholdelse af en Jødisk og demokratisk stat.
Studenteropgave: Kandidatspeciale og HD afgangsprojekt
- Mikala Messerschmidt
4. semester, Global Refugee Studies, Kandidat (Kandidatuddannelse)
The research investigates public moral reasoning behind securitization in Israel today and how the securitization is related to the idea of a Jewish demographic majority in Israel. The researcher poses the question of how Israel protects and sustains a Jewish and democratic state. Sub questions related to how minority communities influence Israel’s Jewish and democratic state, are asked. The Palestinian minority living in Israel is seen as a demographic threat to the Jewish majority. At the same time, the ultra-Orthodox minority in Israel is challenging secularism and a democratic state in Israel. Therefore, the research depicts the role of the ultra-Orthodox minority in relation to Israel’s sustainment of a Jewish and democratic state. The research field is scrutinized by focusing on the past 20 years in Israel. The research applies Social Constructivist ideas and theories of International Relations. The research takes use of Securitization Theory (ST) and profound studies of Israel by political scientists Uriel Abulof, Sammy Smooha, Amal Jamal, Oren Yiftachel and Ian Lustick. Uriel Abulof's theory of “Deep Securitization” in Israel is analysed in order to answer the research question. The theories depict the role of the ultra-Orthodox political parties, religious courts and individuals that constitute an ultra-Orthodox community in Israel. The research applies theories suggesting that the ultra- Orthodox courts control religious conversions to Judaism today. Another important finding is that Israel’s “Status Quo Document” gives legal status to religious norms in Israel. The theories study how the Law of Return in Israel secures a Jewish majority in the state because it welcomes Jews in diaspora to integrate in Israel every year. The Palestinians in Israel are seen as a historical “Demographic Demon” that challenges Israel’s Jewish majority on numbers because the minority has a higher birth rate than the Jews. The research applies a deductive method and analyses the research question by applying a Normative Concepts Analysis. This type of analysis displays a political “language of legitimation” and is used to depict the public moral reasoning of politics in Israel. The researcher conducted four semi-structured interviews with Palestinians and Israelis that are discussed together with the theory. The research analyses the rhetorical and political Israel in the 2000s. The analysis identified that keeping the Law of Return active is the result of extraordinary measures of security regarded by the Israeli state as necessary implementations in order to survive. The study also analyses how a Jewish state would fail to exist without a Jewish majority population. The analysis demonstrated that Zionists explained securitizations against the Palestinian hostilities and likely revenge as fear of being outnumbered and the importance of protecting the Jewish identity. The research concludes that Israel grants authority to the ultra-Orthodox political parties and religious courts in order to avoid conflicts of power between the state and the ultra-Orthodox community. The ultra-Orthodox authority is maintained because Israel depends on the religious community’s support of a Jewish majority through a Status Quo and the Law of Return. It was also concluded that the Palestinian minority is seen as an obstacle to the Jewish demographic majority, peace and security. With respect to the research question, Israel is preserving the ultra-Orthodox’s authority to the extent that the state can benefit from it in order to sustain as a state for a Jewish ethnic majority. Israel’s role in the current refugee crisis is discussed in the research. A denial of asylum to Syrian and African nationals is concluded to be an act of securitization of the Jewish demographic majority in Israel.
Sprog | Engelsk |
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Udgivelsesdato | 1 nov. 2016 |
Antal sider | 72 |