Livni taps Gavison to square the circle of Israel's identity crisis

A new effort undertaken by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni may culminate in Israel being legally defined as a Jewish democracy.

On Monday, Livni tapped Professor Ruth Gavison - a renowned legal scholar and Israel Prize laureate - to come up with a constitutional framework that would create a legal foundation in which Israel's democracy can coexist with its Jewish heritage and identity.

"I believe it is time to formulate a constitutional arrangement that addresses Israel's identity by enshrining its Jewish and democratic values, thus reconciling and balancing those two identities," Livni said in her letter to Gavison on Tuesday, asking her to take the job.

Gavison acquiesced and replied, "I will try to facilitate the effort to entrench Israel's Jewish and democratic identities in a way that is consistent with the principles spelled out in the Deceleration of Independence."

Gavison's appointment comes just weeks after MKs Ayelet Shaked (Habayit Hayehudi) and Yariv Levin (Likud-Beytenu) introduced their new bill called "Basic Law: Israel -- the nation state of the Jewish people." The new piece of legislation has divided the Knesset, with some worried it would disenfranchise Israel's Arab population. Livni has been one of the most vociferous opponents of the bill, saying it puts too much emphasis on Israel's Jewish character and does little to safeguard its democratic institutions and processes. Levin and Shaked have deflected the criticism. They claim that it is based on the Declaration of Independence by including provisions regarding the unique ties between the Jews and the Land of Israel.

"The bill enshrines the values that form the basis for this country; Livni's opposition suggests a lack of direction and a denial of the fundamentals of Zionism," Levin said in June. "The bill ensures Israel would be a Jewish state that has a democratic system of government rather than a democratic state where one can lead a Jewish life every so often."