Strangers and Residents

Abstract

This chapter addresses the complicated question of majority and minority rights in Israel, from the point of view of the interpretation of classical Jewish texts. While not wishing to minimize the importance of political and security issues, this chapter will concentrate on the texts and their interpretations, with only secondary mention of their concrete political ramifications. The reason is that this book addresses “text and context, religion, and human rights,” and Israel is a sovereign secular state whose actions are not necessarily motivated by the interpretation of religious texts. Generally speaking, realpolitik is the basis, rightly or wrongly understood (depending on one’s personal, political point of view) of its decisions. However, many of the actors involved, especially the religious settlers and their opponents, are indeed motivated by religious texts and have various ways of interpreting them. Thus, the classical sources do bear some relevance on the complexities of the contemporary situation.