Future Israel (Part III): Addressing societal challenges - opinion

In the third part of a series on Israel's future, Sherwin Pomerantz argues that addressing societal challenges is crucial for the nation's survival.

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The State of Israel… will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; (and) it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture.

Pomerantz emphasizes the Declaration of Independence's promise of "complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex." He contends that this implies an equal obligation to contribute to the country's well-being.

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all its inhabitants

To achieve this, Pomerantz calls for uniform infrastructure and services, from roads to healthcare, across all regions, citing the disparity between areas like north Tel Aviv and Umm el-Fahm. He also stresses the importance of equal justice, referencing the Torah's command to "Justice, justice shall you pursue." He criticizes a recent law allowing the death penalty for terrorists, arguing it unfairly targets Arab terrorists and bypasses judicial processes.

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Justice, justice shall you pursue

Pomerantz's proposals aim to create a more representative and equitable society, ensuring Israel can thrive as it approaches its 100th anniversary.

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passing a law that bypasses the courts and summarily sentences to death terrorists guilty of murder, as was done by the Knesset earlier this year, is not in the spirit of the Torah’s command, especially when it is known that it is specifically designed to target Arab terrorists only.