Amani Senwar

In the midst of political discussions over Israel’s controversial Jewish Nation-state Law adopted in July, re-examining Israel’s alleged ethnic democracy becomes more pivotal. In the late 1980s, the Israeli sociologist Sammy Smooha conceptualized the concept of ethnic democracy, and considered Israel as an archetype. Yoav Peled, author of The Challenge of Ethnic Democracy, was one of the Israeli scholars to accept identifying Israel as an ethnic democracy, albeit with reservations regarding the stability of this political system.