We Declare: A Project to Strengthen Israeli Democracy
For We Declare resources and sample booklets – see below.
The We Declare project aims to bring democracy and democratic values to the forefront of Israeli discourse, inspired and based upon the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Through We Declare, BINA engages Israeli leaders, scholars, artists, educators, students and general public in a common discourse on the nature and future of Israeli democracy and democratic values such as human rights, civil rights, equality, diversity, and civil involvement. We Declare aims to re-examine and re-interpret the Israeli Declaration of Independence as a living, dynamic, relevant and shared document and source of inspiration for Israelis of all sectors.
The Declaration of Independence is perhaps the only consensual text to which all sectors of Israeli society can relate to some degree or another. Although the document is a source of ongoing dispute and debate among many segments of society, it is still the singular text at the core of Israel's existence as a sovereign state. However, many Israelis lack basic familiarity, appreciation and understanding of the Israeli Declaration of Independence and fail to see its relevance to their lives and the importance of the document as a formative text for this generation.
As part of the project BINA's educational team create and implement curricula and educational programs that bring the discourse into Israeli public schools and public and community educational settings, based on commentary on the original declaration written by a diverse team of leading Israeli scholars. through public conferences, events and media we extend the discourse of democracy into the broader public sphere of Israel and across the Jewish world. We Declare brings together Israelis from all sectors of society (Jewish & non-Jewish, secular & religious, center & periphery) in a joint discourse on our shared values of democracy and on the significance of democracy for 21st century Israel.
We Declare unites communities across Israel and the Jewish world in shared democratic learning and discourse on Israeli democratic values and on the relevance and significance of democracy for 21st century Israel. We Declare aims to educate, engage, and re-energize Israeli society on the topics of democracy through engagement with the text of the Declaration of Independence. We Declare wishes to strengthen Israeli civil society and to bring all corners of the Israeli community – Jewish and non-Jewish – into the sphere of debate on the present and future of Israeli democracy.
Resources:
To download the special preview volume of the We Declare Israeli Talmud: Tractate Independence in English, featuring writings of several leading Israeli cultural figures on paragraph seven of the Declaration of Independence – click here.
To view the Haggadat Ha'atzmaut, developed by our friends at partners at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC).
For more information or to order the print version of the We Declare booklet contact us: contact@bina.org.il.
To make a donation to the We Declare project and to support the writing and publication of next volume and educational resources – click here.
