Filling in Israel's Constitution-Sized Gap: An Alternate Framework to Constitutional Codification

“Our constitutional ship was not built in a shipyard. It was built on the open sea.” - Aharon Barak, former President of the Supreme Court of Israel Instead of adopting and codifying a formal constitution, Israel relies on a series of Basic Laws passed by a majority of parliament to make up its constitutional framework. However recent events such as the 2018 Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People, the 2023 judicial reform efforts and Israel’s ongoing response to the October 7 attacks, suggest that this framework is no longer viable as it stands. While some have suggested enacting a codified constitution as a possible solution, Israel is not yet ready to take such a step as it struggles to first resolve extreme societal polarization and an identity crisis regarding its Jewish and democratic nature. Instead, a present solution could be for Israel to adopt a two-pillar approach of formally entrenching Basic Laws and codifying judicial review. This two-pillar approach can lead to political and social stability without a complete constitutional restructuring and can buy lawmakers time to create a more long-term solution.