The pioneers of the State of Israel in the beginning of the 1920's took their cues from the 1917 Russian revolution and viewed the world through the prism of a socio-nationalistic (or socio-Zionistic) perspective. The hero of this pioneer movement was the figure of the new "Jewish worker", who immigrated to Israel in order to work the land and live a free, proud life founded on principles of Jewish labor, freedom, equality and mutual cooperation. Consequently, the workers' parties, who governed the Jewish settlement prior and subsequent to the establishment of the state, founded and supported various socialist enterprises such as kibbutzim (workers communes), cooperative settlements, and workers unions.

The culture of working and building also existed with respect to the building of the cities (such as Tel-Aviv, which was founded in 1909), and the establishment and development of industry. However, in these areas a strong democratic-liberal philosophy was also visible.

Consistent with this practical vision, in the years immediately following its independence, Israel held fast to what were, for the most part, socialist values. The newly formed Knesset enacted various social legislation such as the Compulsory Education Law, 1949 which guaranteed all citizens and residents of Israel the right to a free education until twelfth grade, and compulsory education until tenth grade within the public school system.

The first Minister of Education, Mr. Zalman Shazar, who later became the third President of Israel, eloquently addressed the Knesset upon the enactment of the law:

"In reality, the Government is introducing a law, which is, in principle, already in effect in Israel. The majority of the Jewish localities in Israel are already accustomed to compulsory education, notwithstanding the absence of any laws on the subject. We have not yet begun to consider how the state could begin to solve our existential issues, and already statistics indicate that 90% of our children attend schools. I believe that such a situation is extremely rare, namely, that a nation can say about itself that 90% of its sons and daughters are enrolled in schools without any compulsory education laws compelling them to be there."

Other legislation enacted during this period included:

Hours of Work and Rest Law, 1951 establishes the maximum hours and days of a work week, as well as the
right to overtime pay and authorized breaks during the day;

Annual Leave Law, 1951 guarantees workers paid vacation;

Employment of Women Law, 1954 guarantees fair and equal treatment of women in the workplace, including
pregnancy and maternity rights and benefits;

National Insurance Law, 1953 provides for a standardized basket of health services, including hospitalization for all residents of Israel.

Israel's initial welfare legislation was followed by a second wave of social legislation in the 1980's, despite the fact that the model of the socialist welfare state was being challenged in Israel and around the world. Among the enacted statutes are:

An amendment to the National Insurance Law, commonly known as the Nursing Care Law, 1986 provides long-term care, either in their own homes or in the community, for all elderly persons who have become dependent on the help of others for the performance of daily activities, thus obviating the need for residential care;

Special Education Law, 1988 entitles children who have special learning needs to free education between the ages of three and twenty one;

Senior Citizens Law, 1989 gives senior citizens many benefits and rights;

Extended School Day Law, 1990 replaced by the Extended School Day and Enrichment Studies Law, 1997 grants a longer school day than the standard five or six hours per day;

National Health Insurance Law, 1994 considered to be the "jewel in the crown" of welfare reform, provides for free medical care according to a defined "health basket";

Equal Rights for Handicapped Persons Law, 1998 protects the dignity and liberty of physically or mentally handicapped individuals, and ensures their equal and active participation in all areas of life, including work;

Public Housing Law (Purchase Rights), 1998 grants tenants of public housing the right to purchase their
apartments at subsidized prices;

Rights of Tenants in Public Housing Law, 1998 recognizes the rights of a tenant to reasonable maintenance of his property and continuation of his tenancy by family members in the case of death or hospitalization of the original tenant.

In recent years, a number of new social laws were enacted, such as: Children at High Risk Law (Right to Day Care), 2000 and Free Education for Sick Children Law, 2001.

As witnessed by the breadth of social legislation enacted, Israel has not neglected the Judeo-Zionistic vision of a modern welfare state despite more pressing budgetary concerns (such as security) and ideological detachment from the original socialist ethos of its founders. Due to the recent global recession, felt in Israel as well, social legislation has had to compete with government objectives to reduce the state budget and minimize government intrusion into the free market. Understandably, maintenance of a modern welfare state places a considerable strain on Israel's economy.

The proposed constitution submitted to the first Government one year after the establishment of the state, contained a comprehensive list of social rights. However, in 1950, the Knesset elected to defer the adoption of a formal constitution and agreed to the gradual enactment of a number of Basic Laws which would one day be incorporated into a final constitution.

The first basic laws to establish individual rights were adopted in 1992, in the form of Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, and Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation which were hailed as a "constitutional revolution" by the President of the Supreme Court, Aharon Barak. Human rights were thus established by supreme law (which supercedes regular legislation), and Knesset legislation became subject to judicial review.

These Basic Laws gave voice to the classic line of rights such as the right to dignity, the right to liberty, the right to privacy, the right to property, the right to exit the country and the right to freely pursue one's trade and occupation. Although lacking a Basic Law dealing expressly with the issue of socio-economic rights, the Supreme Court has held that "the right to a minimal standard of living" is derived from the right to human dignity. As the President of the Supreme Court stated:

"Human dignity inherently contains... a guarantee of a minimal standard of living. A person who lives in the streets and is homeless, is a person whose dignity has been eroded; a person who is hungry, is one whose dignity has been lost; a person who has no access to elementary medical care, is one whose dignity has been harmed; a person who is forced to live under severely humiliating conditions, is one whose dignity has been assaulted,".¹

Some of the Basic Laws are still in the formative stages and the laws pertaining to education, health and housing rights are to be embedded in Basic Law: Social Rights which is under review in the legislative chambers of the Knesset.

Until the Basic Law: Social Rights is passed, the Supreme Court has assumed the duty of protecting these rights and several Supreme Court cases have in fact bolstered these protections. For instance, in a well publicized case, Justice Dalia Dorner held that there is a basic right to education in Israel.² This judgment is based on a number of sources: the diverse legislation on education; the focus on education in Israeli and Jewish tradition; international law which secures the rights to education and other social rights (under the 1966 United Nations Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Israel ratified in 1991).

Despite the delay in the adoption of a constitution, and the existence of opposing interests, the Supreme Court has made great efforts to protect the poor. As Justice Yitzhak Zamir stated:

"One should not declare that the role of government is to protect human rights. Period. Indeed, this is a supreme role. However, it is merely one of the roles. One must also declare, in the same breath, that an additional role is to promote the human welfare of all human beings. Another role is to create social justice. Justice for all. Human rights should not overshadow human welfare and social justice. Human rights cannot only serve the satiated man. Every man ought to be satiated so that he can enjoy, in practice, not only nominally, human rights."³

1. Gamzu v. Yeshayahu, 55(3) P.D. 360.
2. Yated-Children with Downs Syndrome v. Ministry of Education, 56(v) P.D. 843.
3. Contram v. the Finance Ministry, Customs and VAT. 52(i) P.D. 289.

Dr. Yoram Rabin is a law professor and author of three books about constitutional rights in Israel. His most recent book (co-edited with Dr. Yuval Shany) is Economic, Social & Cultural Rights in Israel (Tel Aviv, 2004).