This thesis begins with an explanation of Israel’s foundational constitutional tension—namely, that its identity as a Jewish State often conflicts with liberal-democratic principles to which it is also committed. From here, I attempt to sketch the evolution of the state’s constitutional principles, pointing to Chief Justice Barak’s “constitutional revolution” as a critical juncture where the aforementioned theoretical tension manifested in practice, resulting in what I call illiberal or undemocratic “moments.” More profoundly, by introducing Israel’s constitutional tension into the public sphere, the Barak Court’s jurisprudence forced all of the Israeli polity to confront it. My next chapter utilizes the framework of a bill currently making its way through the Knesset—Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People—in order to draw out the past and future of Israeli civic identity. From a positivist perspective, much of my thesis points to why and how Israel often falls short of liberal-democratic principles. My final chapters demonstrate that neither the Supreme Court nor any other part of the Israeli polity appears particularly well-suited to stopping what I see as the beginning of a transformational shift in theory and in practice. In my view, this shift is making, and will continue to make, the state’s ethno-religious character the preeminent factor in Israeli Constitutionalism and civic identity.

A pesquisa aborda a relação entre o movimento sionista e os judeus radicados no Brasil, tendo como objetivo evidenciar e caracterizar a contribuição do nacionalismo judaico para a formação de uma identidade judaico-brasileira e de uma comunidade judaico-brasileira. Para isso, o estudo analisa a trajetória do movimento sionista no Brasil desde seu surgimento, o discurso e a ação sionista, bem como o intercâmbio entre entidades, dirigentes, militantes sionistas radicados em diferentes cidades brasileiras. A abordagem concentra-se na primeira metade do século XX, tendo como parâmetros os primeiros contatos entre judeus radicados no Brasil com as lideranças da Organização Sionista Mundial, em 1901, e o ano de 1956, momento posterior a criação de Israel, no qual o processo imigratório para a América perde seu ímpeto e os judeus já se encontram integrados na sociedade brasileira. Tendo a história política como referência e a partir de perspectivas de análise que se complementam, a pesquisa alcança seu objetivo ao evidenciar como as ideias e o discurso sionista permeou as diferentes associações e grupos judaicos durante o período citado, sem, no entanto, desconsiderar os conflitos e divergências político-ideológicas decorrentes desse processo. / This research addresses the relationship between Zionism and jews living in Brazil, aiming to demonstrate and characterize the contribution of Jewish nationalism to the formation of a Jewish-Brazilian identity and a Jewish community in Brazil. For this, the study analyzes the history of the Zionist movement in Brazil since its inception, the Zionist discourse and action, as well as exchange between entities, officers, Zionist militants based in different cities. The approach focuses on the first half of the twentieth century, taking as parameters the first contacts between Jews living in Brazil with the leadership of the World Zionist Organization in 1901 and 1956, a subsequent creation of Israel in which the process immigration to America loses its momentum and the Jews are already fully integrated into Brazilian society. Since the political history as a reference and from analytical perspectives that complement the research achieves its goal by showing how the ideas and the Zionist discourse has permeated the various associations and Jewish groups during the period mentioned, without, however, ignore the conflicts and political and ideological differences resulting from this process.

A pesquisa aborda a relação entre o movimento sionista e os judeus radicados no Brasil, tendo como objetivo evidenciar e caracterizar a contribuição do nacionalismo judaico para a formação de uma identidade judaico-brasileira e de uma comunidade judaico-brasileira. Para isso, o estudo analisa a trajetória do movimento sionista no Brasil desde seu surgimento, o discurso e a ação sionista, bem como o intercâmbio entre entidades, dirigentes, militantes sionistas radicados em diferentes cidades brasileiras. A abordagem concentra-se na primeira metade do século XX, tendo como parâmetros os primeiros contatos entre judeus radicados no Brasil com as lideranças da Organização Sionista Mundial, em 1901, e o ano de 1956, momento posterior a criação de Israel, no qual o processo imigratório para a América perde seu ímpeto e os judeus já se encontram integrados na sociedade brasileira. Tendo a história política como referência e a partir de perspectivas de análise que se complementam, a pesquisa alcança seu objetivo ao evidenciar como as ideias e o discurso sionista permeou as diferentes associações e grupos judaicos durante o período citado, sem, no entanto, desconsiderar os conflitos e divergências político-ideológicas decorrentes desse processo. / This research addresses the relationship between Zionism and jews living in Brazil, aiming to demonstrate and characterize the contribution of Jewish nationalism to the formation of a Jewish-Brazilian identity and a Jewish community in Brazil. For this, the study analyzes the history of the Zionist movement in Brazil since its inception, the Zionist discourse and action, as well as exchange between entities, officers, Zionist militants based in different cities. The approach focuses on the first half of the twentieth century, taking as parameters the first contacts between Jews living in Brazil with the leadership of the World Zionist Organization in 1901 and 1956, a subsequent creation of Israel in which the process immigration to America loses its momentum and the Jews are already fully integrated into Brazilian society. Since the political history as a reference and from analytical perspectives that complement the research achieves its goal by showing how the ideas and the Zionist discourse has permeated the various associations and Jewish groups during the period mentioned, without, however, ignore the conflicts and political and ideological differences resulting from this process.

A pesquisa aborda a relação entre o movimento sionista e os judeus radicados no Brasil, tendo como objetivo evidenciar e caracterizar a contribuição do nacionalismo judaico para a formação de uma identidade judaico-brasileira e de uma comunidade judaico-brasileira. Para isso, o estudo analisa a trajetória do movimento sionista no Brasil desde seu surgimento, o discurso e a ação sionista, bem como o intercâmbio entre entidades, dirigentes, militantes sionistas radicados em diferentes cidades brasileiras. A abordagem concentra-se na primeira metade do século XX, tendo como parâmetros os primeiros contatos entre judeus radicados no Brasil com as lideranças da Organização Sionista Mundial, em 1901, e o ano de 1956, momento posterior a criação de Israel, no qual o processo imigratório para a América perde seu ímpeto e os judeus já se encontram integrados na sociedade brasileira. Tendo a história política como referência e a partir de perspectivas de análise que se complementam, a pesquisa alcança seu objetivo ao evidenciar como as ideias e o discurso sionista permeou as diferentes associações e grupos judaicos durante o período citado, sem, no entanto, desconsiderar os conflitos e divergências político-ideológicas decorrentes desse processo. / This research addresses the relationship between Zionism and jews living in Brazil, aiming to demonstrate and characterize the contribution of Jewish nationalism to the formation of a Jewish-Brazilian identity and a Jewish community in Brazil. For this, the study analyzes the history of the Zionist movement in Brazil since its inception, the Zionist discourse and action, as well as exchange between entities, officers, Zionist militants based in different cities. The approach focuses on the first half of the twentieth century, taking as parameters the first contacts between Jews living in Brazil with the leadership of the World Zionist Organization in 1901 and 1956, a subsequent creation of Israel in which the process immigration to America loses its momentum and the Jews are already fully integrated into Brazilian society. Since the political history as a reference and from analytical perspectives that complement the research achieves its goal by showing how the ideas and the Zionist discourse has permeated the various associations and Jewish groups during the period mentioned, without, however, ignore the conflicts and political and ideological differences resulting from this process.

La notion de cause est l’alpha et l’oméga de l’Éthique. Mais elle apparaît principalement de manière oblique : à travers « l’idée d’une cause extérieure » qui accompagne les passions dérivées. La cause, imaginée de façon assignable, n’est en fait plus assignable. L’individu étant complexe, il est difficile de démêler ce qui lui arrive de l’extérieur, de ce qui est produit par l’intérieur. Dans la passion, on se modifie à son insu pour devenir un sujet de ce qui lui arrive, et comprend la cause de ce changement sous la forme d’un récit. Cette dynamique imaginaire, nous l’appelons « causalité imaginaire » et nous l’expliquons en termes mécaniques. Nous dégageons d’abord l’essentiel de la mécanique spinoziste : la positivité ontologique de chaque idée (nature agissante) ; la multiplicité des référentiels qui se croisent en une seule et même nature (enveloppement) ; et le concept d’individu originairement composé (emboîtement des individus). La coexistence de ces référentiels autour d’un seul, voilà ce qui constitue la structure de la causalité imaginaire, et la variation de leur proportion, son contenu effectif. Conformément à cette structure, nous appliquons le « conatus », principe d’autoconservation, en premier aux idées ou affects, pour montrer que le désir, essence actuelle de l’homme, est un complexe d’affects qui, individus eux-mêmes, médiatisent l’influence des autres. Il en résulte que la causalité imaginaire est la causalité mécanique elle-même, relative aux individus complexes. Enfin, tout en nous référant à la causalité psychique freudienne, nous tentons d’esquisser un nouveau concept d’Inconscient, comme rapport sans sujet ou structure sans centre. / The notion of cause is the alpha and omega of Ethics. But it appears mostly in an oblique way: through "the idea of ​​an external cause" that accompanies the derived passions. The cause, imagined assignable, is actually no more assignable. As the individual is complex, it is difficult to disentangle what is happening in it from the exterior, from what is produced by the interior. In passion, one is modified unwittingly to become a subject of what happens to him, and understand the cause of this change under the form of a story. This imaginary dynamics, I call it "imaginary causality" and explain it in mechanical terms. I establish first the key features of Spinoza’s mechanics: the ontological positivity of each idea (acting nature); the multiplicity of referential frames that intersect at a single nature (envelopment); and the concept of the individual as originally composed (nesting individuals). The coexistence of these referential frames around only one of them, this is precisely what constitutes the structure of imaginary causality, and the variation of their proportion, its actual content. In accordance with this structure, I apply "conatus", self-preservation principle, to ideas or affects at first, to show that desire, actual essence of a man, is a complex of affects which, as individuals themselves, mediate the influence of others. It turns out that imaginary causality is the very mechanical causality, concerning the complex individuals. Finally, while I refer to Freudian psychic causality, I attempt to outline a new concept of the unconscious: as relation without a subject or structure without a center.

Existe-t-il un pluralisme démocratique, une démocratie différente de celle des normes « occidentales » ? C’est la question que nous nous sommes posés dans notre recherche, en partant sur une hypothèse affirmative, dans un contexte spécifique qui est celui de l’alliance communément contestée entre démocratie et religion. Nous avons décidé de nous pencher sur les démocraties du Proche-Orient, sur leurs particularismes liés au rapport étroit qui existe dans ces pays entre politique et religion. Les pays de la région qui sembleraient à nos yeux les plus démocratiques à ce jour sont le Liban, Israël (en incluant une étude des Territoires palestiniens également), et la Turquie. En tenant pour principes démocratiques l’égalité et la liberté, présents dans leurs constitutions respectives, nous avons décidé d’étudier les spécificités de chaque pays ; celui d’être un Etat confessionnel pour le Liban, un Etat Juif pour Israël, un Etat sans Etat pour les Territoires palestiniens, un Etat à la fois laïc, turc, et islamique pour la Turquie. Il existe des failles démocratiques dans chacun de ses Etats, que nous avons mises en évidence, tout comme des évolutions positives. Le nationalisme présent dans chacun de ces pays est particulièrement prononcé, selon les différentes communautés d’appartenances, ce qui fait de l’appartenance ethnique principale une appartenance nationale ; d’où notre choix ambitieux d’appeler ces Etats des démocraties ethniques, se basant sur l’ethnos (l’appartenance communautaire du peuple). C’est aussi en raison de cette condition qu’ils connaissent surtout des lacunes vis-à-vis de la reconnaissance d’autres appartenances, leurs minorités respectives. / Does a democratic pluralism exist, implying a democracy different from the "Western" standards? Based on a positive assumption, this is the question that we attempt to answer to in this research within a specific framework, namely the commonly contested alliance between democracy and religion. We have decided to study Middle-Eastern democracies with their specificities related to the narrow link that exists in those countries between politics and religion. The countries of the area that seemed, as of today, the most democratic to us are Lebanon, Israel (including a study of the Palestinian Territories) and Turkey. Based on the democratic principles of Equality and Liberty, also present in their respective constitutions, we have decided to look into the specificities of each country; such as being a confessional state for Lebanon, a Jewish state for Israel, a state without a state for the Palestinian Territories and a state being at the same time secular, Turkish and Islamic for Turkey. In each of these countries there are democratic flaws that we have highlighted, as well as positive evolutions. The Nationalism present in each of these countries is particularly pronounced according to the different communities to which one belongs, which leads the main ethnic to become a national identification, hence our ambitious choice to name these states ethnic democracies based on the ethnos (people's identification to a community). It is also because of this specificity that they encounter weaknesses towards the recognition of other identifications such as their respective minorities.