Foundation for Constitutional Democracy
August 6, 1999
Position Paper
IX.а УImporting Political Wisdom From
America to IsraelФ
One cannot possibly appreciate the political wisdom of AmericaТs
founding fathers without assiduous study of James MadisonТs notes on the
debates of the Constitutional Convention together with their elucidation in The
Federalist Papers, which
he co-authored primarily with Alexander Hamilton.а аааа
ааааааааааа One of the principles
of statesmanship manifested at the Constitutional Convention and virtually
forgotten in our own time is this:а how
to get men to agree to a common course of action for different reasons.а Superficial commentators find the answer in
the notion of УcompromiseФ; indeed, they describe the American Constitution as
a Уbundle of compromises.Фа This partial
truth obscures the nature of philosophic statesmanship.а Here I shall present an example of this
statesmanship most relevant to Israel.
ааааааааааа The delegates at the Convention
(which met in Philadelphia in May 1787) represented thirteen sovereign states
under the weak system of government prescribed in the Articles of
Confederation.а It was no easy task to
draft a Constitution that would significantly diminish the power of these
states.а
Hamilton, representing New
York, was an aristocrat.а James Wilson,
representing Pennsylvania, was a democrat.а
Wilson advocated popular election of the House of Representatives as a
matter of principle.а
Hamilton supported popular election of the House as a matter of expedience.а He knew that only popular election of the
lower branch of the legislature could break the power of the states and make
possible the establishment of a Federal Union, one whose government could make
its citizens proud of being American (rather than УPennsylvaniansФ or УNew YorkersФ).а He envisioned a government that could imbue
citizens with a strong sense of national unity by means of
coherent and comprehensive policies of noble and enduring significance.а
ааааааааааа Lacking under the Articles of
Confederation was a unitary and independent executiveЧa presidencyЧinvested
with broad powers.а Enter James
Madison.а Madison saw that to secure the presidentТs
political independence and integrity, his nomination and election (as well as
re-election) had to be independent of any standing institution or fixed body of
men.а This was the most complex problem
that confronted the members of the Constitutional Convention.а
ааааааааааа True to his democratic
convictions, James Wilson favored popular election of the President.а But how would the people nominate presidential candidates in a vast
country like the United States under 18th-century means of communication?аа The only convenient wayЧand one that would
garner state support for the ConstitutionЧwas by electoral colleges meeting in
the several states whose electors would be chosen in a manner determined by the
state legislatures.аа
ааааааааааа I have here simplified
almost four months of deliberations on this issue, for the delegates considered
many other methods of choosing a president, including nomination and election
by the state governors.аа But what has
all this to do with Israel?а
Substitute IsraelТs political
parties for the sovereign states under the Articles of Confederation and we
have a compelling analogy with IsraelТs most basic political problem.а Just as it was absolutely necessary to
diminish the power of the states to form a strong Federal Union in America, so
it is absolutely necessary to diminish the power of IsraelТs political parties
to obtain strong a National Union in Israel, and this can only be done by
presidential government on the one hand, and popular election of the Knesset in
multi-district elections on the other!
Until this is accomplished,
Israel will limp from crisis to crisis until it disintegrates.