ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 compares the form of civic identity expressed by Morteira, Spinoza and Barrios against the backdrop of current governance in the State of Israel. One of the ironies by which Israel came into existence in 1948 was that some of the nation’s founders believed they were participating in a Zionist movement that had been nurtured by Spinoza’s vision of a revived democratic Hebrew Republic. Spinoza was cast in this role by David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel. In reality, that prophecy was formulated by Morteira and repeated more faithfully by Barrios, and in their writings both figures advocate for a future Jewish polity governed according to democratic principles. With respect to the legacy of this advocacy, this chapter also underscores facets of Israeli politics during the twenty-first century that deviate from these principles, which are considered not only to question the current condition of democracy in Israel but also to point the way toward further exploration of a form of governance that continues to evolve in new directions.
