ABSTRACT
Most modern societies are pluralistic. They are composed of groups that differ significantly in cultural traditions, maintain separate institutions, and share unequally in the available resources. Pluralistic states are, by and large, undemocratic. Switzerland is the best example of a stable democracy in a pluralistic society. Israel is both pluralistic and democratic. The State of Israel’s birth marked the failure of complete separation and the creation of an Arab minority. The Arabs rejected the 1947 UN Resolution and lost the ensuing 1948 war. The Jews, as the dominant group in the State of Israel, had to act. A second necessary condition for consensual coexistence is cultural autonomy. The two ethnic groups exhibit pervasive cultural differences. Equality of opportunity and rewards to be shared among constituent groups is probably the most fundamental condition for peaceful coexistence in pluralistic societies.
