6 - The Voice of No Exit

Summary

The aim of this chapter is to identify measures that can be effective in alleviating the acute individual predicament of Palestinian-Arabs in Israel who come under the jurisdiction of their respective religious communities, notwithstanding their entrapment. These are measures of a “feeble” quality. They include “cut-and-paste” reforms that draw on restrictions applied to rabbinical jurisdiction and on precedents that worked to liberalize Jewish religious norms in the sphere of family relations. The suggested reforms also draw on the opportunity for Palestinian-Arabs to conceive more secular reforms than those possible for the Jewish citizens, at least in such matters as surrogacy and adoption. Capitalizing on their national collective identity, Palestinian-Arabs can also resort to a method of “organic transplantation” and look into the liberal family law reforms in the Arab world and follow their lead. Finally, Palestinian-Arabs in Israel can work for more accountability and transparency in terms of what takes place within the Palestinian-Arab religious courts, such as working to make public their rules and decisions – this in turn will create an internal incentive to improve the judicial performance of these religious institutions.