Event reports
Ultimately panelists concluded that despite real differences and significant clashes, the transatlantic triangle shares three central elements: the rule of law, a market economy, and civilized, peaceful dispute about the role of religion. Despite continually having to negotiate important differences, the relationship between these three countries remains strong.
The first panel discussed how the German, Israeli, and American Supreme Courts are central to the success of these democracies. In each country, the Court upholds the rule of law, responds to societal change, and addresses common difficulties such as counterterrorism, gay rights, and privacy. Despite different legal traditions and historical experiences, all three Courts attempt to balance conflicting values and maintain the rule of law in a rapidly changing world. Most important today are the Courts’ attempts to reconcile national security concerns and civil and human rights.
Even though Germany, the United States, and Israel share a belief in the market economy, their three economies are quite different. The second panel explored how these three variations on the market economy have dealt with the worldwide economic crisis and how each approaches future development.
They focused on innovation and education, the culture of risk, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and trade agreements. Despite differences in resources and approach, the countries of this transatlantic triangle are important economic partners because of shared economic principles paired with active policies designed to deepen their relationship.
The third panel revealed the need to complicate the ideas of secularization and religious revival. The panelists concluded that religious tradition continues to play an important, but different role in Germany, Israel, and the United States. Secularism in Israel is defined by residual religiosity, which is the use of Jewish cultural and textual traditions by non-believers. In the United States, there is increasing religious disaffiliation, which could be seen as the abandonment by some Americans of their residual religiosity. And, in Germany and Europe diverse religious traditions still impact European political and cultural life.
Challenging the previous panels’ emphases on shared values, the conference’s last panel turned instead to differences and antagonisms. The panelists explored how Israel’s relationship to the “West” is best understood and why this has become such a heated debate in recent years. This was a provocative discussion about how Israel, Germany, and the United States understand and frame this question differently. Each country learned different lessons from the twentieth century and feel differently about militarism, nationalism, and religion. These differences occasionally lead to clashes in their diverse responses to the contemporary world. However, Israel, Germany, and the United States share three central elements: the rule of law, a market economy, and civilized, peaceful dispute about the role of religion. As a result, on the basis of common values, these three countries will remain strong partners in the future.
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