Israeli democracy stems from traditions of Jewish communal autonomy.

Evidence

Perhaps the most important factor preventing the emergence and acceptance of an autocratic re´gime in Israel is the deep-rooted tradition of voluntarism which exists among the population. In both the Polish kingdom and the Ottoman Empire, the two States from which the overwhelming majority of Israelis orig­ inated, the Jews had enjoyed a very large measure of autonomy in the conduct of their own affairs—social, cultural and even fiscal as well as purely religious. The old Polish system of Jewish autonomy in the so-called Council of the Four Lands, like the Ottoman Millet system, had allowed the Jews substantial inde­ pendence in running their lives. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 959

Categorization

• XREF: Direct parallel to the broader question in the reader’s cluster of how imported institutional habits shape new states — relates to the pre-state trade/reputation literature.
• DEFINE: Briefly defines the Council of the Four Lands and Millet system as autonomy institutions.