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This is not a question to be answered on "regel achat" but I would
suggest a look at the following sources:
Surprisingly (to me at least), it would seem that the late Yaakov
Katz agreed with the questioner and wrote in his last book (published
posthumously), Et Lachkor, Et L'Hitbonen, that he thought halacha was
inadequate for the needs of a modern democratic state. The conclusion
seems to have been based on an unduly restrictive view of what
constitutes halacha for it leaves out the long tradition of takkanot
hakahal, about which Justice Elon and others have written.
There is considerable literature on this emanating from Israel and a
good starting point for a series of essays might be Mautner, Sagi and
Shami, eds. Multi-Culturalism in a Democratic and Jewish State , the
memorial volume for Ariel Rosen-Zvi, published by Ramot, Tel Aviv: 1998.
From=20a more traditional perspective, but for the most part concluding in
one fashion or other that the two are compatible are the series of
essays in a recent pamphlet report of the annual Torah she B'Al Pe Kinus
of Mossad HaRav Kook from one or two years ago.
Larry Kobrin</HTML>
