Death of Israeli democracy?

By Rabbi Dov Fischer

It seems that every free and democratic vote that results in a victory for conservatives marks the “death of democracy.” If you Google “death of democracy in America,” you get 54.8 million results. No social media “influencer” can match that. Among the first 10 results is Al Jazeera’s prediction of doom: “Unless that simple, yet hard realization is embraced by folks now, America’s dark days will only become dimmer.”

Meanwhile, a Google search for “death of democracy in Israel” is more reassuring, returning only 29.5 million results. At the top of the list? Yes, Al Jazeera: “Many left-wing Israelis are concerned that anti-democratic legislation is pushing Israel towards fascism.”

It’s fortunate that Qatar’s state-owned mouthpiece is there to carry the torch of civilization. Of course, in Qatar, alcohol consumption is punishable by 40 whippings. Proselytizing? Ten years in prison. No Pride Parades, naturally. And then there is stoning.

Yes, Israel’s democracy differs from the American system. But Israel is not America and that may not be so bad. Not only Israel’s but most European democracies differ from the American system. For example, the British monarch is the supreme governor of the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury is designated by the reigning monarch on the advice of the prime minister. Measures passed by the General Synod of the Church of England, the church’s legislative body, must be approved by Parliament. Does that entanglement of religion and state, so different from America’s strict separation, make England a theocracy?

Like the U.K., Israel enjoys a robust Western democratic structure while maintaining a historic bond with the religious identity that underlies its existence. There is a Chief Rabbinate, a Ministry of Religion, and other symbols of a Jewish country. However, Israel’s core commitment to democracy has never been challenged, with even Labor Party secularists like David Ben-Gurion honoring the country’s unique cultural and religious heritage.

Israel has held five national elections in slightly more than three years, proving that democracy is thriving. Moreover, Israel’s elections are conducted differently from those in America. Only a few groups are permitted to vote by mail: diplomats posted abroad, soldiers stationed away from home, sailors, women in shelters, prisoners and patients confined to hospitals and nursing homes. Election day is only one day, not a month or a fortnight. There is no ballot harvesting and no drop boxes. Voting is by paper ballot and results are tallied manually.

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Parties of every sort compete freely: Communists, socialists, Russian and Ukrainian anti-communists, Arabs devoted to ending Zionism, the Pirate Party, followers of Rabbi Nachman, TikTok “influencers,” liberals, libertarians, pensioners, conservatives, Ashkenazi Chasidic Haredim, Ashkenazi anti-Chasidic Haredim, Sephardic religionists and so on. Most recently, the You and Me Party transcended its name, accruing 746 votes (0.02 percent), while the We Party won 334 votes. This is Israeli democracy in all its robustness and, yes, madness. None of that will change because of the initiatives and reforms proposed by the new democratically elected government.

Moreover, in each of Israel’s last five elections—held on April 19, 2019; Sept. 17, 2019; March 2, 2020; March 23, 2021; and Nov. 1, 2022—an alliance of conservative and religious parties repeatedly won a plurality of the vote over alternative parties of Jewish leftists, liberals, and secularists.

In the first election, the right-religious alliance won 60 seats and could have won several additional seats had votes not been siphoned off by minor rightwing religious parties. Arab parties won four seats and the remaining center-left Jewish parties won 56.

In the second election, the rightreligious parties scored 55 seats and the center-left Jewish parties won 52.

In the third, the right-religious alliance scored 58 seats and the center-left Jewish parties won 47.

In the fourth election, the results for the Jewish parties were similar—59 for the right-religious alliance and 51 for the center-left. This time, however, the center-left formed a government with the Arab Ra’am Party and Naftali Bennett’s conservative Yamina Party abandoned the right-wing agenda it campaigned on. Thus, Bennett emerged as prime minister in exchange for his seven seats and the country was led by someone who won only 6.21 percent of the vote.

The last round, however, resulted in a solid win for the right-religious parties: 64 seats versus 46 for the Jewish centerleft. Thus, over five consecutive elections, Israel’s Jewish voters repeatedly opted for the right-religious bloc.

The Israeli left and their cheerleaders at The New York Times and Washington Post describe the new government as the “death of democracy.” In reality, one might call their proclamations the death of reason. And one certainly should call them sore losers.

Rabbi Dov Fischer, a law professor and vice president and senior rabbinic fellow at the Coalition for Jewish Values, is a senior contributing editor at The American Spectator

Views expressed by columnists, in readers’ letters, and in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the

Former President Donald Trump has said, “No president has done more for Israel than I have," that "U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel before it is too late!" and that Jewish leaders "lack loyalty" and "should be ashamed of themselves.”

Trump’s frustration over his reception among American Jews was an obsession for him during his presidency. Depending on the exit survey, Trump scored between 21 and 30 percent of the Jewish vote in 2020, but found significant support among ultra-Orthodox Jews. But he also drew revulsion in Jewish quarters because of his willingness to accept the backing of antisemitic extremists.

The American Jewish Committee responded: “Support for the Jewish state never gives one license to lecture American Jews, nor does it ever give the right to draw baseless judgments about the ties between U.S. Jews and Israel.” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said, “We don’t need the former president, who curries favor with extremists and antisemites, to lecture us about the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

Antisemitic acts reached a shocking number in 2021 and continue to rise. Sadly, they are no mere coincidence, but are fueled by hateful rhetoric, increasing polarization and the justifying of using violence — all promoted during the Trump administration. He is unapologetic about associating with overt neo-Nazis and unwilling to issue denunciations of antisemitism.

While Jews are not a homogenous people, Judaism embraces compassion and respect, promotes tikun olam (repair of the world), and practicing the Golden Rule.

How can Jews forget Trump’s cavalier comment regarding Charlottesville where White supremacists were marching? That there were “very fine people on both sides.” How can Jews tolerate Trump when he dines with antisemites and White nationalists at Mar-a-Lago, embraces QAnon supporters, endorses election deniers, bribed and bullied election officials, demonized minority groups, spearheaded the Jan. 6th insurrection at the Capitol, and professes to be the messiah of MAGA and the Republican Party? Trump is the pernicious paragon of hate and hypocrisy.

— Cherie Rosenstein, Beachwood