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There’s an upside to the story: Israel’s move away from democracy means a move toward the non-democratic regimes of the Middle East, and thus toward peace.
The Israeli Knesset is in the midst of approving a number of controversial legislative initiatives. Some of the these aim to subject the Supreme Court to right-wing ideology; others aim at limiting the influence of civil rights and human rights organizations. The Knesset session that approved the first readings of these bill proposals included a hot and raging debate about them. The opposition accused the current government of waging a war against democracy in Israel. But is that the whole story?
The current rightist government has been accused of many things since its inception. It has been labeled anti-peace, anti-welfare, anti-healthcare and now – anti-democratic.
However, these accusations don’t add up. What the critics of the current government don’t understand is the complexity of the state of Israel’s geopolitical situation. This current Israeli government has actually taken what I would call the largest of steps toward peace. Israel is seeking membership to the exclusive elite club of Middle Eastern anti-democracies. The prime minister’s latest bill proposal to limit funding to leftist organizations is proof of Israel’s willingness to pay the highest price for peace, democracy, civil rights and human rights.
Since its creation, Israel’s leaders have spoken repeatedly about their desire to become a natural part of the Middle East. They badly wanted to be accepted and welcomed to the exclusive Middle Eastern club. However, against its will, Israel found itself in the lower league, associated with European countries.
By limiting its democratic values, Israel’s leaders are taking a step forward, toward the undemocratic governments in the Middle East. This bold step is especially important, as some Arab countries are moving slowly toward democracy. Israeli leaders are willing to walk away from democracy so as to meet Arab leaders in the middle of the road.
In the past two years, Israel passed what some categorize as anti-democratic laws. The peak was the legislation banning any calls for boycott, in effect censoring the press. The new law that would ban organizations in Israel from receiving money from the UN, EU or other foreign countries is the latest effort to seal the deal, and prove Israel’s commitment to the Middle East.
Israel is showing its utmost commitment to peace by showing its willingness to forsake its claimed democratic values and therefore become a natural part of the Middle East. Some claim that Israel is not willing to make sacrifices for peace, however Netanyahu proved that the current Israeli government is willing to sacrifice all that Israel has for the sake of peace.
For so long, when I criticized some of Israel’s actions in the West Bank, I was reminded that Israel’s actions should be considered in comparison with the Saudi or Syrian regimes. “Why criticize us when we are not doing anything worse than them?” I was asked. Everything is relative, and relatively Israel is still more democratic than Saudi Arabia. Israel wants to be judged by the same standards that Middle Eastern countries are judged by.
Some criticize the move away from democracy by saying that Israel was supposed to be a light unto the nations, or that it ought to be a model to inspire its neighbors to change their ways and work for democracy. However, it seems that Israel’s leaders are not convinced by this argument – at least not anymore. When the oppressive Mubarak regime fell, it was Netanyahu and his government who worked hard to save it. It appears that Israeli leaders have succumbed to peer pressure, and are ready to officially join the elite Middle Eastern club for undemocratic governments.
Even in advocating for the current legislation, I was surprised to see how well Israeli leaders had learned from their Arab counterparts. They claimed that no other nation should be allowed to have any influence on Israel’s politics. This is the same argument used by countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Syria against US and European funding of civil rights organizations. Yet some Israeli leaders are too open about their political agendas, like MK Danon who openly spoke of the legislative goal to destroy his political opponents. MK Danon should be sent to Syria for a crash course on how to kill democracy without admitting it.
What is most important today is that Israel can proudly raise the flag of victory over the old ideals of democracy. This is a day to celebrate Israel as the new member state of the undemocratic Middle East.
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