democracy

A supporter of Egypt's ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, holds a poster of him with Arabic writing reading "The people support the president," Cairo, Egypt, on July 06, 2013. (Wissam Nassar/Flash90)

In Morsi’s death, Israel proves it prefers a non-democratic Middle East

Israel is not interested in democracy as a value. On the contrary — it has a great deal of interest in making sure it keeps bearing the title of ‘the only democracy in the Middle East.’ While many Palestinians were perturbed by the death of Egypt’s former president, Mohamed Morsi, and Knesset members of four of the…

By Orly Noy June 21, 2019

Israeli right-wing protesters shout at a pro-peace demonstration, Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, August 9, 2014. Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv to protest Israel’s attack on Gaza, despite a police decision to revoke the demonstration permit. (Keren Manor/Activestills)

Attempts to ‘bypass’ Israel’s High Court will create a ‘tyranny of the majority’

The government wants to strip the High Court of Justice of its ability to strike down unconstitutional laws, giving the government carte blanche to violate civil and human rights. The Israeli government has in recent days advanced legislation to limit or strip the country’s High Court of Justice of its ability to strike down laws it…

By Joshua Leifer April 17, 2018

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, January 3, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A Netanyahu indictment won’t save Israeli democracy

In Netanyahu’s Israel, checks and balances are irrelevant or corrupt, accountability is conspiracy, and a watchdog media is a national saboteur. Tough times are ahead. There has been no shortage of people who were thrilled by the announcement Tuesday night that Israeli police recommend indicting Benjamin Netanyahu in two corruption cases. A Haaretz headline crowed…

By Dahlia Scheindlin February 14, 2018

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an event in Jerusalem, October 15, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90, cropped)

Netanyahu compares human rights groups to Russian election interference

The prime minister is trying to turn human rights and anti-occupation groups into a subversive boogie monster, this time by conflating them with Western democracy’s contemporary super-villain — Russian election interference. What if he’s right? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conflated European Union funding for human rights groups in Israel with Russian interference in U.S.…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man October 15, 2017

Right-wing protesters wave Israeli flags as they demonstrate against a ceremony commemorating the Nakba that was held by Palestinian and Israeli students in the entrance to the Tel Aviv University. The event took place under heavy police presence, May 13, 2013. (Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

The redundancy of Israel’s ‘Jewish Nation-State Law’

The Israeli government is pushing a law that would force judges to prioritize Israel’s Jewish character over democratic principles. But that has always been the case. The “Jewish Nation-State Law,” which is currently making its way through the Knesset as a proposed Basic Law – the closest thing Israel has to a constitutional amendment – would require…

By Amjad Iraqi July 12, 2017

President Barack Obama meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office, November 10, 2016. (Official White House Photo: Pete Souza)

The end of American exceptionalism

Trump has shown that the U.S.’s democracy is just as flawed and illusory as the many countries that it has preached to for decades. And that’s a good thing to admit. In a Daily Show segment covering the U.S. presidential race last year, Trevor Noah told his audience that, “as an African, there’s just something familiar about Trump.” Noah…

By Amjad Iraqi November 12, 2016

Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally, September 7, 2016. (Michael Vadon/CC BY-SA 4.0)

We feel you, America — it’s lonely at the bottom

With the election of Donald Trump, a lot of progressive Americans must now be feeling what we here in the Israeli left have felt for a long time — outnumbered, unwanted, frustrated, and alone. For a while now, I’ve been writing about how lonely it is to be a leftist in Israel, to be part of…

By Mairav Zonszein November 9, 2016

An Israeli votes in the 2015 election, March 17, 2015. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Israelis don’t get to hold a referendum on Palestine

A recent poll found that if there were a Brexit-style referendum over whether to maintain Israeli control over the West Bank, most Israelis would choose ‘remain.’ But is that up to Israelis to decide? If there were a referendum in Israel about whether to “leave” the West Bank — while holding onto most of the settlements…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man July 6, 2016

Israel’s Knesset just voted on a very dangerous law for democracy

The draft law, which passed the first of three votes on Monday, would allow the expulsion of Arab MKs from the Knesset. It is one of several recent steps by the Netanyahu government to limit Palestinian political participation. Minutes before leaving for the spring recess Monday night, Israel’s Knesset passed the first reading of a…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man March 29, 2016

A Palestinian bus drives along Israel’s separation wall between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Jerusalem, February 23, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Ethnic cleansing poll a dangerous sign for Israel

The vast majority of Jewish Israelis don’t want to give up their privilege. But nobody has the right to ‘democratically’ deny rights to another. The most shocking piece of information to come out of a Pew Research Center survey of Israeli society published Tuesday is that nearly half of Jews in the country say they support…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man March 9, 2016

An Israeli votes in the 2015 election, March 17, 2015. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Israelis elected a non-democracy

Obama must understand that these elections were more than just a referendum on Netanyahu — they were a referendum on Israel’s character, and Israelis did not vote for democratic ideals. Many on the center-left in Israel are still trying to wrap their head around Netanyahu’s victory. They simply cannot grasp that most Israelis really want…

By Mairav Zonszein March 22, 2015

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington D.C., March 2, 2015. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

The next time Netanyahu talks about ‘common values’

Hours after disavowing the two-state solution, the Israeli prime minister makes clear that his version of democracy includes as few Arabs as possible. A few hours after the polls opened in Israeli elections on Tuesday, incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a message that offends the very spirit of democracy and equality. Invoking military terminology,…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man March 17, 2015

Wake-up Call: 47 years of disenfranchisement

Did you know that in 15 out of Israel’s 20 elections one in three people living under Israeli rule haven’t had a vote? Ami Kaufman has a wake-up call for you. Click here for +972’s full coverage of Israeli elections

By Ami Kaufman March 9, 2015