Israel on the Slippery Slope Away from Democracy

By Sherwin Pomerantz

A number of events have occurred here recently that may well be representative of a serious threat to the rule of law and the democratic process which has been the hallmark of Israeli society for so many years. Permit me to share two of them with you.

Jewish Identity Bill

The Knesset has been asked to consider a “Jewish Identity” bill which, in essence, would subordinate democratic rule to the country’s role as a Jewish state. Among the provisions of the bill are a call for Jewish law to serve as an inspiration for new legislation, the elimination of Arabic as an official language of the state (the other two are Hebrew and English) while giving it “special status” and a requirement that the government actively pursue Jewish settlement of all areas while dropping any government obligation to build for other communities living here.

Israel’s 1.5 million Arab citizens who represent 20% of the population would then, for all practical purposes, be formally categorized as second class citizens given that their language would no longer be respected at the same level of Hebrew and English and that the government would no longer have an obligation to build in their communities. This is a very different situation from the meaning of the words in Israel’s Declaration of Independence which addresses the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel guaranteeing “full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.”

Former Ambassador Moshe Arens, who is certainly no left winger, calls the language issue “a sign of disrespect” in an op-ed in this morning’s Ha’aretz. And of course he is correct.

Knesset Member Avi Dichter who introduced the legislation has now taken it off the table under pressure and has tabled a substitute bill but it is difficult to see how the new bill is any better than the one originally proposed, even though some of the language has been altered. But the fact that the initial bill could have even been given credence is of concern.

Freezing of PA Revenues

Two weeks ago, when the Palestinian Authority successfully applied for membership in UNESCO, Israel reacted by freezing the tax revenues which are collected by Israel on the Authority’s behalf, effectively making it impossible for the Authority to pay its workers their full salaries for October. The framework under which Israel collects tax revenues on behalf of the Authority was an outgrowth of the 1993 Oslo Accords where Israel agreed to assume a fiduciary responsibility on behalf of the Authority. In principle, therefore, Israel has no right at all under any circumstances to withhold those funds.

This is very different than the US withholding its contribution to UNESCO over the same issue. The US has a law which prohibits the Government from contribution to any UN body which recognizes a Palestinian state before such agreements are reached with Israel. So, in that case, the US had no alternative but to withhold its annual payment to UNESCO. In the case of Israel, which is acting as a transfer agent for the funds to the Palestinian Authority, there is simply no legal basis on which to withhold such transfers.

The effect of withholding these payments is to undercut the security operations of the Authority as well as make it virtually impossible for the services provided by the Authority to continue. It is difficult to see how this can be of any value to Israel.

Add to this, of course, the current battle going on between the offices of the Chief Rabbinate and the Orthodox Tzohar rabbis regarding circumventing the hassles that engaged couples need to go through in order to be permitted to marry here; the current dispute over how judges are appointed to the Supreme Court which has deteriorated into a squabble between political parties; or the attempt by the Prime Minister to close down TV’s Channel 10 by not allowing it to refinance its debt presumably just because he and his wife are upset at the way they are treated by that channel’s news desk and one wonders if democracy can survive?

We need to heed the words of John Adams, the 2nd President of the United States who said: “Democracy…while it lasts, is bloodier than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.” The slide down that slope seems to get steeper every day and our job as citizens must be to prevent the probable by education and political activity. We dare not do any less.