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| Israel’s Democracy Is Doing Just Fine | Israel’s Democracy Is Doing Just Fine |
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| For many years, but especially recently, analysts and pundits have predicted or proclaimed the death of Israel’s democracy. | For many years, but especially recently, analysts and pundits have predicted or proclaimed the death of Israel’s democracy. |
| The culprits are familiar. There’s the growing political and demographic clout of the ultra-Orthodox. There’s contempt for the rule of law, exemplified by the behavior of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and copied by his epigones. There’s the polarization of Israeli society into religious, secular, nationalist, Arab and Russian camps. There’s the lure of illiberal nationalism. | The culprits are familiar. There’s the growing political and demographic clout of the ultra-Orthodox. There’s contempt for the rule of law, exemplified by the behavior of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and copied by his epigones. There’s the polarization of Israeli society into religious, secular, nationalist, Arab and Russian camps. There’s the lure of illiberal nationalism. |
| Above all, there’s the purported unwillingness to come to grips with the need for a safe separation from, and fair settlement with, the Palestinians, to assure Israel’s survival as a Jewish and democratic state. | Above all, there’s the purported unwillingness to come to grips with the need for a safe separation from, and fair settlement with, the Palestinians, to assure Israel’s survival as a Jewish and democratic state. |
| But the reports of death turn out to have been greatly exaggerated. Israeli democracy is doing fine, thanks. | But the reports of death turn out to have been greatly exaggerated. Israeli democracy is doing fine, thanks. |
| That’s the central conclusion to draw from Israel’s remarkable do-over election on Tuesday, in which preliminary results show the centrist Blue and White party, led by former general Benny Gantz, winning a plurality of 33 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud with 31. | That’s the central conclusion to draw from Israel’s remarkable do-over election on Tuesday, in which preliminary results show the centrist Blue and White party, led by former general Benny Gantz, winning a plurality of 33 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud with 31. |
| Because 61 is the magic number needed to form a government in Israel, Gantz and Netanyahu must try to create a functioning coalition, if not with smaller parties then potentially with each other. Gantz has indicated he’s open to a unity government with Likud, provided Netanyahu is not part of it. The prime minister says he is open to one, too, but faces potential indictment on corruption charges and is desperate to remain in office so he can finagle legal immunity. | Because 61 is the magic number needed to form a government in Israel, Gantz and Netanyahu must try to create a functioning coalition, if not with smaller parties then potentially with each other. Gantz has indicated he’s open to a unity government with Likud, provided Netanyahu is not part of it. The prime minister says he is open to one, too, but faces potential indictment on corruption charges and is desperate to remain in office so he can finagle legal immunity. |
| That leaves open the possibility of another stalemate leading to a third election, particularly if Avigdor Liberman, who leans toward Netanyahu on security matters but against him on religious ones, refuses to bring his eight-seat party into government. So far, Liberman is playing hard-to-get. | That leaves open the possibility of another stalemate leading to a third election, particularly if Avigdor Liberman, who leans toward Netanyahu on security matters but against him on religious ones, refuses to bring his eight-seat party into government. So far, Liberman is playing hard-to-get. |
| Israel is a state with the geopolitical considerations of a superpower, the political intrigues of a city, and the personal feuds of a shtetl. | Israel is a state with the geopolitical considerations of a superpower, the political intrigues of a city, and the personal feuds of a shtetl. |
| Then again, it’s also a country that knows how to find its feet. | Then again, it’s also a country that knows how to find its feet. |
| That starts with the rebuke Tuesday’s results represent for Netanyahu. On paper, Netanyahu lost four seats since April’s election. The real number is closer to eight, since in the interim Likud merged with a small sister party. “Bibi, King of Israel,” who was expected to rule indefinitely, has been cut down to size. | That starts with the rebuke Tuesday’s results represent for Netanyahu. On paper, Netanyahu lost four seats since April’s election. The real number is closer to eight, since in the interim Likud merged with a small sister party. “Bibi, King of Israel,” who was expected to rule indefinitely, has been cut down to size. |
| That’s good news for anyone alarmed by the turn of Netanyahu’s politics in recent years from conservative pragmatist to political desperado. | That’s good news for anyone alarmed by the turn of Netanyahu’s politics in recent years from conservative pragmatist to political desperado. |
| In recent months, Netanyahu has courted far-right votes by signaling his willingness to sit in coalition with a racist party with a terrorist past, courted settler votes by promising to annex large chunks of the West Bank, and infuriated Democratic lawmakers by bending to Donald Trump’s demand to bar Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from visiting Israel. More outrageously, he tried to garner votes by ordering a major military operation in Gaza on the eve of the election — an operation his military chiefs and attorney general scotched. | In recent months, Netanyahu has courted far-right votes by signaling his willingness to sit in coalition with a racist party with a terrorist past, courted settler votes by promising to annex large chunks of the West Bank, and infuriated Democratic lawmakers by bending to Donald Trump’s demand to bar Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from visiting Israel. More outrageously, he tried to garner votes by ordering a major military operation in Gaza on the eve of the election — an operation his military chiefs and attorney general scotched. |
| None of it worked. Israeli voters recoiled at the shameless pandering, the ignoble kowtowing, the self-serving recklessness. In an age of demagogues, Israelis showed that demagogy doesn’t work. | None of it worked. Israeli voters recoiled at the shameless pandering, the ignoble kowtowing, the self-serving recklessness. In an age of demagogues, Israelis showed that demagogy doesn’t work. |
| Then there’s the success of Blue and White, which proves there’s a future for democratic centrism after all. | Then there’s the success of Blue and White, which proves there’s a future for democratic centrism after all. |
| Gantz is a neophyte politician with the quiet charisma that comes with inner composure; the quality — so rare in modern politics — of not being perpetually frantic. He projects confidence without fanaticism. The far-right detests him because he appreciates the long-term necessity of separating from the Palestinians. The far-left dislikes him because he’s under no illusions about Israel’s enemies and understands the necessity of possessing and, when necessary, using force. | Gantz is a neophyte politician with the quiet charisma that comes with inner composure; the quality — so rare in modern politics — of not being perpetually frantic. He projects confidence without fanaticism. The far-right detests him because he appreciates the long-term necessity of separating from the Palestinians. The far-left dislikes him because he’s under no illusions about Israel’s enemies and understands the necessity of possessing and, when necessary, using force. |
| He seeks stable balances, not permanent solutions. He’s sane. | He seeks stable balances, not permanent solutions. He’s sane. |
| Finally, there is the breadth and vitality of Israeli democracy. In 2015, Netanyahu infamously warned that Israeli-Arabs were voting “in droves.” In 2019, Israeli-Arabs proved him right with a turnout of around 60 percent. Ultra-Orthodox turnout was also very high — but, significantly, an ultra-Orthodox woman, Omer Yankelevich, was re-elected on the Blue and White list. | |
| Also significant: the racist Otzma Yehudit party failed to cross the electoral threshold, while the Arab Joint List party is the third largest in the Knesset. So much for the calumny about Israel’s apartheid state. | Also significant: the racist Otzma Yehudit party failed to cross the electoral threshold, while the Arab Joint List party is the third largest in the Knesset. So much for the calumny about Israel’s apartheid state. |
| None of this is final. The outcome of the election is still up for grabs. Netanyahu is as desperate as he’s ever been. Liberman may want to play the role of kingmaker for weeks. There could soon be a major regional war. | None of this is final. The outcome of the election is still up for grabs. Netanyahu is as desperate as he’s ever been. Liberman may want to play the role of kingmaker for weeks. There could soon be a major regional war. |
| What won’t be happening anytime soon is the demise of Israel’s boisterous democracy. Those looking for signs of hope in the politically decadent West could do worse than look to Jerusalem. | What won’t be happening anytime soon is the demise of Israel’s boisterous democracy. Those looking for signs of hope in the politically decadent West could do worse than look to Jerusalem. |
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