The Price of Dismantling Our Democracy and the Ongoing Occupation

Last week, the Israeli government crossed another dangerous rubicon by announcing that it does not intend to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling. Crossing this red line indicates that we are very close to becoming a dictatorship—without checks and balances, without true separation of powers, and potentially without democratic elections.

This event is a direct continuation and result of three and a half years of systematic harm to the democratic values of the State of Israel under the current leadership. The Netanyahu government’s  attacks on the judicial system, the gatekeepers of democracy, the free press, and on civil society, alongside government backing for violent settler militias and human rights violations in the West Bank, are altering the character of the state and distancing Israel even further from its natural allies around the world.

The problem underlying many of the moves aimed at changing the face of the state and its democratic values is one that has been with us for many years and has greatly worsened under the current government. The issue is, of course, Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and, no less, the abandonment of any intention to end it through a political agreement. From the moment the Israeli government stopped trying to end the occupation, the direct consequence has been the eradication of democracy. Therefore, it is not enough to remove this government; a much deeper and more fundamental correction is required.

Contrary to what most Israelis think, Israel’s problem in the world is not in hasbara (PR) but in policy. When the policy is corrupt, violent, and anti-democratic, no spokesperson will be able to make it attractive. It is impossible to sell the world on Israeli democracy while dismantling it from within. It is impossible to discuss a partnership of values with the West while the Israeli government acts against the very values on which this partnership is based. Control over the Palestinians cannot be explained without rights and a proposal for resolution. In fact, the government’s greatest “success” is confusing the public in Israel and shielding Israelis from what the rest of the world sees. As a result, the gap between Israel and the world is only widening.

Israel’s alliance with Western countries is not based solely on security or strategic interests, but also on a profound understanding of shared values: liberal democracy, the rule of law including international law, human rights, judicial independence, freedom of expression, protection of minorities, and more. As these values erode in Israel, so does the alliance with the West. An Israel that is not truly democratic, that seeks to perpetuate and deepen the occupation and annexation, and that turns a blind eye to settler violence cannot expect democratic countries to continue seeing it as a natural partner with shared values. Israel and the West can continue to cooperate in certain areas, but the deep, values-based connection is breaking.

The same is also true for world Jewry, especially for the vast majority of American Jews, who are mostly liberal or progressive. For years, Israel enjoyed a deep emotional, values-based, and identity connection with Jewish communities in the diaspora. But this connection was also based on the assumption that Israel is a liberal democracy that embodies the values of the Declaration of Independence. When Israel becomes more violent, more coercive, and cruel toward the Palestinians, whom most of the world sees as victims—just as we Jews were for many years.

World Jewry is forced to bear the consequences of the Israeli government’s policies, which on one hand claims to represent all Jews, and on the other hand ignores them, their values, their distress, and the increasing dangers they face due to Israeli policies.

Antisemitism is a real, dangerous, and growing phenomenon, and it must be fought without compromise. But it must not be used to silence criticism of Israel’s policies. We must not turn every external criticism into anti-Israel sentiment and every opposition to government policy into antisemitism. This is a dangerous tactic that prevents dialogue, distances friends from us, and harms those who seek to fight for Israel out of concern, commitment, and often true love for the country.

Jewish communities, liberal organizations, and pro-Israel public officials around the world are warning about the direction the country is heading. Instead of listening to them, many in Israel, including those who oppose Netanyahu, attack them and push them further away.

I have no expectations from the current coalition members. But if those who seek to be an alternative to Netanyahu also want to restore Israel’s standing in the world, they must begin with dispelling the notion that all outside criticism is anti-Israel or antisemitic.

The way to restore Israel’s status in the Western world is by returning to the values of the Declaration of Independence. We understand that the continuation of the occupation, de facto annexation, and control over other people is not only a moral and security issue but also the central catalyst for Israel’s loss of its ethical alliance with the democratic world.

The establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel is not only a Palestinian interest but also the only way to maintain Israel as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people.

For 59 years of occupation, the values upon which Israel was founded have largely eroded, and as long as we continue to rule over other people, we will not be able to truly restore our democracy, nor will we be able to truly restore our relations with the West and with most of the Jewish world. Today, we no longer have the excuse that there is no partner on the other side, because all 22 member states of the Arab League, including the Palestinian Authority, are signatories of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and partners in the fight against extremism. 

Getting rid of Netanyahu and his government is an important start. But this step is just the beginning. To restore the alliance with Western countries and with the Jewish diaspora, we must restore democracy in Israel and act so that the State of Israel can begin to free itself from the burden of occupation that has been eroding Israeli democracy from within for nearly six decades.