From Reflections On the History of Zionism and Israel by Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, a professor at Haifa University.
"The Only Democracy In The Middle East"
One common claim about Israel is that it is a parliamentary democracy, where all civil liberties are guaranteed and a whole range of political movement exist. The common slogan of "the only democracy in the Middle East" bring to mind a vision of something modeled after the U.S. constitution. Americans project what they know and think of a U.S.-style democracy. The reality is quite different. The political culture in Israel is much more similar to those of Europe and the Middle East.
The Western democratic credo, based on the ideas of the essential dignity of the individual, the fundamental equality of all human beings and of the inalienable rights to freedom, justice, and opportunity, is not a part of Israeli political culture. Because of the success of the Israeli public relations effort and the Zionist effort over the past three generations, there is a persistent image of Israeli liberalism and even socialism in many Western minds. Once we set out on a search for ideologies, we find them not only wanting but totally missing. The basic principle of individual equality is absent. The rights to free speech, freedom of association and freedom of religion do no exit in Israel.
In practice and by the law, the ideal of free speech does not play a role in Israeli political discourse. Publishing any periodical requires a permit, which then may be revoked at any time. There is a censorship board for films and plays. Free speech arguments cannot be used as a defense against it. There is even a list of forbidden books. ...
Discrimination against Arabs in Israel is often described as a result of the common gap between vision and reality, and as contrary to Zionist ideals. Nothing could be further from the truth. The discrimination exists exactly because of Zionist ideology. The contradiction between professed ideals and actual behaviors, which has been the engine of political change in so many places, does not exist for may Israelis because the democratic creed is absent. There is no promise of equality for all citizens in Israeli political culture and praxis. When Liberal supporters of Israel express surprise and anguish over this reality, they display either ignorance or deliberate misrepresentation of the facts. There is no tradition of civil liberties because such a tradition would mean the end of Zionism. True equality means the dismantling of the state. If Isreal belongs to all its citizens, it is the end of Zionism.
There is a clear opposition between the Zionist ethos and democratic ideals. Equality dooms any colonialist structure. The Zionist system is quite clearly incompatible with democracy. The lack of democracy stems from the colonialist problem and the presence of the natives, who are a population apart, an enemy within.
Among Jews, there are democratic practices and traditions: majority rule, no political violence and open debate. There is democracy in the sense that the government represents the will of the voters. There is no law which guarantees freedom of speech, but Jews enjoy a great deal of such freedom. This means that Israel is hardly a democracy when this basic freedom is limited to the privileged class. There is a dual system of rights and privileges, so Israel is a "herrenvolk democracy": a democracy for a select group of citizens, defined as both citizens and nationals of Israel. (i.e. Jews) |
