The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Opinion | Warning, not calming Israel today

2021-10-16T20:40:04.429Z


Representative democracy is in crisis in almost all places, but from a comparative point of view, in Israel the situation is more serious: there is a systemic threat to the very logic of representative government.


In an article published here a few days ago (12.10), Dan Shiften asked for "proportions" when we examine the political crisis in Israel.

Is his sedation justified?

Is it possible that Israel's civil society and economy will face the country's great challenges on their own, when our political representation is broken and the parties are degenerating?

As the extreme relative electoral system crumbles us more and more?

When the government in Israel is gradually subordinated to the complete control of the combination of officials, officers, prosecutors and judges, at the expense of the authorized representatives of the public?

Shiftan makes three claims. First, he flatly rejects the manipulative claims of "just not again Bibi" people that "fascism at the gate." Second, it points to Israel's outstanding successes in tackling its strategic and economic challenges. In this he sees proof that only to a limited extent does the state depend on its politics. Supposedly an unrepresentative, inefficient and autonomous government does not disrupt the successful functioning of Israeli civil society and economy. This successful function, he says, leads him to his third claim: from a comparative point of view, all important democracies suffer from a crisis, while in Israel its power is diminished. The country is successful despite its shaky politics.

Indeed, there is no justification for warning that the very long Netanyahu leadership or the attacks on the State Attorney's Office and the growing distrust of its accusations are manifestations of "fascism." Netanyahu erred and endangered the democratic regime from the opposite direction: he neglected the vital need, which has become increasingly clear in recent years, for a comprehensive reform of the law and justice system. He flinched at them, perhaps hoping they would let him, and they attacked him anyway. It is this neglect that is now casting a shadow over our representative democracy. Judgment downplays the value of the threat, but a court that dictates immigration policy is a strategic danger to the state. And officers are limited in their perception that Israel's security policy has been handed over to their almost exclusive possession, are a danger to national security. The predatory system of law enforcement and the judiciary entails the sterilization of representative politics in Israel, the tyranny of officials and the bureaucratic routine of thought. Here is the source of the crisis, and in the relatively disastrous electoral system.

The idea that a society can lead itself even though it suffers from degenerate rule is an unfounded assumption. There can be only one of three alternatives: a society under occupation, under tyranny or in control of itself through representatives. But there can be no alternative to a kind of "missing hand." The successes or failures of a company are not an outgrowth of leadership alone, but they depend on leadership. The elected leaders of the distant and recent past have made a crucial contribution to the successes and failures now. Shiftan's reassurance is therefore undesirable: it distracts us from dealing vitally with a serious leadership crisis due to the damage to our political representation.

Indeed, representative democracy is in crisis in almost all places, but from a comparative point of view, in Israel the situation is more serious. Nothing similar to the right-wing electoral fraud took place in the United States. German politics did not lose its ability to form a coalition and did not disintegrate into so many small and medium-sized parties. On the very logic of representative government.

On the other side of the equation, too, Israel faces far greater challenges than those of other democracies.

Our social and national formation has not been completed.

We are fighting for sovereignty in the country.

The struggle has not yet been decided, and it is even gradually escalating into a confrontation with the Muslim citizens.

Two regional powers, especially Iran but also Turkey, are casting a shadow over us.

The status of Jews in the main "welfare states" is being undermined.

Their fate can certainly reach our doorstep.

All of this requires a completely elected leadership from the one that poor Israeli politics can put up with, and therefore requires a systemic change in the party arena and the electoral system in Israel.

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-10-16

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.