Israeli Democracy
Fact or Fiction?

Democracy is first and foremost a concept, a philosophical understanding concerning the rights of humans relative to the government that acts in their name. A Democratic government serves through the manifest consent of the governed. That government receives its authority through the citizens in whom the right resides. Inherent in this philosophical understanding is the acceptance of the rights of all citizens that reside in a state: each and every citizen possesses the right to consent to the legitimacy of those who govern, and each and every citizen must receive equal treatment before the law.

For a state to claim a Democratic form of government, it must have an established geographic area accepted by other nations as legitimate and defined. The need for established borders is both obvious and necessary with necessity arising out of the obvious. Without borders, there can be no absolute determination of citizenry, and, therefore, no way to fulfill the establishment of the rights noted above. What has this to do with the Democratic state of Israel? Everything.
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The last days of democracy

This may be the last hurrah of 54 years of democracy in Israel. The elections next week are not about war and peace or even about the economy, social policy or clean government. They are about the very existence of the democratic regime in Israel. For years, many people claimed that the fact that we were able to maintain a democratic regime while being engaged in a conflict with the Arab world bordered on a miracle. The miracle business is in a deep recession just now.

Israel, like all other countries, is poised on a continuum between democracy and dictatorship. There is no regime that is 100 percent compatible with the ideal of liberal democracy. It's all a matter of dosage. A large number of Israel's citizens were raised and educated in authoritarian regimes. They have a most pitiful conception of individual rights, the rule of law, freedom of scientific creativity and freedom of expression. Until a few years ago, Israeli society was moving in the direction of democracy. In the last two years, we have changed direction. After the elections we may cross the line on the road to despotism.
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Half a democracy
By Gideon Levy

What sort of democracy is this, if exactly half the state's residents don't benefit from it? Indeed, can the term "democratic" be applied to a state in which many of the residents live under a military regime or are deprived of civil rights? Can there be democracy without equality, with a lengthy occupation and with foreign workers who have no rights? And what about the racism?
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For Whom to Vote?
by Uri Avnery

What a strange, eerie silence!

Fifteen times have Israelis voted for the Knesset, and every time has the campaign been stormy, raucous, even violent. No one could escape it, even if he or she wanted to. Every wall called out: vote for me!

This time the voting public is in a state of deep depression. A kind of silent despair: the situation is awful, but there is nothing we can do about it. There is no solution. There is no hope. So what can be done? Nothing. One has to be resigned.
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