Because the Hamas war drags on, Israeli democracy continues to weaken

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for the speech Despite the joint session of the US Congress on July 24, 2024, the country he leads continues to maneuver away from democracy.

Even before Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the country was rocked by an intense debate over government-led reforms to limit judicial power, which sparked massive and sustained public protests for months.

Following this debate, a number one democracy index was created for the primary time Israel's rating downgraded from a “liberal democracy” to an “electoral democracy.” The latest classification notes an erosion of legal and legislative constraints on government and fewer protection of civil liberties.

Israel isn’t the one country where democracy is in danger: a recent report by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance concludes that the worldwide state of democracy has been declining for six years.

Democracy is linked to three key elements: leadership, institutions and citizen values. If these look like deteriorating, a democracy should go backwards.

Historians and social scientists have found that the Democracy tends to weaken during a protracted warFor example, residents may lose trust in civil institutions similar to courts, police and the military. And militaristic values ​​similar to support for using violence and political extremism often change into more widespread in society.

Shortly after October 7, there have been some modest expectations that the attack would result in less internal political partisanship and maybe reverse Israel's democratic decline. But because the war against Hamas continues, the country's democracy is becoming increasingly weaker.

Israel’s democratic regression

Most assessments of Israel’s democratic decline give attention to Netanyahu's criminal trial for corruptionwhich continues to be ongoing, in addition to his administration's efforts to strip the judiciary of the ability to review and restrict government actions.

But more serious are longer-term trends toward illiberal legislative initiatives, restrictions on civil society organizations, and an erosion of fundamental democratic values.

In 2018, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, passed a law declaring Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people and establishing the principle of civil equality for the 21% of the population who are usually not Jewish

What can be worrying is the growing proportion of the population, especially amongst young people, that supports this exclusionary policy. According to a report from 2016Nearly 40% of Israelis aged 15 to 24 believed that Arab residents must be denied political rights.

Another example is the NGO Transparency Act of 2016, which calls on human rights and other groups that receive half of their funding from abroad are required to reveal their sources, which increases the executive burden for these organisations.

Moreover, each of those aspects occurs within the context of Israel's ongoing occupation of and control over the Palestinian people and territories. Netanyahu's populist rhetoric and leadership style have long focused on the conflict between Arabs and Jews. He uses language that highlights the threats posed by Palestinians inside and outdoors Israel to Israelis and the state, similar to his “warning” on election day in 2015 that “the Arabs go to vote in droves.”

Not surprisingly, the war reinforced this rhetoric.

Likewise, and because the above examples show, attempts to undermine democratic institutions and values ​​are often focused on Israel’s relations with the Palestinians each inside Israel and within the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Limits of freedom of expression

Since the war began, the situation has only worsened because the coalition government has passed several laws restricting civil liberties, particularly freedom of expression.

For example, a law passed in April allows the federal government to shut down a foreign news channel in Israel if the prime minister or the minister of communications determines that it poses a security threat. Israel has closed Al Jazeeraa Qatar-based television station, in May. And when the Associated Press provided media services to Al Jazeera, The Israeli government confiscated AP’s equipmentAlthough the equipment is Great outcry, also from the White Househighlights the impact of this law on press freedom.

A legislative proposal from June would require the dismissal of educational professors who allegedly incite or support terrorism. The bill would impose punishment without trial for a vaguely defined offense and without due process. Critics argue that this could possibly be used to silence the opposition.

Another law, currently Waiting for a call from Israel’s Supreme Court The bill, which questions the constitutionality of the law, would give the far-right security minister sweeping powers over the police. Critics fear it could possibly be used to crack down on people protesting against government policies.

This direct interference by the Ministry in police matters is already having a chilling effect on freedom of expression, as people say they’ve distanced themselves from participating in public protests for fear of police violence. Furthermore, this laws appears to politicize the police, which is imagined to be an independent institution in a democracy.

Illiberal mood

Even before the war began, a growing proportion of Jewish residents of Israel believed they need to have more rights than the non-Jewish residents and wanted a powerful leader who was not easily influenced by the media or public opinion.

The Shock over the surprise attack and the brutality of Hamas actions triggered an increase in militarism and illiberal sentiment. In the primary month of the war, for instance, There were 18,000 calls In Hebrew posts on social media platform X, the New York Times called for Gaza to be “razed,” “wiped out” or left “destroyed,” it reported, citing FakeReporter, an Israeli group that monitors disinformation and hate speech.

This sentiment has not abated, whilst fighting continues and Israelis generally rally behind the war and its goals. Survey from February 2024 found that two-thirds of Jewish Israelis oppose humanitarian aid to Gaza, while 42 percent say Israel mustn’t abide by international humanitarian law and mustn’t abide by the international laws of war.

While Israeli protests and global media coverage give attention to Netanyahu, claiming he’s prolonging the war to remain in power, I consider the primary risks to Israeli democracy are the increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and the growing illiberal mood amongst Israelis. I fear these dangers will outlive Netanyahu and the war.