The country has picked up some unhealthy habits from the United States.
Taking politics peacefully to the streets is the right of people in a democratic society. But it is also a sign that something is deeply amiss in that democracy, that the normal mechanisms for channeling a society's disagreements toward just and mutual resolution are malfunctioning. |
That was true for mass demonstrations against foreign wars and for civil rights and racial justice in the United States. And it's currently the case in Israel, where hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest an effort by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change the country's judiciary. |
In a speech on Monday announcing a delay to the legal changes, Netanyahu said that he was "not willing to tear the country apart" in pursuit of his goals. |
But he has already torn it apart quite a bit. |
Opposition has been building and the demonstrations have been among the largest in the country's history. Netanyahu's proposal, which aims to greatly increase the government's control of the judiciary, triggered a chorus of criticism so loud that even stalwart Israel backers like Michael Bloomberg joined in. "My love for Israel, my respect for its people and my concern about its future are now leading me to speak out against the current government's attempt to effectively abolish the nation's independent judiciary," he wrote recently in a Times Opinion guest essay. |
Outrage over the proposed reforms reached a peak this week with a nationwide strike, the closure of Ben-Gurion Airport, mass threats from soldiers not to report for duty and the closure of businesses and schools. |
How did the country get so deeply polarized that the prime minister was worried about a "civil war"? |
"While many observers have pointed to trends in Israel as harbingers for the United States, just as compelling an argument can be made that it is the other way around," Heller writes. "In many ways, the fight over the future of the judiciary marks the culmination of the Americanization of Israeli society." |
A brash, combative style of democracy is one thing that the United States and Israel share, but something has changed in the past few years, Heller writes. |
"As in America, many on the Israeli right have stopped defining themselves based on policies and have resorted instead to nativism and resistance to democratic norms. The political wedge issues in Israel are no longer questions around Palestinian statehood but rather the independence of the courts, good governance and plain decency," he says. |
Netanyahu's paused attempt to undercut the democratic system in Israel puts more than just the country's rule of law at risk. As Thomas Friedman writes in his latest column, "this whole affair has exposed a new and troubling reality for the United States: For the first time, the leader of Israel is an irrational actor, a danger not only to Israelis but also to important American interests and values." |
A democracy is only as strong as the social compact of trust that serves as its foundation. Once that foundation is cracked, say, by an attempt to thwart the peaceful transfer of power or an attempt by one branch of government to kneecap another, the repair can take a long time indeed. |
We're conducting a survey of Opinion readers. If you listen to podcasts, from The New York Times or elsewhere, we hope you'll take a moment to share your views. Your opinions are important to us and your responses will be strictly confidential. Please click here to participate. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
| Exclusive for Subscribers | | |
Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment