Israel is a parliamentary democracy with a single legislative house and executive chosen by the Legislature.

Individuals don’t vote for individual representatives of a geographical area, but for parties/factions in the country at large. The parties/factions vary the basis of how they form. Some are defined by a worldview, a perspective. Some by fashion/popularity. Some by ethnic association, combined with worldview/convictions. Some by religious faction.

Some are oriented to the construction of a good and just Israel, a better secular government. Some are oriented to getting as much governmental funding for their lifestyle as possible. Some are motivated by irritation/objection.

No single Israeli party has received a majority of votes since the late 1960s. Every majority formed has come about by coalition. There have been national unity governments comprising both left- and right-wing parties. Most of the recent coalitions have been centrist acknowledging Western governing principles, but always with personal/ideological bitterness, often causing absurd combinations.

Most recently, the centrist parties had rejected the idea of participating in a government with Likud, as a number of its leaders (including prime minister Netanyahu) have been indicted on corruption charges and can only avoid trial and likely jail by remaining in government high offices. Likud received roughly 28% of the vote in the last election, and negotiated to form a governing coalition with the right-wing religious parties, and far right-wing ethnic nationalist parties, with many fundamental compromises (money, acceptance of suppression of Arab Israeli rights, and formation of a semi-independent new national police force controlled by one of the far-right parties).

The feature that kept the potential fanaticism of the right-wing government in check, was the authority of the Israeli supreme court, that ruled on the basis of common Western principles. One common one of an appellate court is to reconcile individual conflicts that rise through the courts. The controversial basis was its authority to rule on the “reasonableness” of laws and government decisions. (There is no constitution, and the reasonableness standard has precedent in European parliamentary governments.)

So, seven months ago, the current coalition began the process of introducing legislation to break down the equality basic law (semi-constitutional) similar to the U.S. Bill of Rights (guaranteeing equality), and to reduce the authority of the supreme court, particularly the “reasonableness” doctrine. It resulted in large demonstrations opposing the legislation, including prominent opposition by current and former military leadership (Israel’s military is a people’s army), business leaders (domestic and international), physicians, labor. The president of Israel (a figurehead position) urged and mediated discussion towards some consensual reform of the judiciary selection process, but that broke down and the coalition recently voted to approve the removal of the reasonableness clause as basis of supreme court authority, leaving only the parliamentary/executive construction as the Israeli government.

Proponents claimed that that was democratic comprising one person one vote, and that the supreme court is the equivalent of an undemocratic “deep state” construction. They argued that the supreme court should be determined by the legislature, not an independent authority holding the legislature accountable for unreasonable law.

All of this is confused by the demographic composition of Israel.

Contrary to most Westerners’ picture of what a Jewish state looks like, Israel is not white European. The slight majority of Israelis are Mizrahi/Sephardi that migrated from Arab lands after the formation of Israel and were regarded as enemy/threat by the new Arab states, and were either harassed or directly expelled, then harassed and discriminated against in new Israel.

That history between the original Ashkenazi Zionists and the Sephardi/Mizrahi is now a permanent irritation among Mizrahi/Sephardi. The majority of the Mizrahi/Sephardi vote for Likud and a Mizrahi religious party (Shas).

The stimulating traumas for the Mizrahi/Sephardi are not the Holocaust (obviously guttural sympathy and unity), but the Farhud and similar (Farhud was the Iraqi fascist movement that expelled most of Iraq’s 150,000 Jews in the late 1940s-early ’50s, after allying with Nazi Germany in World War II — against the British — the enemy of my enemy is my friend). For long periods of time Jews were accepted within Arab society and often served in leadership positions in government and culturally (including in Iraq). But, following Israeli independence in 1948, the entire Arab world declared a state of war with Israel, and in solidarity/greed with their Arab Palestinian brethren expelled their Jews (thereby ironically creating a durable Jewish majority in Israel).

The result now following the passage of the law limiting the supreme court, is a potentially fascist Israel (no accountability for the coalition government, elected by fashion and irritation). It makes the Israeli government very weak relative to good governance in general, but now even relative to defense.

Richard Witty lives in Greenfield.

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