Partial democracy

A government that views a minority's opinion as a nuisance that must be silenced, and criticism of the state as something akin to treason, is headed toward totalitarianism.

Around a year ago, Shlomo Avineri wrote in these pages that Israel cannot be viewed as a fascist state ("Israel is the opposite of fascist," November 15, 2010 ). In a fascist state, wrote Avineri, the regime monitors citizens, imprisons them without trial, restricts movement and runs a propagandistic education system.

In a dramatic letter, the attorney general told the government that the legislation seeking to curb donations by foreign countries to Israeli organizations infringed on constitutional rights. He said he would not defend it in the High Court ("AG to Netanyahu: Bills targeting Israeli rights groups' funds are unconstitutional," December 7, 2011 ).

This year the Knesset pushed through the Boycott Law, which delivers a mortal blow to basic principles such as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. It is no accident that this law has provoked passionate responses. Absurdly, the law does not impose sanctions against anyone who takes part in boycotts of Israel (or of entities based in the territories ). Instead, it punishes anyone who calls for boycotts. The imposition of sanctions on a call for action, a call that constitutes free speech, is stunningly anti-democratic.

The law's operating assumption is that it is forbidden to disrespect the state. This is a dangerous thought, one linked to 18th -and 19th-century thinkers who viewed the state as a rational ideal, an independent entity distinguished from the individuals who live in it. Such developments in the history of political thought provided inspiration for the totalitarian state.

Politicians do not operate in a vacuum. They are well aware of the public's mood. Any public-opinion survey will find that there is widespread support for restricting civil rights. Public discourse is fraught with extremist statements denouncing Arabs, leftists and others. Knesset legislation converts cultural trends into legal norms.

Israel prides itself on being a democracy, but it lacks a constitution and a democratic tradition. Was there ever a democracy in this state? There was a partial democracy for some of the state's Jews. With the increase in violence in the public square, the left is now experiencing what Arab citizens have endured for years.

Compounding the problem is the state's ineffectual dealing with ugly phenomena such as discrimination against Ethiopian and Sephardi Jews. Just as Israelis countenanced rabbis' call to refrain from renting apartments to Arabs, they permitted the exclusion of women and attacks on the gay community.

The common denominator linking the legislation and other activities condoned by the state is the assault on the right to belong to an opposition, and the right for a minority to express itself. This a fundamental right in a democracy. The idea of majority rule is a rational paradigm, and the democratic model is justified since it cannot endorse the slightest infringement of rights provided equally to each citizen.

According to this principle, democracy must provide absolute protection to a minority. A minority's existence alongside the majority constitutes the ideal of equal participation. A minority also contributes to the public discourse and the shaping of majority opinion. A government that views a minority's opinion as a nuisance that must be silenced, and criticism of the state as something akin to treason, is headed toward totalitarianism.

When Israel's cultural Petri dish yields such bills, some of which will become law, it can only mean that there is a real potential for fascism in this country, enacted by its majority. Recognition of this possibility must guide the behavior of the minority.

Original Article
Source: Ha'aretz