I feel overwhelming optimism about Israel, something I’ve mentioned in previous posts, and which I will continue to discuss in this ongoing account. Yet when I explain Israel and my optimism for our future, my comments are clouded by doubt. Not my doubt. It’s a doubt that has been planted in people by our sensationalizing media. It’s a doubt that has led to a disproportionate concern by non-Israelis about the Israeli government. Strange isn’t it? People feel paralysis here and they want to project it onto a society that is anything but paralyzed.
My American friends always bring up the topic of Israel’s governance. They seem to focus on this topic as if it could excuse them from fully accepting Israel as a democracy. The question “what about Bibi?” Is so frequent that you would think he’s an autocrat at the level of Putin. In fact, Netanyahu is often spoken in the same mouthful as Putin, Trump, or other singularly powerful and controversial heads of government. I wonder why people don’t question the hateful mullahs of Iran? The murderous cowardice of Hamas’ “leaders”? The corrupt kleptocracy of Abbas and the Palestinian Authority? Sam and I lived in Sri Lanka for a year shortly after the civil war. We came to understand what autocratic leadership is, how cruel, how suffocating, how full of potential for evildoing. Read your history people! But what we observed is nothing like what exists in the incredibly vibrant, outspoken society that is the reality of Israel.
Let me share my friend and tour guide, Yona’s quick guide on how Israeli democracy works. The Israeli government is a parliamentary democracy. Because with each election no one party ever achieves a clear majority coalitions must be forged. Historically coalitions to the right or left have been created with the inclusion of centrists, Arab parties, and other smaller entities. Within each coalition there can be tensions and fissures that can cause the coalition to dissolve. This happened in 2022 when Lapid’s coalition dissolved after just a year and Netanyahu regained the office.
In Israel when there is a lack of confidence in the leadership, when coalitions break apart, there is a roadmap to restore the function of the government. The citizens of Israel speak by dissolving the government and holding new elections. Otherwise, the next general election is in 2026. The people of Israel will choose their path. (
For a more comprehensive list of scenarios see the recent NYT article:
On my way to a protest in Kfar Saba last May
Last year there were weekly protests against conservative initiatives and “judicial reform.” The protests stopped when the Oct 7th attacks required a different type of mobilization. Now many Israelis who protested weekly against the ruling coalition are serving as reservists or working on civilian wartime efforts. In recent weeks protests are resuming even with the ongoing war. This is a democracy in action. Nearly everyone I spoke to on my trip fully expects that there will be more elections down the road. Over and over I heard that the war has sharpened people’s focus on the current government’s failures in security and intelligence. Again this is imperfect and messy but it is democracy in action.
When you hear how bad Israel’s government is please remember Israel remains the only democracy in the Middle East. It holds elections frequently and ALL its citizens enjoy the freedom to vote.
Israelis are demonstrating personal empowerment and not wallowing in dispair about the state of their government. Their sense of ownership of their country’s fate makes me optimistic. The ideal and the reality of Israel is that the people have the freedom to disagree with their government. They also have the freedom to create and innovate.
Take a look at these comments from the author of “Start Up Nation.” They shed light on the nature of Israeli life:
I predict that Israel will emerge from this war energized and capable of tackling the issues that have proven to be so divisive. There is now a new generation of future leaders who have responded to wartime. All over the country civilian efforts have been creative, energized, united, and overwhelming positive. The live people have for one another and for their land is palpable, contagious.
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