WhatsappWelcome to election season. It has been a busy one, with Israeli elections taking place last week and voting taking place today in the US.
Israel is a democracy – a living, thriving, dynamic democracy. If you remember anything from this article it is this fact. Last Tuesday, Israelis proved this at the polls and reminded us of how much of a democracy we truly are. The outcome seems to be a decisive and definitive comeback victory for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud party, and the right-wing, and religious parties. Conservative ideologies have a clear majority in this country right now.
Democracy is defined as a government by the people, a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people. This power is exercised by them, directly or indirectly, through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. Sometimes more often than we’d like, but that’s the price we sometimes pay.
Israel just underwent its fifth (not so “periodical”) round of elections in the last four years. The first three elections ended in parliamentary stalemate and the fourth resulted in a contrived, hodgepodge coalition of minority parties. This unstable government lasted just over one year before collapsing and forcing a new election.
This most recent election evoked a familiar “Oh no, not again” feeling for many voters. People wondered if their voting was even worth it. Yet, voter turnout was extremely high in all sectors – right-wing, religious, Zionist, and Arab. All, that is, except the center-left voices.
Basic Facts about the Israeli Government
You may tune out here while we review the basics of Israeli democracy. Or share this short, concise review of the tenets of our democratic structure and the Knesset:
Israel’s main seat of government is the 120-member Knesset, or “assembly” in Hebrew, first formed just after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The Knesset was fashioned after the 120-member Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, or the Great Assembly, convened in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. This active, governing body served the Israelites from the 5th century BCE until the 1st century CE – the time of the Temple – in the ancient land of Israel. What a great, historic baseline for our renewed self-governance in modern times.
The Israeli system of government is one of parliamentary democracy, similar to the models found in many European democracies. The Israeli system is robust as it encourages coalition building, not just for the purpose of forming a government but with the intention of creating an infrastructure for considerate and effective legislation. As a small country, Israel is essentially comprised of a single national electoral district. Any political party has the privilege of running for office, which often results in a plethora of parties, large and small, vying to be elected to the Knesset, chosen by the people to represent their interests and ideological platforms.
Each seat in the Knesset is allotted based on the number of votes cast for a party in proportion to the total number of votes within the election. The “winner” of the election is the leader best able to coalesce several parties into a working majority coalition of 61 or more Knesset seats- which comprises the majority of Israeli electoral votes. The President of Israel (Isaac Herzog today) officially grants the right to form a coalition government to the leader of the party that is most likely to succeed in forming a coalition. He or she has 45 days to build political partnerships that add up to 61 or more seats in the Knesset, a majority of the 120. If this attempt fails, the next likely party leader is given that option. The threshold for any party to enter the government is a minimum of 4 seats. (3.25% of the total vote). When voter turnout is low, the numerical threshold to gain seats is lower, and vice versa. One should note that the Prime Minister while heading a coalition government, is more likely first among equals and is dependent upon his government partners for decision-making.
Latest results
By all counts, in this latest election, voter exhaustion and frustration were expected. However, the pollsters’ expectations were glaringly off: People in Israel showed up! In person, as there are no mail-in or absentee ballots. They voted in droves and made their voices heard.
In the previous election, Naftali Bennett of the right-wing ‘Jewish Home’ party in a stunning about-face to his campaign pledges and electorate joined forces with left-wing Yair Lapid. This coalition was formed despite neither party garnering even close to a majority of the country’s votes. They cobbled together a coalition based on small special interest parties, mainly from the left wing and liberal sector, and included sitting with the a radical Arab, Muslim Brotherhood-backed party. The leadership rotation agreement had Naftali Bennett starting as Prime Minister, but with the collapse of the government in July, Yair Lapid took over as caretaker Prime Minister until the next elections. During the last four months, Yair Lapid has pushed his personal agenda guided by the left’s assumption that their rise to power would continue after the current election rounds.
However, the people let their voices be heard! They came out in a most incredible, strong way and said “no!” to Yair Lapid and the left’s policies. I have often said that elections are won by the parties that commit to providing the three most basic needs to the people they represent: STRONG SECURITY, ECONOMY, AND VALUES- physical security, economic security, and family or religious security. The large turnout of the Israeli public proved that they felt these tenets were being threatened. They came out en masse to vote for parties that clearly promised to ensure these three fundamental principles. The right-wing parties won a collective 64 seats – a landslide in Israeli politics! They were aided by poor campaigning and decisions by the left-wing bloc, leaving the Arab parties divided and not pushing for the unification of the extreme left-wing Meretz party with the Labor party. This misuse resulted in Balad – the extremist Arab party calling for the dissolution of the Jewish state, and the Meretz party missing the threshold and therefore swinging more votes towards the right.
While it may seem convoluted, this is part of what makes Israeli democracy work. In 2019 the right lost its opportunity where the Jewish Home party missed the threshold by a mere 1400 votes causing the stalemate that led to today.
Making sense of it all
So what does this all mean? This means that the people have a voice and their voice rang loud and clear. Their voice is expressing a need to trust that their government will consistently emphasize national security. Iran is still the primary danger regarding the safety of Israel and the Middle East. The illogical and dangerous drive of the international diplomatic community to continue negotiations with Iran has left many countries, including Israel, feeling vulnerable. Israelis need a strong government with a clear message and a well-formulated plan on how to protect their nation.
The so-called “Two-State Solution,” pushed by the international community, is not a solution at all but a proven recipe for disaster, for all parties involved. It is nothing but a smokescreen to shield those, ironically, who do not seek any real peace at all.
Israel knows how to make peace with its enemies. Just look at the unprecedented success of the Abraham accords. Israel needs to have a willing partner for peace and there is no one in the PA who is inclined to take that role. As such, the two-state solution is effectively non-existent. The rise in Arab terrorist attacks, especially with guns on cars, civilians, and soldiers throughout Israel, not only on the highways but also in neighborhoods throughout the country go largely unreported by the media. These have made the Israeli public feel unsafe everywhere – from Tel Aviv to Beersheva, from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria.
The unprovoked missile barrages from Gaza endured by the Israeli public at Hamas’s whim have only amplified the citizens’ call for more defensive and if necessary proactive measures of protection. The lawlessness of Arabs and Bedouins, stealing land and livestock in the South- Negev and the North, Galilee, and Golan has rendered hard-working citizens feeling vulnerable and unprotected by the government.
The economy- as late as a year ago, Israel was leading as a startup nation. We had a strong, vibrant, and secure economy that has since stalled with expenses rising on all goods and services, taxes and inflation increasing. The march of the progressive, left-wing agenda that we see internationally has infiltrated into the daily life of Israelis in a way that is destructive to core Zionist and Jewish values. And so the people spoke and said: “Enough!”
What the new coalition looks like
The four right-wing parties likely to form the coalition in the coming weeks, Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism and the Religious Zionism party, all ran on campaigns that promised to uphold these ideals. The people want their family and friends, neighborhoods, livelihoods, and country safe and secure. They want economic stability. And they believe in and want a representative government that upholds traditional and Zionist values.
Despite the smoke and mirrors of the media internationally and nationally, democracy in Israel is not “dead”. Quite the opposite! The results of last week’s election prove that Israel is exactly a democracy and that all the citizens of Israel have the freedom to vote and to be heard.
I expect to see the same phenomenon today in the US as well. The pendulum of government – with the majority of House, Senate, and Gubernatorial elections, will swing decisively to the right. The American people, like their Israeli counterparts, are looking for their government to ensure security, personal and economic, and respect their value systems. I believe the people of America want to live and thrive in an environment that supports stability, family values, and personal well-being as well as one that provides an improved economic reality for every person. And I believe the people will vote for representatives whose platform ensures these primary principles – that’s Democracy.
Good luck and may democracy continue to be victorious in the United States, the Middle East and in the free democratic world.
