Democracy Is On The Ropes In Israel and U.S.
Dramatic shifts to the right seem imminent in both countries as disturbing political parallels continue.
Billboard buddies: The Trump-Netanyahu alliance served both men well in past elections. Will it continue going forward?
Jerusalem and Washington are in the midst of dramatic political upheavals today that could change the very nature of their societies for a very long time.
It’s not just about the rise and fall – and apparent rise again – of two dominant and divisive leaders, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, both of whom are adored and reviled among their electorates.
It’s not just about critics’ perceptions that the chief motivation for each man, in his 70s, to lead his nation again is to avoid the real prospect of going to prison. And it’s not just about fervent supporters’ insistence that their once and would-be leader is returning out of a commitment to restore the economy, security and individual freedoms and thus save society from impending chaos brought on by “the others” among them.
Most worrisome is the very real concern that their return to power – Trump, if re-elected, in 2024, and Netanyahu much sooner – would present a lasting threat to the stability of their respective democratic societies.
How did we get to this dark moment when Israel and the U.S. are teetering between stalled democracy and potential autocracy?
Israel’s Shortest Government
The dissolution this week of Jerusalem’s uniquely broad coalition – the first to include an Arab member of cabinet – may be viewed by historians as the country’s last truly democratic government as the society turned further right. Or it could be seen as the deeply flawed but promising experiment that proved widely differing political leaders could compromise and work together for the greater good of their country.
As Israelis prepare for their fifth national election in three years this fall, they are already assessing the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government’s successes and failures during its 53-week tenure. Committed to focusing on practical issues, the left-right coalition was able to pass a budget in November for the first time in more than three years. That was a highlight, one that few thought could be achieved when the coalition was formed. The government also set aside significant funding for Arab communities, dealt with the pandemic without resorting to lockdowns, and passed a series of reforms. Many American Jews were particularly pleased with legislation to ease religious restrictions regarding kashrut, conversion and marriage.
But the coalition could not avoid, or effectively deal with, the great divide in Israeli society over occupation, the West Bank and resolving the Palestinian conflict.
The most memorable achievements, though, were to end the tenure of Benjamin Netanyahu, proving he was not invincible; and to show that Israeli politicians from bitterly opposing parties were able to work together in a spirit of compromise and mutual respect, bound together by their opposition to and fear of Netanyahu, and to a vision of a society where Israeli and Arabs could deal with differences through political cooperation rather than bloody conflict.
Two leaders made the coalition possible by taking major risks.
Mansour Abbas, leader of the Islamist Ra’am party, withstood withering criticism and personal threats from his base by becoming the first Arab to join an Israeli government and stating publicly that Israel was and deserves to be a Jewish state. His mission was to improve the lot of Israeli Arabs by being an active partner on the inside rather than a vocal critic on the outside.
Yair Lapid, who will now serve as interim prime minister until the next election, deserves much credit for making the coalition possible, subjugating his personal politics and desire to be prime minister by allowing Bennett to serve first in the planned rotation.
A Slow-Motion Coup In The U.S.
The notion of rival politicians not only cooperating but doing so with respect and professed affection for each other seems hardly imaginable in the U.S. today.
Here at home we are experiencing what some have called a slow-motion coup, with almost daily signs that the opposition party is preparing methodically to undo the building blocks of a democracy on the national, state and local level. The goal is to assure a Republican victory in 2024 even if the Democratic presidential candidate wins the majority of both the electoral and popular vote.
In other words, we now have a two-party system where only one party is willing to cede an election it loses, threatening the very core tenet of what it means to have a democracy: a government elected for and by the people.
Joe Biden was elected in 2020 as a mensch who would restore order in the country and stop the authoritarian impulse of his predecessor. But the former vice president and longtime senator faced a situation no other resident of the Oval Office had to contend with: a losing opponent who refused to concede and who continues to insist that the election was a fraud, dangerously weakening the fabric of civil society. In addition, Biden has had to deal with the ongoing pandemic, inflation and Russia’s war on Ukraine. With it all, he has brought dignity and stability to the White House, restored respect for America internationally, and has dealt with a variety of crises while doing his best to unify the nation – an effort that today seems more aspiration than possibility.
Bully Pulpits
During their tenure between 2017 and 2021, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu seemed set on further dividing their societies rather than healing them. They often used their bully pulpits literally, bullying opponents and describing those on the left – particularly minorities (people of color in the U.S, and Israeli Arabs in Israel) – as representing a mortal danger to the nation. The two men defined mainstream media as fake news, blamed the media and various government bureaus for their legal problems (Netanyahu is currently on trial for corruption and Trump faces a host of legal challenges), and promoted legislation that would increase executive power.
In spite of, or because of, their combative stances, the president and prime minister were and remain enormously popular with their base of supporters who view them as more than political figures. Trump and Netanyahu are seen as leaders of movements to restore national pride through championing a once dominant and now diminishing segment of their populations – Christian whites in the U.S. and Ashkenazim in Israel.
Of course there are major differences between the two men.
The Israeli leader is whip-smart, disciplined, an excellent communicator and masterful orator, a savvy politician, and a student of history who served in the military and in prior positions of political leadership with distinction.
Trump is none of those. His appeal seems greatest in tapping into the frustration, dissatisfaction and fears of millions of Americans who feel they are being ignored or displaced.
Trump and Netanyahu were defeated by candidates whose main appeal was that they were not like them. But the Israeli team’s effort, led by Bennett and Lapid, lasted only a year. And Netanyahu, who a few months ago seemed ready to accept a plea deal that would keep him out of office but out of jail, now appears ready to reclaim his mantle as prime minister – the majority of the country clearly is right-wing – and make his trial go away. If he can put together a coalition and avoid a sixth Israeli election in under four years.
Joe Biden, approaching the age of 80, burdened by serious economic and other crises, is way down in the polls and, for now, seems a long shot to be re-elected. Even loyal Democrats in Congress, ever grateful for his defeat of Trump, are privately hoping he won’t run again. But they don’t have an obvious replacement who could take on and defeat Trump, should he choose to run, or a surrogate who espouses Trump’s agenda in gentler terms.
Aside from the concerns over specific legislation in Jerusalem and Washington, voters in both societies should be focusing on which candidates will place country over party, and rights and freedom over personal gain.
We have been painfully reminded these last few years that democracies are not assured by noble declarations preserved in national museums. They are only as strong as candidates committed to preserving them. Our job is to make sure those are the men and women we elect.
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good column Gary. would love a followup on proposed solutions. for the US, i consider the bipartisan measure introduced yesterday on gun violence as a victory --- admittedly modest and incremental, but as Jim Collins famously wrote in Good to Great, progress often is best made via a crawl, walk, run approach. Right now, we need to get back to crawling, which means celebrating modest bipartisan efforts and supporting center-right and center-left candidates.
as for trump and bibi, both suffer from intense narcissism and, for whatever reason, are at a point in their lives where they view themselves as more important than the countries they serve - and are willing to even throw their homelands into intense turmoil. Israel's parliamentarian system is failing her. The disproportionate power fringe parties wield continues to sink sensible governance.
Frightening and immensely scary.
Excellent analysis of a frightening situation