Alan M. Dershowitz
Gatestone Institute, Dec. 22, 2022
“There is much for Israel to be proud of, even as it faces challenges both from without and within. No nation is subjected to more unfounded and disproportionate condemnation — from the United Nations, from international tribunals, from NGOs, from campus radicals, from many in the media — than the nation-state of the Jewish people.”
A recent visit to Israel revealed matters different from previous visits — and similar to what is happening in the United States.
Today’s Israel, like the US, is a deeply divided nation. Israel’s democratic system is based on a unicameral parliament, the Knesset, the members of which are chosen in an election based on nationwide proportional representation. Because no one single political party has ever in the country’s history won a majority of 61 out of 120 Knesset seats, multiple parties — including small ones — need to group together in a coalition to form the government.
It is often necessary to make significant compromises among the parties that make up the governing coalition. That is what is happening now with Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who is by nature a center-right moderate, and who had to join forces with some parties considerably to the right of him. These include individuals who unfortunately have histories of racism and homophobia — bigotries that Netanyahu has always opposed and promises to continue to oppose in the new government he is working to form under himself as Prime Minister. These partners also include potential ministers who want to curtail the powers of Israel’s Supreme Court, which many believe favours the left. … [To read the full article, click here]