How Israel came to the brink of the abyss Violent storms in northern Italy – 16-year-old killed by tree

«What do you hear when two Jews are having a debate? Three different opinions.” This is a Jewish joke that refers to the numerous and sometimes contradictory schools of thought within Judaism. In the current state of Israel, this diversity is currently expressed in a way that does not make anyone laugh.

75 years after its foundation, the Jewish state is on the verge of collapse. And it is not the “never-ending” conflict with the Arabs, and more specifically the Palestinians, that threatens Israel’s very existence. The long-standing cracks in society have deepened into an almost insurmountable chasm.

For months, tens of thousands have protested against the judicial reform planned by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government. Netanyahu has the upper hand, but in the “driver’s seat of Israeli politics,” according to the Washington Post, are far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Fear of illiberal democracy

They come from the settler movement and strive for the annexation of the West Bank. The Supreme Court stands in their way. With the so-called judicial reform they want to make them powerless. Ultimately, a parliamentary majority should be able to “overturn” court decisions. This drives liberal Israelis to the barricades in the true sense of the word.

They see the reform as a pretext to turn Israel into an “illiberal democracy” on the Hungarian model, in which the government can do as it pleases and elections are used only to confirm them in office. At the same time, Israel must become an apartheid state in which Muslims and Christians are second-class citizens.

Mass refusal of service

Parliament approved the first phase of the judicial reform on Monday. The responses were not long in coming. There were sometimes violent protests. More than ten thousand reservists announced their refusal to serve – an unprecedented step in a country whose existence is largely based on military strength.

The still powerful trade union federation Histadrut is considering a general strike. In any case, critics of the reform fear irreparable damage to the high-tech nation of Israel. Investors could stay away and end up in a brain drain. Because some Israelis are considering turning their backs on the land established as a refuge for the Jews.

How did it come to this? There are two main reasons for the misery.

birth defect

Israel is a nation with no written constitution. There is not even a civil marriage. One can only get married according to religious rituals, which is a problem for Jewish Israelis who want to marry a non-Jewish partner. In Cyprus, therefore, a real “marriage industry” for Israelis has developed.

In this way, the founder of the state, David Ben-Gurion, wanted to win over the religious Jews, who were often skeptical of the “secular entity.” This also includes the fact that ultra-Orthodox Jews are not required to do military service to this day. Which more or less relativizes the myth of the army as the “glue” of Israeli society.

All attempts to ‘secularise’ the country have so far failed. There is also a serious problem: “Israel lacks the robust mechanisms of control that other democracies are known for,” said historian Yuval Noah Harari in an interview with the “NZZ am Sonntag”. There is no constitution, no second chamber of parliament, no federalism.

The president is a representative figure with no political power. All that remains is the judiciary, the Supreme Court. It is a rather wild argument for the proponents of the reform to accuse him of this unique role. For successful author Harari, the case is clear: “If our resistance fails, I will have to leave Israel.”

population structure

David Ben-Gurion, an aligious Zionist, made the concessions to the Orthodox in the expectation that this segment would shrink over time. The opposite happened. The birth rate of religious Israelis, whether Nationalist or Orthodox, is so high that the secular population fears their country is becoming a Jewish “theocracy.”

They see the judicial reform as a step in that direction. There are literally no borders for the religious extremists. They want to “get rid of” the non-Jewish population and rebuild the second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The consequences would be incalculable.

It does not have to go that far, because the religious camp is very heterogeneous. This can become a problem if the already latent danger from the outside increases. An attack by neighboring countries is unlikely, but today the “arch-enemy” Iran and its vassals Hamas and Hezbollah are only deterred by Israel’s enormous military clout.

If Israel shows weakness, they will exploit it ruthlessly. After years of restraint, Hezbollah in Lebanon is sending ominous signals to the south. That should give the government food for thought, because its ranks include parties from the ultra-Orthodox camp that do not want to defend the country.

What now?

Success in judicial reform could turn out to be a pyrrhic victory, but a way out of the impasse is difficult. There are efforts within the opposition to challenge the reform before the Supreme Court – the institution it is supposed to overturn. If it prevents this, the state crisis would be perfect.

Some therefore hope that the United States will intervene, such as the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. With $3.8 billion a year in military aid, they are the only country that can bring Israel to its senses. But the administration of President Joe Biden shows little willingness, also because the Republicans defend Israel almost fervently.

From the Swiss point of view, a referendum would be the viable option. But Israel has no experience with this and it is unlikely that the government will be willing to do so. According to a recent poll by the state television channel Kan 11 News, 46 percent reject the judicial reform. 35 percent support it, 19 percent of those questioned doubt it.

The poll also shows that the Netanyahu government would lose its majority in the Knesset if new elections were held. This is one of the reasons why she wants to go through the judicial reform per se or crook. Although the head of government has repeatedly shown a willingness to compromise, he is ultimately more dependent on the extremists than the other way around.

“We are ruled by ruthless, irresponsible and utterly inexperienced people,” former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Rolling Stone magazine. He has a clear opinion about his successor and ex-party colleague: “Bibi Netanyahu is a narcissist. Bibi Netanyahu is an idiot. Bibi Netanyahu doesn’t believe in anything.”

These are bleak prospects for the Jewish state, torn internally and threatened from without, which has long been a democratic “beacon” despite its shortcomings.