A democratic show called Israel

There are democracies that make the news for still being alive despite heavy doses of illiberalism, such as Hungary. There are democracies that make the news for still being vibrant despite the freedom-destroying instincts of those who control the system, such as the United States. There are democracies that still manage to surprise, despite repeated attempts to weaken democratic mechanisms, such as Serbia. Then there are democracies that deserve to make the headlines for being able to disprove – with facts, figures and policy – all those who attempt to demonstrate, through propaganda, that in reality, that democracy is fake, ailing, finished, a sham and even anti-democratic. The general election taking place today in Israel forms part of this latest chapter, and even those who would stop at nothing to ensure Benjamin Netanyahu is no longer at the helm of Israel must come to terms with an incredible spectacle that reflects Israel’s exceptional nature: its being, as some might say, not stubbornly unified, but stubbornly democratic. One may think what one will of the defensive – and atrocious – wars fought by Israel in recent years. But when voting takes place in Israel, one ought to remember, if only for a moment, that defending it against those who wish to wipe it off the map does not mean, in the abstract, defending the Jewish state’s right to exist; rather, it means, in concrete terms, defending a genuinely competitive democracy, with independent institutions, in that part of the world.

Elections are taking place in Israel, and democracy is so strong that the outcome can be as uncertain and unpredictable as it is today (between April 2019 and March 2021, Israel held four elections in less than two years, because no one could secure a stable political majority). Elections are taking place in Israel, and Arab citizens – the majority of whom are Palestinian – are free to go to the polls to decide the political future of the country in which they live (according to figures released on 21 October by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, Arab citizens eligible to vote in Israel account for 18 per cent of eligible voters resident in the country, totalling 1,159,000 voters). In Israel, elections are held and democracy is so strong that, even during these years of war, it has ensured the presence within the country of a robust dissenting voice speaking out against the government.

There is a war on, but people are still voting. There is a need to defend ourselves, but people are still protesting. There are conflicts to manage on seven fronts, but people are still taking to the streets to demonstrate against Netanyahu (in 2026 alone, according to Acled data, between 1 January and 16 October there were 415 demonstrations against Netanyahu or calling for an independent inquiry into 7 October). Against this backdrop, beyond the elections, all this is happening in so-called ‘non-democratic’ Israel. It so happens that there are free newspapers which, despite immense pressure and difficulties, are able to criticise the government, even going so far as to publish sensational and daring investigations, such as the one claiming that Netanyahu was aware of the threat from Hamas before 7 October without informing security officials (you know, Haaretz?). There is a free and independent Supreme Court, which has unanimously overturned the electoral commission’s decision to bar two Arab parties – Ra’am and the United List – from the elections. It so happens that scenes such as those that took place a few days ago can be witnessed, when, in Tel Aviv, survivors, former hostages and relatives of the victims of 7 October demonstrated to demand a state commission of inquiry into who was responsible for the pogrom, and when a judge rejected the request made shortly before the demonstration by Likud, Netanyahu’s party, to prevent the live broadcast of the speeches on the main television channels, arguing that it constituted election propaganda (the demonstration was broadcast live on television).

We do not know who will win the elections; we do not know what Israel will do after the elections; we do not know whether there really is anyone who would forgo defending Israel against the existential threats that have existed on its borders since well before 7 October. But the mere fact of not knowing who will win the elections, in a region of the world dominated by terror, terrorism, authoritarianism and failed democratic experiments – such as in Gaza, where Hamas’s electoral victory in 2006 was followed by its seizure of power by force in 2007 – should provide a reason, even for those who hate the current prime minister, to celebrate a spectacle unique to the Middle East that has nothing to do with religion but everything to do with freedom. The freedom to vote, to criticise, to protest, to take to the streets, to have independent judges. Whoever wins will be important for the future of the Middle East. Remembering to celebrate democracies that work, regardless of the election result, should be a priority for all those who, when they think of the Middle East, dream of a little less horror and a little more freedom.