All the disappointments brought about by the Israeli election result for the party that demonises the Jewish state

The process of ‘Nazification’ of Israel – where ‘Nazification’ refers to the portrayal of the Jewish state as a criminal entity dominated by anti-democratic instincts, genocidal intentions and a propensity for apartheid – has been visibly undermined by the outcome of the latest elections. The demonisation camp will probably argue, drawing on Rula Jebreal’s agenda, that the large number of votes won by Benjamin Netanyahu’s party demonstrates an unstoppable drift of Israel, its voters and its democracy. But in truth, the demonisation camp would have much to learn about the actual health of Israeli democracy by looking at something more interesting than the mere figures of record turnout. Two stories, two details, two windows onto a world very different from the one on which the ‘Naza’ model is based. On the one hand, there is the broad Israeli political spectrum. On the other, there is the Israeli Arab community.

In Israel, left-wing and Arab parties are revealing to the global left a reality that the progressive camp often chooses to ignore. A world in which the left, to be true to itself, does not define itself through leniency towards Hamas. A world where supporting the creation of a Palestinian state does not mean downplaying what happened on 7 October. A world where the Zionist left, whilst strongly opposing Netanyahu, recognises the threat posed by Iran. A world in which it is recognised that, in order to criticise the Israeli right – and indeed to criticise the method of warfare adopted by the outgoing Prime Minister in Gaza – one must not play into the hands of the global Intifada, one must not underestimate rampant anti-Semitism, and one must never forget that, however many mistakes Israel’s leaders may make, there is one fact that should never be overlooked: the exceptional nature of a great democracy in which Arabs can vote and sit in Parliament; in which sweeping accusations of apartheid are refuted by the protection of minorities that exists in a democracy; and in which genocidal impulses towards the Palestinians are refuted by the presence of Palestinian citizens of Israel who can not only vote but also sit in Parliament.

If the global left and the most fervent pro-Palestinian activists had the time to observe what has happened in Israel during these elections, they might also realise that other stereotypes are being severely challenged by reality. One can be on the left, for instance, and regard Zionism not as a synonym for racism, nor as the emblem of Israeli extremism, but simply as the embodiment of a right: the right of a Jewish state to exist in safety. If anything, one might say, it is anti-Zionism that is a form of racism. One can be critical of the methods adopted by Israel in recent years without downplaying the existence of endless sources of terror on Israel’s borders. One may detest what Israel has done in recent years, but one cannot fail to recognise that a country which allows anti-Zionists – there are some in Israel too – to stand as candidates in a state founded on Zionism, as the Joint List has done, and in which, conversely, a Zionist Jew can stand as a candidate on the list of an Arab-Islamic party, as happened with Yoav Segalovitz, a former senior police officer, who stood as a candidate for Ra’am – should be protected, not demonised.

The Israeli left, and also a section of the Arab political world that gained support in the elections, is there to remind the international left – and their pro-Palestinian followers – that whilst one may well despair at Netanyahu’s failure to be defeated, there can never be any excuse to justify all those who, in the name of achieving greater peace in the Middle East, dream of the eradication of Israel, even through its demonisation. Democracy in Israel can produce unwelcome results. One such result, for those who demonise Israel, is straightforward: it is called Netanyahu. The other, for those who liken Israel to the Nazis, is more difficult to accept and is called reality.