Israel: Democracy in Its Majestic Glory

“A country is not judged only in moments of heroism, but also on ordinary days, in routine.” That was President Isaac Herzog’s theme as he opened today’s swearing in of the 26th Knesset. Following a majestic, conciliatory, and respectful first hour, though, the legislature quickly erupted in political rancor. Tender moments were quickly replaced with catcalls, walkouts, and ugliness. Such are Israel’s “ordinary days” — and also a pillar of its strength. “We will be a normal state when we have the first Hebrew prostitute, the first Hebrew thief, and the first Hebrew policeman,” was the vision of Israel’s first poet laureate, Haim Nahman Biyalik, in the pre-state days. He yearned for a country like all others. On that score, Israel succeeded. It now has plenty of the above. Yet the Jewish state faces extraordinary hatred that has grown exponentially after October 7, 2023. Will such challenges unite Israelis?As a former leading politician and soldier, Benny Gantz, wrote recently, most leading party heads in the new Knesset differ little on policy. That would be a reason to address in unity the dangers that these politicians agree the country is facing. In today’s most touching moment of unity, Knesset members applauded in unison when a new colleague who lost his legs fighting in Gaza, Elisha Medan, overcame pain and stood up on prostheses to be sworn in.Yet Mr. Herzog’s speech and unanimous support for Mr. Medan only lasted so long. As a children’s choir sang the national anthem, “Hatikvah,” most Arab party members walked out. The outgoing speaker, Amir Ohana, was criticized for saying that recognizing Hamas as a terror organization should not be a bargaining chip in coalition negotiations. He referred to one of the thorniest issues in the attempt to coalesce around a new ruling government. The head of the mostly-Arab Ra’am party, Mansour Abbas, has steadfastly declined to call Hamas a terror organization. Today, though, he averred he would do so in exchange for “real coalition partnership.” That is, he is seeking a seat in a future government headed by Yashar party’s Gadi Eisenkot, who received a presidential mandate on Sunday to try and become the next prime minister. The bloc Mr. Eisenkot leads is divided. The Democrats’ Yair Golan is eager to coalesce with Arab Knesset members. Israel Our Home’s leader, Avigdor Liberman, opposes a coalition with the Arabs. The leader of the Together party, Naftali Bennett, indicates he opposes a coalition with Orthodox parties. Mr. Eisenkot stands behind four principles, including a recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, naming Hamas as terrorists, and army service for all. The latter is an anathema for the Haredis. A coalition with either the Arab parties or the Orthodox would violate Mr. Eisenkot’s election-eve promises. At the same time unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the overarching rallying cry of Mr. Eisenkot’s Change Bloc. In a blunt speech today, Mr. Netanyahu called for “national unity” but lashed out at Arab parties, claiming anyone who’d rely on them would undermine Israel’s security and its Jewish character. Loud, impolitic, and divisive decision-making is how the only Jewish democracy routinely thrives and faces outside animosity. Mr. Golan walked out on Mr. Netanyahu. Mr. Bennett screamed at the premier. Sarah Netanyahu lashed out at Mr. Bennett. Cordiality is far from a Knesset norm, but what’s the alternative? As our ambassador Mike Huckabee told Kan News today, in Israel “the people vote, and boy, did they ever come out and vote.”

Israel: Democracy in Its Majestic Glory

Israel: Democracy in Its Majestic Glory

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