THE CHOICE BETWEEN DEMOCRACY AND A RACIAL STATE:

Democratic government has always been the main bulwark against ultra-nationalism, ethnic domination, religious fanaticism and dictatorial rule. In the multicultural and boisterous Israeli political context -- and its increasingly volatile geostrategic setting -- its democratic foundations have provided a normative protection that enabled it to survive. In recent years, however, it has experienced a democratic recession which is fast slipping into de-democratization.

The events of the past few week are the harbinger of this shift: from encouraging a political discourse that denounces alternative views and supporting a series of activities that constrain individual and group liberties, the present government, with Binyamin Netanyahu at its helm, is now itself instituting a series of measures that will -- should they succeed -- transform Israel from a formally (if not a deeply) democratic country into one in which the tyranny of the majority reigns. This process is well under way, threatening to institutionalize an autocratic form of government (with strong ethnocratic and theocratic features) which, by definition, defies fundamental democratic precepts and flies in the face of its essential values.

The official assault on Israel's democratic character, already brewing for some time, was launched last week, when the Prime Minister pressed the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee to initiate legislation which would allow it to suspend (if not actually expel) duly-elected members of parliament who stray from consensual boundaries. This palpably political move, prompted by the conduct of the three Balad party representatives in their meeting with the families of terrorists killed in attacks on Israelis in the last few months (already suspended by the Ethics Committee from participation in Knesset debates), crosses the line from behind-the-scenes backing for anti-democratic measures to direct involvement in these initiatives.

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