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Celebrate
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Lincoln Center

regardless of budgetary mandates.
Rule of law, or rule of factions?
Political dissidents advocate elec-
tion of Knesset members by districts,
making them at long last representa-
tive of voters, not parties. Having leg-
islators responsible to constituents,
not bosses, would increase pressure
for effective government — from pol-
lution control to regional diplomacy.
It also would curtail the numerous
small parties.
The "reform" of 1996 allowed
direct election of the prime minister,
but retained voting by party for Knes-
set slates. Seats still are apportioned
according to the popular vote for
party lists. Only 1.5 percent of the
vote — about 48,000 ballots in 1999

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Wins a Knesset seat.
As a result, Israel's democratic sys-
tem guarantees virtually unlimited
party choice,-separates the prime min-
ister from his or her bloc,. and grants
disproportionate influence to minor
lists. It's a recipe not for consensus
and policy implementation but frag-
mentation, endless logrolling, and
increasingly frequent, decreasingly
effective governments.
Are Jews inherently incapable of
sustained self-government? The
Israelites no sooner escaped:-Egypt
than they began muttering against
Moses and built the Golden Calf.
With the Romans at the gates, the
Zealots took to killing other Jews
first, legionnaires later. In modern
times we have Herzl versus the rabbis,
Ben-Gurion against Jabotinsky and
Begin, the mutual demonization of
today's "peace camp" and "national
camp." Is this democratic debate or a
body politic with multiple personality
disorder?
America junked the Articles of
Confederation in favor of the Consti-
tution to escape a condition like
Israel's. We shape our tools — civil as
well as mechanical — and then they
shape us. There's a lesson in that for
Israelis. bi

