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8 | JUNE 4 • 2020 

dicey and the Israeli govern-
ment acted with less oversight 
from its ally. 
In another recent example, 
in 2017 the court ruled in 
favor of a female plaintiff who 
had been asked to move her 
seat because an ultra-
Orthodox man had refused 
to sit next to her on an El Al 
flight from Newark to Tel 
Aviv, thereby helping to off-
set the Rabbinate’
s outsized 
power over an otherwise 
largely secular society.
Israel has responded to the 
coronavirus relatively well 
compared to other nations. 
Following strict lockdown 
orders, the country is flat-
tening its curve and has not 
had an exponential growth, 
signaling it has the situation 
under control. To the relief 
of parents, the country is 
reopening many schools. 
Foreign college students will 
be let in soon. 
The positive news is an 
easy selling point to keep the 
leadership in place come the 
proposed swap in 18 months. 
There have been only 281 
fatalities in a country with the 
population of New York City, 
and buses and museums are 
open with minor restrictions. 
Still, there might be a second 

increase in cases as social dis-
tancing rules ease up. 
If the situation becomes 
dramatically worse, fear is a 
tactic to hypnotize the masses 
and maintain the status quo, 
shutting down movement for 
a second time and allowing 
the Bibi government to keep 
a tight hold on things. But 
if the situation continues to 
improve, Netanyahu can take 
credit for it. It’
s almost a win-
win for him. 
Let’
s look at Hungary as 
an example of what could 
come: Prime Minister Victor 
Orbán’
s government revised 
the criminal code in the wake 
of the outbreak, allowing for 
up to five years in prison for 
those who spread “fake news” 
about the virus. That could 
easily be extended to any 
voice of dissent; Orbán has a 
history of violently quashing 
political speech in his coun-
try. 
On the home front, there 
is concern about the U.S. 
election, which seems likely 
to take place largely via mail-
in voting ballots. President 
Trump helped choose the 
new postmaster general, a 
political donor and outsider 
with no postal experience. 
The general is appointed by 

a board of nine members 
chosen by the president with 
the consent of the Senate. As 
states decide to opt for mail-
in voting, the postmaster gen-
eral might move to defund 
these projects, seriously 
inhibiting voting in rural 
areas and states with older 
populations who don’
t want 
to risk their health visiting a 
voting booth. The president 
recently threatened to cut 
funding to Michigan after the 
Michigan Secretary of State 
sent mail-in ballot applica-
tions to registered voters, a 
growing practice among elec-
tion officials. He baselessly 
accused the Secretary of State, 

Jocelyn Benson, of engaging 
in fraud. Already, we can see 
the election and voters’
 power 
in jeopardy.
As concerns grow about the 
impact on global democracy, 
with individual voting rights 
weakening and governments 
using the balagan [chaos] to 
their advantage by furthering 
their agendas, Israel is no 
different. Leaders now have 
carte blanche to carry on as 
they wish. We should all be 
worried. 

Eli Reiter is a Global Activist Fellow 

for the New Israel Fund.

LIOR MIZRAHI/GETTY IMAGES VIA JTA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen at a menorah lighting at the start 
of Chanukah in Ramat Gan, Dec. 2, 2018.

continued from page 6

