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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