8 | SEPTEMBER 22 • 2022
opinion
Israel Among the World’s
Strongest, Most Successful Democracies
I
srael’s enemies need little
excuse to criticize — and
more often condemn —
the world’s only Jewish state.
Their baseless accusations
of apartheid,
genocide,
slaughter and
European
colonialism
seemingly
respect no
requirement of
proof or rules of
evidence.
Thus, despite Israel’s superb
record of civil liberties,
elections, rule of law applied
to all citizens and equal
opportunity at all levels of
society, the country receives
outsized doses of vitriol for
its alleged lack of democratic
values.
Such condemnation,
of course, is rarely fact-
based, but rather springs
from ignorance and, in
too many cases, irrational
bigotry. These attacks are
usually targeted at presumed
treatment by Israel of its
Arab citizens … as well as,
especially, of non-Israeli
Arabs living in surrounding
disputed territories.
In stark, refreshing
contradiction to unsupported
accusations against Israel, the
new “Democracy Index 2021”
by the EIU — Economist
Intelligence Unit — ranks
Israel 23rd among modern
democracies, scoring it
higher than the United States
(No. 26), Spain, Italy and
some 139 other nations.
The index ranks countries
according to 51 criteria,
covering each nation’s
performance according to
its 1) electoral process and
pluralism; 2) functioning
of government; 3) political
participation; 4) political
culture; and 5) civil liberties.
Israel’s 2021 ranking shows
consistent improvement in
its democratic processes
compared with the first such
report in 2006, when the
Jewish state came in at No.
47. In the current report,
Israel was lauded for its
inclusion of an Arab party
in today’s ruling government
coalition.
No surprise, since Israel’s
robust democracy has a
vibrant electoral tradition,
stable governing institutions,
high political participation
among its citizens, a vigorous,
even boisterous political
culture, and broad, equal civil
liberties for all its citizens.
Unfortunately, even as
Israel’s democracy improved
in the past year, the EIU
noted that democracy
globally actually deteriorated.
This was due to the COVID-
19 pandemic, it said, which
caused “an unprecedented
withdrawal of civil liberties,”
including “a huge extension
of state power over large
areas of public and personal
life.”
In contrast to Israel, the
next highest-ranking Middle
East nation was Tunisia,
which only reached 75th
place — and then not as a
democracy, but as a “hybrid
regime.” The Palestinian-
controlled territories
were ranked as a frankly
“authoritarian” regime, at No.
109.
Like all countries in the
index, Israel’s performance
in the EIU evaluation was
based on the health and
performance of democratic
institutions among its
citizens.
While critics often unfairly
blame Israel for a lack of
democratic freedoms in
Judea and Samaria (“the
West Bank”) and Gaza,
they ignore the fact that
the Oslo Accords give
governance responsibilities
over Palestinians in those
territories almost entirely to
their respective dictatorships
— the Palestinian Authority
and Hamas.
Unfortunately, neither
of these Palestinian
governments holds regular
elections, supports basic civil
liberties — like freedoms
of speech, assembly and
religion — or enforces
rule of law. Neither respect
women’s equality, and both
violently persecute members
of LGBTQ and religious
minorities.
Anti-Israel commentators
also usually neglect to
acknowledge that Palestinians
have been waging terrorist
war against Israel’s existence
since the state’s birth in
1948. Much of Palestinian
suffering results from Israel
defending itself against these
unrelenting attacks, as well
as the Palestinian refusal to
accept offers of land for peace
and a state of their own.
Israel is often also faulted
for passage of its “nation-
state law” in 2018 — which
declares that the country
exists to fulfill the Jewish
people’s “right to self-
determination.” This attack,
however, is a red herring,
attempting to discredit a
statute that in no way limits
Israel’s democratic liberties.
Note that this law does
not infringe on the rights of
PURELY COMMENTARY
James
Sinkinson
JNS.org