Project Democracy: Fighting for the Ground Rules

We all sense it: the ground rules in Israel which underlie how we live our lives – things that until recently we accepted as self-evident – can no longer be taken for granted.

Israel, “the only democracy in the Middle East”, has for many years found itself, at one point or another, along a downward slippery slope. Only now, the foundations of its democracy – those democratic principles that we hold so dear – are under attack, and we are currently in a rapid downward slide toward a less democratic future.

• Why are we worried?
• The connection between human rights organizations and democracy
• About the website, an invitation to join the discussion
• In conclusion, something optimistic

We all sense it: the ground rules in Israel which underlie how we live our lives – things that until recently we accepted as self-evident – can no longer be taken for granted.

Israel, “the only democracy in the Middle East”, has for many years found itself, at one point or another, along a downward slippery slope.  Only now, the foundations of its democracy – those democratic principles that we hold so dear – are under attack, and we are currently in a rapid downward slide toward a less democratic future.

Suddenly, you have to think twice before speaking your mind – maybe it will hurt your chances for finding work, sabotage a promotion, or hurt your social standing. You fear that the police might react violently to a perfectly legal protest demonstration, that you might even be arrested.  You are suddenly required to deny your ethnic identity or your native tongue in order to find housing in certain places or to protect your job. Hardly a day passes without the media reporting on some new legislative initiative which, if passed, would infringe on our liberty – laws that would limit our freedom to talk or protest about certain things, further erode our right to privacy, deny couples the right to live together, threaten academic freedom – and that is only a partial list. Yesterday it happened to somebody else; today it might be you, and then what of tomorrow?

Collectively, we do have the ability to stop this erosion, and ultimately, to change the direction of this frightening trend. Here, at THE DEMOCRACY PROJECT, we have taken up the fight over the ground rules. Our website provides a forum for sharing information, holding discussions, and publicizing various activities in a wide range of contexts concerning the state of democracy in Israel.

We urge you to join us!  Because “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men [and women] do nothing,” we intend to do just the opposite – that is to say, we intend to act!  Despite the erosion of our democracy, the attacks against it and the invective hurled at it, we remain optimistic. We firmly believe that there are enough decent people, good men and women, who together are prepared to defend the ground rules and to preserve our human and civil rights – so that they will ultimately protect us and our society.

Why are we worried?

Whether a country can be considered democratic is rarely a yes or no question with a black or white answer. For example, democracies can exhibit varying degrees of separation of powers. It may be more instructive to view democracy as a space which can vary from wide and inclusive to narrow and compartmentalized.  At the edges of that space we find darker regimes that may represent a dictatorship of the majority or, even more extremely, tyranny of the individual.

Typically, the transition from democracy to another type of regime does not take place overnight in revolution, but rather the process is a slippery slope where, slowly but surely, the room given to citizens to influence their society is gradually limited further and further. Political scientist Lawrence Britt has enumerated several characteristics of fascist regimes, which can be viewed as signposts for the deterioration of democracy.  Among these, he lists: extreme nationalism, derision of the value and importance of human rights, the identification and marking of enemies/scapegoats, supremacy of the military and rampant militarism, a controlled and obedient media enlisted to the government’s cause, an obsession with national security, the protection of large corporations and capital-governmental relations, the weakening of trade unions, the suppression of academic freedom, and lack of trust in government authorities.

Sound familiar?
In recent years, we in Israel have witnessed a disturbing change in the public’s perception of the nature and practice of democracy in relation to the state, and a worrisome increase in many of Britt’s warning signals. The last parliamentary elections, the suppression of dissent and protest, the introduction of discriminatory legislation, and the use of crude nationalistic, racist, and inciting rhetoric on the part of public figures – all these represent red flags that must not be ignored.

There are many civil society organizations in Israel, among them the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), which have come together to lead THE DEMOCRACY PROJECT in order to remind the public that:

• In a democracy, there are ground rules that must not be discounted – we must vigorously protect them and not complacently view them as “a given”
• A broad and open democracy is in the clear interest of all
• It is our responsibility (and within our ability) to defend democracy in the face of these ominous trends.

The connection between human rights organizations and democracy

It is customary to distinguish between two concepts, or two aspects, of democracy – formal democracy and substantive democracy. Formal democracy concerns only the decision-making apparatus of the state. In a formal democracy, all citizens above a certain age can vote every several years in free elections to choose their government representatives. Between elections, those representatives manage the affairs of state according to the will of the majority. Majority rule is the key principle in the minimalist conception of formal democracy, whereas human rights, especially those of minority groups, depend to a great degree on the goodwill of the majority.

The principles of formal democracy, however, are insufficient to guarantee a substantive democracy. The prevailing view in a substantive democracy is that the state exists for the benefit of the people, and not vice versa. Accordingly, the moral basis for democracy depends upon the realization of human and civil rights, derived from recognition of the value of human life and dignity, individual liberty, equality, and the understanding that all people, as members of the human race, are entitled to these basic rights. From the perspective of substantive democracy, the protection of human rights is a central pillar of democratic rule. Conflicts between the will of the majority and protection of human rights are a natural and necessary reflection of the tension between these two essential principles of democracy.

Moreover, the relationship between human rights and democracy flows in both directions. On the one hand, the protection of certain rights constitutes a necessary condition for the existence of democracy; these include freedom of expression, freedom of information, freedom of association, the right to elect and be elected, and so on. Without equal opportunity to exercise these rights, democracy cannot exist even in its narrowest, formal sense – for how could the majority express its will, one way or another, without a real, open public discourse? Thus, without the protection of some rights, even a formal democracy cannot endure. Conversely, the safeguarding of human rights is critical to maintaining a substantive democracy, as noted above; hence violating certain principles of democracy – such as the separation of powers or due legislative process – also impairs the ability to safeguard human rights.

A fundamental principle of substantive democracy is that the rights of minorities must be protected against the tyranny of the majority: the majority may rule – but it must not abuse or oppress. Moreover, substantive democracy protects the right of minorities to preserve their uniqueness and their national, religious, and cultural identity. Other basic principles of substantive democracy are the separation of powers, the limiting of governmental power against the individual, and the safeguarding of freedom of speech, which enables (amongst other forms of speech) criticism of government by the media and civil society. A democratic state treats all of its citizens equally and refrains from expressions of racism directed at any of its population groups. Even where individual citizens are allowed to express racist opinions (under the protections of freedom of speech), democratic states must not.
When democratic norms start to deteriorate and when democratic principles atrophy, the first victims are always minority groups and disadvantaged populations. Unfortunately, the erosion of rights in Israel is a growing phenomenon, both in terms of the number of groups adversely affected and in the scope of rights that have been infringed. Moreover, each of us may belong to a minority group at some point – a political minority, an ethnic minority, a member of a weaker socio-economic group, an immigrant from a particular country, etc. The protection of human rights and of democracy ultimately protects us all. When these are undermined, we are all liable to find our rights violated – we are all imperiled.

About the website, an invitation to join the discussion

THE DEMOCRACY PROJECT website was established as a forum for discussing Israeli democracy and the democratic issues that concern us as well as a space for publicizing actions that advance substantive democracy in Israel. On the site, we aspire to post in-depth, reliable information on various subjects relating to democracy and the human rights situation in Israel, and to present an accurate picture of the situation here reflected in the work of civil society organizations – as in our Democracy Report (see details below) and through articles and entries posted to the website.  In addition, we will draw inspiration from works of art posted to the site – video clips, drawings, photographs, songs, and more. You are cordially invited to send us articles, comments, artwork, photographs, ideas, quotes and any other material relevant to the issues discussed on the site, and we will be happy to publish all appropriate materials.
The website will compile, under one roof, the activities of all the democracy-strengthening organizations in Israel. In our “Call to Action” section, we will invite you to take an active role in the struggle for democracy.  United, our strength is far greater than they would have us believe, much greater than the power we have exhibited to date. This is our chance to demonstrate, even through small actions, that we are paying close attention to the developments around us, that we will not stand idly by while the deterioration of our democracy continues. Last but not least, or perhaps first and foremost – the website is intended as a platform for open discussion about Israeli democracy. All posts are open to comments, and everyone is welcome to weigh in with respectful, relevant and democratic opinions. Violent or abusive language is not part of the culture of discourse here.

Chapters of our Democracy Report, which will be published here in succession, will describe the erosion that Israel’s democracy has undergone over the past year or two in 5 major areas: academic freedom and education on human rights and democracy; the rights of the Arab minority; state institutions – the Knesset, government, and the courts; the media; and freedom of speech and the right to protest. These topics are in keeping with the fundamental principles of democracy mentioned above, and precisely where, in our view, Israeli democracy has experienced its greatest decline in recent years. We do not cover all the topics that we could mention in relation to democracy. For example, there is no chapter dealing with the continued occupation of the Occupied Territories and the huge question mark that it places upon Israeli democracy. Likewise, there is no chapter on social rights – the right to a dignified existence, to housing, to education, to employment, and the right to health – though these, of course, have an intrinsic connection to democracy. We hope to instigate a discussion of these issues through articles and essays that will be posted to the website. We can not cover everything here, but to paraphrase a famous Jewish text, “It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you free to idly abandon it.” We know that we can’t complete the hard work of building democracy here, but unless we start the labor, we will never be free. And so, we say – out with idleness and in with action:  THE DEMOCRACY PROJECT.

It is our intention to sound a public warning call – but also to create dialogue, to debate, and to argue. Democracy is exemplified by open public discourse on those controversial issues that make up the public agenda. The multiplicity of voices and opinions on these subjects is a guarantee to all that our voices will be heard – whether we are in the majority or in the minority.

We believe that within Israel, the aspiration to build a cooperative society still pounds within our hearts, a society that is inclusive of all its subgroups – Jews and Arabs; religious and secular; new olim and veteran citizens; Sephardim and Ashkenazim; gay, lesbian, transgendered, and straight; the economic elite and the economically disadvantaged. The only way to live together is to agree on the democratic ground rules and to honor them.

In conclusion, something optimistic

The struggle for democracy is, by its nature, an optimistic venture. Our invitation for you to take part in this struggle is also optimistic. The choice for democracy, for human rights, for social justice and for equality is the inherently optimistic choice of people who refuse to live in fear of one another.  They view the people with whom they live as well as their values as equals; they see them eye-to-eye. We refuse to live our lives in the shadow of intimidation, pessimism or harsh rhetoric. We have patience for complex messages and affection for people who think differently. Democracy is built through optimism.

Precisely in a society as divided and diverse as Israel, the protection of human rights and democracy can also represent an opportunity. These universal values can serve as grounds for all of us to forge a common identity without having to abandon our personal identities, whether they be religious, national, gendered, based on social status, or any other factor. Only when we’ve achieved this will we have a society where all of us can live together – proud of our personal and/or group identities, and secure in the knowledge that we live in a substantive democracy that protects the rights of all.