This Sunday, as Israelis studying at Princeton gathered in front of Nassau gate to protest the proposed judicial overhaul act of the Israeli government slated to become law in the next few days, the following quote from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass” came to mind: “All powers have two sides, the power to create and the power to destroy. We must recognize them both, but invest our gifts on the side of creation.”
The Israeli far right government has recognized this power to destroy the judicial system, one which Israelis consider the backbone of their “liberal democracy.” Israeli society, and Israel’s diaspora supporters, have responded by taking to the streets in unprecedented numbers to protest, but these protests, excluding a small “anti-occupation bloc,” have entirely avoided the subject of Occupation. In the last few days, I have had conversations with friends and family around the subject, some of whom have voiced sentiments that they actually hope the judicial overhaul act passes due to their own opposition to Israel’s apartheid system. They claim that if it passes, people will finally stop pretending Israel is a democracy, as it has been only a democracy for Jews. Others told me that a blatant dictatorship will be what it takes for the international community to sever ties with Israel, and that the crumbling of Israeli society will lead to an economic demise of the beloved “startup- nation” that will force a deep and necessary revaluation of the nature of democracy in a “Jewish state.”
I’m not convinced by these arguments. As Kimmerer put it, we have the “power to create and the power to destroy.” Does destroying and crumbling the fabrics of a society, while a flawed one, have to be the only way to achieve justice, human rights, and civil rights for Palestinians and non-Jews in Israel/Palestine? Is it overly naive to wish for “power to create” a land that enacts democracy for all its residents?
The Times: “Israeli protests over Netanyahu’s judicial reforms escalate”
The “Israeli High Court of Justice” often proves its name is a paradox. It hasn’t been a beacon of justice for Palestinians, as I myself witnessed and wrote about while on my gap year. Nonetheless, conditions have undoubtedly worsened, home demolitions expedited, and violence escalated for Palestinians and peace activists on the ground since the rise of the far-right government and ironic appointment of a group of fascists and racists to Knesset positions with titles asserting “justice.”
Princeton is currently hosting Ronen Shoval, founder of the radical settler Im Tirtzu movement. This organization* helped publish “black lists” of Israeli scholars and artists whose political opinions were not deemed “Zionist enough” to its taste. These actions have been characterized by the courts as having a close resemblance to fascism. So this racist, Jewish-supremacist, annexationist sentiment doesn’t only exist in the halls of the Knesset or Israel’s Supreme Court, rather it has planted roots among my university’s faculty. And that is extremely troubling.
In my political theory classes at Princeton, there is one idea that keeps popping up in lively discussions. It’s the notion that pure democracy is really just a theory. In reality, however, things are much more complex.
The US boasts of its democracy, but its foundation relies on a Roman constitutional republic that catered to elite property owners and ensured a powerful executive branch. American democracy remains plagued by its own individual groups wielding undue power and political leanings in its judicial system. Israeli “democracy” indeed is not a democracy for all its residents; it is a democracy for Jewish Israelis. So democracy is more a concept than a real-life political system of governance.
One thing that is not a theory or concept is the racist, Jewish-supremacist, annexationist, nature of the recently-elected Israeli government. But let’s be clear about that word “elected.” It was elected by majority of Jews living under Israeli rule, but millions of Palestinians living under Israeli rule in the Occupied Territories and East Jerusalem were prohibited from voting. Despite living in the same areas, Jews – vote, majority of Palestinians – are denied the vote.
Yet, despite this flawed democracy, any proposals that get rid of checks and balances over such a government are dangerous, and can lead to an even worse situation.
Though I’m firmly opposed to the Netanyahu government, I had second thoughts about attending the anti-Netanyahu protest on Sunday. I have seen and heard about Israel/Palestine activism on campus projecting chasms in the Jewish community and causing flare-ups among students, activists, and even staff.
However, these are perilous times, in which the fate of Palestinians under apartheid and of Israelis faced with an authoritarian regime is going to be decided. Bearing in mind that US dollars and institutions are supporting this right-wing government, I feel it is my duty to protest. Haaretz reported that The Kohelet Policy Forum, which drafted the judicial overhaul legislation, is funded by American billionaire Jeff Yass. And it is crucial to note that the Kohelet Forum, also runs, among many other things, the Lobel Teachers Colloquium at my university, Princeton. So despite the debated position of Palestinians within the current protest movement, despite the murky definitions of democracy in a country that occupies another people, and despite feeling that protests will not achieve much, I attended the rally. It’s a tiny first step in the long battle ahead.
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*The version of this article published on March 21 stated that Dr. Shoval himself published such lists, which he has denied. If this was an error, IC regrets it.
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