Israel and Democracy

Some of those who pointed so exultantly at the Israeli inquiry commission's report on the Beirut massacre as proof that Israel's democracy is flourishing have been more quiet lately, in the wake of what has appeared to be a neat evasion by the Begin government of the spirit, if not the letter, of the commission's recommendations. But for many people in and out of Israel, the question has never been whether Israel is a democracy right now but whether it will manage to remain one. Ever since the re-election of Mr. Begin in 1981—following a campaign in which thugs smashed windows and store fronts which displayed opposition Labor Party stickers and broke up Labor Party rallies by driving speakers off the stage and chanting "Begin, Begin, King of Israel"—there have been growing doubts. For democracy to keep working, there has to be a tolerance by its elected leaders of those who dissent in legal fashion from the ruling group's policies. There has been less and less of this kind of tolerance from Mr. Begin and company, as they have continued to raise the level of their oppression in occupied territories and their hardline adventurism abroad. A play which criticized the right-wing, nationalistic values which these policies represent was banned. Members of groups which believe in giving back occupied Arab lands have been called "traitors." In the atmosphere created by this rhetoric, one of the members of such a group was killed the other day by pro-government demonstrators in front of Mr. Begin's office building.

This is a trend which disturbs many moderate Israelis with a memory of how the democratic process has been used in some other countries to retain power. Hitler was given his chance to become chancellor of Germany not through a coup but in a free, democratic election. As the Israeli journalist Jacobo Timerman has said, specifically commenting on the situation in Israel: "There has always been a democratic way to elect a fascist government."