"Bad laws," Edmund Burke once said, "are the worst sort of tyranny."
The millions of people who have been protesting -- from Tunis, Egypt
and Libya, to Bahrain, Yemen and Syria -- appear to have recognized this
truism and are demanding the end of emergency law and the drafting of
new constitutions that will guarantee the separation of powers, free,
fair and regular elections, and basic political, social and economic
rights for all citizens.
To put it succinctly, they are fighting to end tyranny.
Within
this dramatic context it is also fruitful to look at Israel, which is
considered by many as the only democracy in the Middle East and which
has, in many ways, been an outlier in the region. One might ask whether
or not Israel stands as a beacon of light for those fighting tyranny.
On
the one hand, the book of laws under which Israel's citizenry live is -- with the exception of a handful of significant laws that privilege Jews
over non-Jews -- currently very similar to those used in most liberal
democracies, where the executive, legislative and judicial powers are
separated, there are free, fair and regular elections, and the citizens
enjoy basic rights -- including freedom of expression and association.
Israel's double standard
However, on the other hand, the Israeli military law used to manage the Palestinians are similar to those deployed in most Arab countries, where there is no real separation of powers and people are in many respects without rights. Even though there has been a Palestinian Authority since the mid-1990s, there is no doubt that sovereignty still lies in Israeli hands.
One accordingly notices that in this so-called free and democratic
country, there are in fact two books of laws, one liberal for its own
citizenry and the other for Palestinians under its occupation. Hence,
Israel looks an awful lot like apartheid or colonialism.
But can Israel's democratic parts serve as a model of emulation for pro-democracy activists in the neighboring Arab countries?
The
answer is mixed -- because as Arab citizens across the region struggle
against tyranny, in Israel there appears to be an opposite trend,
whereby large parts of the citizenry are not only acquiescent but have
been supportive of Knesset members who are drafting new legislation to
silence public criticism and to delegitimize political rivals, human
rights organizations, and the Palestinian minority. The idea is to
legally restrict individuals and groups that hold positions at odds with
the government's right-wing agenda by presenting them as enemies of the
State.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel recently
warned that the laws promoted by the Knesset are dangerous and will have
severe ramifications for basic human rights and civil liberties. The
association, which is known for its evenhanded approach, went on to
claim that the new laws "contribute to undemocratic and racist public
stands, which have been increasingly salient in Israeli society in the
past few years."
New wave of repressive laws
Here are just a few examples of approximately 20 bills that have either been approved or are currently under consideration...
* The Knesset approved a new law stating that organizations and
institutions that commemorate Nakba Day, "deny the Jewish and democratic
character of the State," and shall not receive public funds. Thus, even
in the Arab schools within Israel, the Nakba must be erased. So much
for democratic contestation and multiculturalism.
* Another new
law states that "acceptance committees" of villages and communities may
turn down a candidate if he or she "fails to meet the fundamental views
of the community." According to ACRI, this bill intends to deny ethnic
minorities' access to Jewish communities set up on predominantly public
lands. So unless the new Arab pro-democracy movements want to base their
countries on apartheid-like segregation, this is also not a law to
emulate.
* The Knesset has approved a bill that pardons most of the protesters
who demonstrated against Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. Although
legislation easing punitive measures against persons who exercise their
right to political protest is, in principle, positive, this particular
bill blatantly favors activists with a certain political ideology. This
does not bode well for the basic notion of equality before the law.
* An
amendment to the existing Penalty Code stipulates that people who
publish a call that denies the existence of the State of Israel as a
Jewish and democratic state shall be imprisoned. This extension of the
existing law criminalizes political views that the ruling political
group does not accept. It is supported by the government and has passed a
preliminary reading. Burgeoning democracies should definitely shy away
from such legislation.
* There is currently a proposed bill to
punish persons who initiate, promote, or publish material that might
serve as grounds for imposing a boycott. The bill insists that these
people are committing an offence and may be ordered to compensate
parties economically affected by that boycott, including fixed
reparations of 30,000 New Israeli Shekels (US$8,700), without an
obligation on the plaintiffs to prove damages. This bill has already
passed the first reading.
* Finally, a bill presented to the
Knesset in October would require members of local and city councils, as
well as some other civil servants, to pledge allegiance to Israel as a
Jewish and democratic state.
Democracy for a few
There is a clear logic underlying this spate of new laws; namely, the
Israeli government's decision to criminalize alternate political
ideologies, such as the idea that Israel should be a democracy for all
its citizens.
Hence, one witnesses an inverse trend -- as the
Arab citizens in the region struggle for more openness and indeed
democracy, toppling dictators and pressuring governments to make
significant liberal reforms, the Israeli book of laws is being rewritten
so as to undercut democratic values.
Israelis celebrating the state's 63rd birthday should closely examine the pro-democracy movements in Tahrir, Deraa and across the Arab world. They might very well learn a thing or two.
Neve Gordon is the author of Israel's Occupation and can be reached through his website
