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Representation and De-Legitimation in Semi-Democratic Regimes: the Case of the Arab Citizens in Israel

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Representation and De-Legitimation in Semi-Democratic Regimes: the Case of the Arab Citizens in Israel Sociology and Anthropology 6(5): 447-458, 2018 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/sa.2018.060501 Representation and De-legitimation in Semi-democratic Regimes: The Case of the Arab Citizens in Israel Salim Brake School of Political Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel Copyright©2018 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract In this article, I offer a brief examination of from time to time? the political model in Israel and review Arab representation Robert Dahl [1] has concluded the basic conditions for in the Knesset on the basis of the model I propose for the existence of democracy: some of them are effective describing Israel’s political system—that of the participation, voting equality, and control the agenda. All semi-democratic regime. I do not believe that the models these along with political culture which based on proposed by other scholars are applicable to the Israel case. respecting other’s rights, perception of equality as a value My assumption is that the parliamentary representation of as well as defending individual’s interests and properties. Arabs in Israel is blocked and ineffective; hence, Israel Despite its commitment, Israel has avoided adopting a cannot be seen as a full democracy. I will review the constitution, reinforcing the inferior status of the Arabs evolution of Arab parliamentary representation in Israel, its within the state by fostering set of rules and actions that function, and its outcomes as a test case for the claim of the have led to this condition and status. The most prominent manipulation of representation and exclusion from the of these rules is the continuation of implementing political sphere. I cannot discuss all the aspects of the emergency regulations since the establishment of the state Israeli regime that lead to this proposed model, but will and until this day, regulations that diminish the real focus on the patterns and trends in Arab Knesset meaning of democracy, especially in relation to Arabs membership, until recently, as a blatant example of a status and their basic rights. Most of the Israeli elite viewed semi-democracy. I will assert that the Arabs’ exclusion and still viewing Arabs as undesirable minority. from the centers of political power means that Israel cannot Accordingly, attitudes towards Arabs in Israel have be a democratic and egalitarian regime, but only an ersatz fluctuated between hostility and alienation. All this democracy, whose goal is to paint Israel as a democracy for together with additional other flaws such as religious external consumption, but nothing more. compulsion, the existence of occupation will be more than 50 years. Keywords Semi-Democracy, Representation, Ethnic Given such condition, does Israel’s self-declaration as a Minorities, De-legitimation, Arabs in Israel, Palestinians democratic state reliable? Is it strictness to fulfill the formal rules such as elections and limited extent of power separation enough for defining Israel as a democratic state? Many researchers consider the Israeli regime either as a 1 . Introduction kind of minimal democracy (Noeberger, [2]) or as a “low model of democracy” (Samooha, [3]), and some even Is it possible for democracy to exist without a completely reject the definition of Israel as a democratic constitution that defends individual’s rights from the state (Peled & Shafir, [4]; Yiftachel & Ghanem, [5]). All tyranny of the majority? Does a constitution guarantee this these researchers, who are Jewish, express difficulties protection, if yes, then in which conditions? Either way, is accepting the contradiction between the very formal rules it possible for real democracy to occur in the absence of of democracy and the non-democratic essence of Israel as a central constitutional section that protects and anchors state. individual’s rights and freedoms? A more annoying I suggest a different explanation for the nature of the question is; can real democracy exist in a political Israeli regime, which I believe as more convening, and it is atmosphere and among public opinion that most of it holds the Semi-Democracy model, that is to say an imitation of non-democratic attitudes and even anti-democratic ones the western democratic model which is liberal in its nature, 448 Representation and De-legitimation in Semi-democratic Regimes: The Case of the Arab Citizens in Israel with a constant attempt to conceal the anti-democratic the Arabs’ substantive representatives from centers of essence of the regime by declaration of commitment for influence and government power. I will assert that the Arab basic democratic rules, or continuous attempt of presenting representation in the Knesset is scarcely effective, because the fact of fulfillment parliamentary election as the most of the policy of distancing them from the political arena. import aspect of democracy, while neglecting essential Several means contribute to this ineffectiveness: flaws mentioned above, along with a high level of political The disproportionately low level of Arab violence, severe processes of other’s de-legitimation, and representation in the Knesset even incitement of government leaders against minorities, The policy of ineffective and token microcosmos against civil society organizations, and against the left side representation in the Zionist parties, which severs parties, as we have been witnessing during the last decade. these parliamentarians' interests from those of the Therefore, Semi-Democracy is considered or would be a Arab citizens regime model committed only to formal parliamentary The shunting of Arab parliamentarians to the rules of democracy that are based on enlistment of public sidelines of the Knesset and distancing from any opinion by the media, which is directed by the influence on the coalition or on government policy governmental elite, as well as on the ability to change the The delegitimization of the representatives selected game rules in unequal and unfair ways by changing by the Arabs themselves, as a follow-up to the legislation using the constant available majority and effort to delegitimize the Arab citizens themselves employing violent manners which are not obligated to In what follows, I will briefly review the changing values of respect of minorities’ rights and not even to patterns of Arab parliamentary representation since Israel’s essential commitment for respecting the very basic rights founding. I will also present data about Arab Knesset of the individual. membership and Arab MKs’ presence in Knesset organs There are more tangible examples of why the State of and posts. Israel should be classified as a semi-democratic regime than those can be mentioned here. They include: Israel’s character as a state of ethnic stratification that is not committed to the values of general civic equality; 1 its 2. Methodology definition as a Jewish state, which implies a significant degree of religious coercion that infringes civil liberties The research is based mainly on a series of interviews I and, in particular, excludes Arabs because they are not conducted with several members of Knesset (MKs), both Jewish and defines them as second-class citizens, no matter Arab and non-Arab. These were open-ended interviews, their actions or conduct;2 the general policy towards the recorded as audio files and transcribed. I also surveyed the Arabs; the discrimination against them in all fields of life; work of Arab Knesset members, both those of Zionist the existence of a “secret state”; their subjection to parties and those affiliated with parties that represent the Emergency Regulations; and harsh manifestations Arab sector. I found that neither group exerted a significant expressions of racism, including by leaders such as the influence on Israeli politics, excerpt for the “blocking Prime Minister, other ministers, and Knesset members. The majority” and the short period of direct elections for Prime occupation regime in the territories and acute militarization Minister—the exceptions that prove my basic assertions. It of Israeli society can be added to the mix. However, in this is not intended to further the welfare of the Arabs in Israel, article, I will focus on patterns of representation and assert but only to provide a false image that serves the that although Israel is a semi-democratic regime that semi-democratic regime by allowing it to present itself adheres to the formal rules of democracy, it is not internationally as a representative democracy with equal committed to core democratic values such as civic equality. rights for all. The parliamentary representation of the For this purpose, I will review the Joint Arab List’s Arab-Palestinian minority is limited in scope and parliamentary output over the past two years and examine effectiveness in two basic ways: its token and ineffective several important cases that reveal its fecklessness as an inclusion in the Zionist parties, intended to display a effective representative of the Arab minority in Israel. pretense of inclusion and legitimacy; and the exclusion of 1 There are serious charges of discrimination in Israel against Jews of 3. Parliamentary Representation: Arab and Middle Eastern and especially Ethiopian origin. This ethnic rift is one of the strongest divisions in the country, with discrimination in Some Theoretical Background housing, employment, standard of living, education, and other fields. For a broader discussion, see, for example, Smooha [6]. 2 The clearest case of discrimination against the Arab citizens, based only Much has been written about the essence and importance on religion, is that of the Druze, who serve in the military yet are of representation, in democracy in general and in liberal nevertheless victims of discrimination in all fields of life and excluded from most sectors of the economy. The Druze villages are in the four democracy in particular. The first thinkers to discuss the lowest clusters of the socioeconomic scale, like all other Arab localities.
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