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Why Does Israel Keep Moving to the Right?

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Why Does Israel Keep Moving to the Right? Why Does Israel Keep Moving to the Right? By Molly Murphy and Lila Weitzner The Knesset u 120 members u Elections every four years u Number party representatives proportional to amount of support received. u Roles: • Legislate and revise laws • Policy decisions • Review government decisions • Elect the president • Speaker of the Knesset: • Yuli Edelstein (Likud) 2013-present Israeli Political Parties (currently represented in the Knesset) HaBayit HaYehudi/ Jewish Home (2008) u Ultra-right religious Zionist party u Jewish Identity of the state on every level: cultural, RIGHT to LEFT to RIGHT personal status, legislature and society. u Opposes two state solution- expand settlements The Likud (1973) u Party Leader: Benjamin Netanyahu u Settlement is crucial to Zionist effort to redeem the country, maintain security. u Israel cannot withdraw from Palestinian territories. u Many members call for formal annexation of West Bank. Israeli Political Parties (currently represented in the Knesset) Yisrael Beiteinu (1999) Shas (1984) Ultra-orthodox u movement following the path of Zez u End to social and economic discrimination Jabotinsky, founder of Revisionist Zionism 1999 against Sephardic Jews u “Peace-for-peace and land-for-land” u Jewish religious law governing society RIGHT to LEFT to RIGHT u "The end result must not be a state and a half for Palestinians and half a state for the Jews… It u No chance of peace before problem of would be unjustifiable to create a Palestinian state that would exclude Jews while Israel Hamas is dealt with became a bi-national state with an Arab minority of more than 20 percent of its citizens.” –Yisrael Beiteinu party manifesto Kulanu (2014) United Torah Judaism (1992) u Moshe Kahlon broke off from Likud due to u Jewish religious law should govern society corruption within the party prior to 2015 u ultra-orthodox, non-Zionist party elections. u Much of support comes from u Focus on economic and cost of living issues West Bank settlements u Unresolved views towards peace process and two state solution Israeli Political Parties (currently represented in the Knesset) Yesh Atid (2012) Meretz (1992) “We believe that Israel is a democratic, Jewish State in the spirit of the visions of the Prophets of • Campaigns on issues of social justice, equality, and Israel.” peace with Palestinians u Supports a two state solution- status of Jerusalem not up for negotiation • Supports Palestinian efforts to achieve statehood RIGHT to LEFT to RIGHT through UN u Doubts of the possibility of peace with Arabs Zionist Union (Labor and Hatnuah) United Arab List u Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni form center-left • Balad, Ra'am-Ta'al, Arab-Jewish Hadash, and the challenge to Netanyahu’s reelection Islamic Movement parties join forces for 2015 u In favor of two state solution –believes in elections, headed by Hadash leader Ayman possibility of peace Odeh. u Upholding Israel’s values of both a Jewish • Calls for Palestinian state on the ‘67 borders with and democratic state East Jerusalem as its capital and dismantlement of u Israeli settlements chief barrier to peace Israeli settlements • Only Arab party represented in Knesset Benjamin Netanyahu 2015 Israeli Elections u Prime Minister 1996-1999 & 2009-present u Called for early elections after 5 party coalition government fractures u Closest rivals- Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) u Israel must never relinquish “security control” over West Bank u Last minute campaigning: u No Palestinian state while he’s in power u Racist text messages "Arab voters are coming out in droves to the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFzFJj7Iup8 polls. Left-wing organizations are busing them out.“-Netanyahu Facebook post Why has Israeli politics shifted so far to the right? u Increasing religiosity among Jewish Israeli populations. u Continual violence inflicted as the occupying power of the Palestinian Occupied Territories. u Militarization of society. u Failure of peace process to bring about any positive change. u The gradual defeat of the left-wing peace movement. How religious are Israeli Jews now? TWO MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ISRAELI JUDAISM 1) All Israelis are religious Jews. u There is a fairly even split between Israelis who consider themselves Jewish before Israeli and Israelis who consider themselves Israeli before Jewish. u Forty-two percent of Israeli Jews are secular. 2) The majority of Israelis are completely secular while a minority are ultra-orthodox or “haredim.” u Only forty-two percent of Israeli Jews are secular. u A minority of Israeli Jews are “ultra-orthodox.” u “Secular” in Israel is very different than in the United States. u The animosity between haredim and the rest of the population hides moderate observance of Judaism ONE REALITY ABOUT ISRAELI JUDAISM 1) The ultra-religious population is growing and it is pushing the country farther and farther to the right. What is the relationship between secular and religious Israelis? u Day to day interaction is seldom and unwanted. u Haredim expect secular Israelis to observe Jewish laws and harass secular Israelis when they do not. u Haredim have high birth rates and often do not work or serve in the military so secular tax dollars Vs. go to aid so the ultra-Orthodox can study Torah all day. u Haredim take over secular neighborhoods particularly in Jerusalem. u Secular Israelis see the ultra-Orthodox as the weak, effeminate past of Judaism as opposed to the sexy, strong, secular future of Judaism. u Haredim and seculars clash over which side of the green line is more valuable. What does the secular/Orthodox schism tell us about Israeli politics? u The secular clash with the Orthodox because of their disproportionate power in the Knesset. u This power comes from an alliance with the right wing for the West Bank . u The secular blame the Haredim for the occupation and oppression of the Palestinians, which excuses their own complicity. “I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard secular Jews blame religious Jews for all of the country’s ills. It seems, to me, the easy way out—a way of shrugging off responsibility for the state of the state. “Their settlements are ruining this place,” secular Jewish Israelis sometimes say, ignoring the fact that not all settlers are religious and not all religious are settlers. This statement also overlooks the crucial role Israeli society plays, as a whole, in supporting the settlement enterprise—militarily, financially, and politically.” What does an increase in religious violence do for the right wing? Netanyahu’s right-wing and their structural violence doesn’t look so bad compared to the ultra- Orthodox’s direct violence. “It’s a shame that the military authorities have chosen at this time during which u Between 2009 and 2011, violence inflicted upon the security forces in general, and IDF Palestinians by Orthodox settlers tripled. soldiers in particular, are working day and night in order to restore security to u Since 2008, attacks on Christians have increased civilians, and instead of giving them by 150 percent each year. freedom of action and the minimal backing needed, these same combat u In certain cases of attacks on Palestinians, ultra- soldiers have found themselves arrested Orthodox Israelis are granted legal support by an and forced to deal with the baseless organization funded by Israeli taxpayers. claims of a terrorist.” - Nathan Haber, lawyer for Honenu u Price tag hate crimes were officially recognized as acts of terror by US State Department in 2012. How does continual violence shift Israeli culture to the right? u Violence against Israeli civilian populations creates a constant sense of threat and desire for heightened security. u Under rightwing leadership, Israeli national security has increased. u Systematic violence towards Palestinians has increased. u Normalization of violence. Militarization u IDF Mandatory service for both men and women of Society u Seen as a rite of passage u IDF soldiers working among civilian population- weapons ever present u Glorification of military- part of Israel’s identity u Intensifies the perceived threat of Palestinians u Militarism ingrained in legal system u IDF taking on civilian matters u Psychological effects Failure of the Peace Process to Bring About Change u Allows right to develop rejectionist narrative u Likud blames failure of Peace process on Palestinian rejectionists u Camp David u Losing faith in the possibility of Peace u Times of Israel poll: u 43% believe economic issues most important u 16% deterioration with Palestinians Where has the left-wing peace movement gone? 1) They have left the country. u The number of Israeli emigrants that leave because of ideological problems is statically insignificant, but symbolically significant. 2) The idea of peace is a lost cause. 3)Violence has become normalized in the name of security. 4) Internal Problems u Criticized for being little more than very educated, elite Ashkenazi Jews seeking fulfillment of ideology, but not action. u Criticized for not having vision of what Israel should be after the liberation of Palestinians. u Siding with international organizations has made their views seem more marginal. 5) Right wing propaganda and violence targeted at the left-wing has successfully delegitimized the movement. What does this mean for the future of Israel/Palestine? The right-wing engineered settlements nullify the legality of occupation. If that holds true, Israel is no longer a democracy. “For Israel, a state that has always been tenacious and aggressive in combatting perceived
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