World Jewry must not stay silent in fight for Israeli democracy - opinion

We are in a crisis. Our masterpiece, the democratic home of the Jewish people, Israel, is in jeopardy. Israel’s new government is now dominated by extremists who do not accept the democratic values upon which the State of Israel was founded.

This presents a serious threat to the character of Israel, which has been a key pillar of the relationship between Israel and its friends around the world and in particular the large majority of Diaspora Jews.

Over the last 10 weeks, Israel has been engrossed in chaos and despair, as a result of the speedy judicial reform legislation, with hundreds of thousands of Israelis demonstrating on the streets, and negative economic and political impact on the country. But world Jewry is mostly silent, afraid of upsetting one of the sides in Israel’s “internal” debate.

Opposing positions can be argued and justified in political debates, e.g., the future of the settlements, but this is not a political debate – it is a fight for the very soul of the Jewish state, which will have an impact on the entire Jewish people. The complete control over the courts of a government dominated by ultra-Orthodox and Jewish zealots who loath liberal Jews, promises future legislation that will cause an irreversible split in the Jewish world (e.g., change the law of return, further restrictions on women).

A non-democratic Israel will no longer be part of the family of democratic nations, and Diaspora Jews will no longer be able to say they share similar values with Israel. Thus, world Jewry must enter the discourse.

How should world Jewry get involved in the fight for Israeli democracy?

Jews around the world who believe in liberal democracy (which is the large majority of world Jews) must speak up now in support of the separation of powers and the independence of the Israeli judiciary, which are basic pillars of any democracy; slowing down the judicial reform; and honest engagement with all the people of Israel to reach a fair compromise.

They should also take the following actions:

1. Ignore the lies spread by members of the coalition, who claim that Israelis who are against judicial reform are extreme leftists. The extreme Left in Israel is a tiny minority, and those who protest are mostly at the Center and Center-Right of the political map. They need our immediate and strong support, as they share our values and are our natural allies. We cannot let them down.
2. Build a strong and united front of pro-Israel world Jewry and join other indisputable pro-Israel advocates, like Dr. Miriam Adelson and Noa Tishby, Israel’s first special envoy for combating antisemitism and delegitimization, who expressed opposition to the push to curb the powers of the Supreme Court.
3. Support the establishment of a liberal constitution in Israel that will shield the liberal democratic nature of the country from the demographic trends that are working against it. 

This is a battle for Israel’s democratic nature, for its character and identity. The Israel that the majority of Israelis want is not the Israel that this government wants to turn it into. In the words of President Isaac Herzog, “We are at a point of no return. This is a make-or-break moment… The choice is one, either disaster or a solution.”

World Jewry staying silent and not choosing a side is not an option in this moment of crisis.

The writer, an Israeli-Canadian, is a lay leader in Toronto. She has dedicated herself to numerous Israeli and Jewish organizations, promoting meaningful engagement and fostering Israel-Diaspora connections.