Silencing Arab members of the Knesset would be a new low for Israeli democracy

What is left of Israeli democracy is today under attack. Over the past few years, the public and political atmosphere in the country has become more extreme. Nowhere is this more evident than in relations withIsrael’s Arab-Palestinian minority – around 20% of Israeli citizens – who have been the target of sustained and repeated attacks. The trend is most obvious in, but not limited to, legislation. Through pending and newly passed legislation, along with successful amendments to existing laws, attempts are being made to limit if not entirely suspend democracy. In the most recent assault on democratic rights, and in an attempt to undermine the Arab minority, the coalition in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, proposedlegislation that would enable the suspension of elected representatives of the public – a move likely to disproportionately affect Arab MKs. The legislation stipulates that an MK can be suspended if 90 out of the 120 MKs support this motion. This legislation will allow elected officials to be relieved of their duties – not because they broke any law, but because their political agenda is found to be unacceptable. In its purest form, this represents tyranny of the majority and, if it passes, it will be a new nadir for Israeli democracy.

Supporters of the bill claim that this law is acceptable and standard practice in a democracy. However, Israel has veered far from acceptable norms of democratic discourse and practice. After nearly 50 years of occupation of the Palestinian territories and settlement expansion, the next logical target is an assault on Palestinian citizens within the recognised borders of Israel, while employing pseudo-democratic rhetoric as justification. Let’s be clear: this legislation attempts to not only shoot the message but also shoot the messenger. Supporters of this bill seek to eject Arab MKs in order to silence views they find intolerable. This is an affront not only to the MKs who may face removal from their positions, but also to those who voted. Such a move invalidates tens of thousands of legitimately cast votes and, as such, does not conform to the most basic principles of a democratic society.

If this proposal passes, it will make the right to be elected conditional on whatever the majority deems “good behaviour”. The threat of suspension will serve as a silencing tactic while also impeding MKs’ ability to faithfully fulfil the mandate they received from their voters. Until now, the Israeli supreme courthas served as a bulwark against some of the worst manifestations of this troubling trend, and has slowed the steady decline of Israeli democracy. Now, elected representatives seek to bypass the power of the courts through legislation such as this. Undoubtedly, this will represent a further erosion of the separation of powers.

In the rapidly shrinking democratic space in Israel, the Arab public needs to be assured that their will is reflected on the national stage. Their choice of representatives is reflective of their dreams and aspirations, their fears and struggles and their voice as a disenfranchised minority. These are basic democratic and citizenship rights that elected officials are threatening to strip from other MKs and their constituencies.

Against these attacks on democratic values, we at the Joint List political allianceare committed to the values of human and civil rights and will continue to work for a brighter future for both peoples, even as others pursue this anti-democratic campaign.