Opinion Martin Regg Cohn: Israel’s elected leader is a dangerous threat to its democracy
Now, by opening a new front against its founding democratic ideals, Benjamin Netanyahu has brought Israel to the brink. A country so often fighting external enemies is now at war with itself.
By empowering itself to overrule judgments, and to choose preferred judges, the coalition would place itself above the law ― rewriting laws it didn’t like. For the embattled Netanyahu, who faces long-standing corruption charges, it seemed a made-to-measure escape hatch from justice. The problem with Netanyahu’s majoritarian rule is that it ignores minority rights. Liberal democracy is not merely about elections but checks and balances that constrain untrammeled power.
In Israel’s system of proportional representation, parliamentarians owe their positions to the parties that put them there, not the people who elected them. Coalitions give rise to smaller fringe parties who can hold the country hostage to their demands ― ruling over a domestic population that includes a large minority of Israeli Arab citizens, while also occupying millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and controlling the borders of Gaza.
The demographics and the politics have long favoured Netanyahu’s career. A population explosion among ultra-Orthodox families has fuelled the religious right; a failed peace process has extinguished the old peace camp of the left., when peace broke out with the Palestinians and Israeli society faced another existential crisis.
This week, after supposedly declaring a truce in Israel’s civil war, his government laid the groundwork for creation of a new paramilitary “national guard” under the control of Itamar Ben Gvir, the national security minister. Ben Gvir is the far-right coalition partner and radical settler leader convicted of racist incitement against Arabs.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Opinion | Want to save democracy? Focus on these three thingsIf you don’t like the way it’s working now, you need to make it better, Martin Regg Cohn writes.
Read more »
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ Sets Fall Release DateA release date has been set for Martin Scorsese’s highly-anticipated “Killers of the Flower Moon'. The historical drama about 'the serial targeting and murder of members of the oil-rich Osage tribe,' as per Variety, will first open in limited theatres on October 6. Then, on October 20, the film will have a wide release. [readmore label='READ MORE:…
Read more »
Don Martin's sorry-to-be-cynical prediction on the federal budgetThe only thing most Canadians will remember about the budget this time next week is how the booze tax increase was reduced to two per cent from six, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
Read more »
Martin, Truro shut out Valley to win Maritime junior hockey series 4-2 | SaltWireBERWICK, N.S. — The Truro Bearcats are moving on to Round 2. Landon Miron scored the winner 3:24 into the second period and Connor Martin had a 36-save ...
Read more »
Old Montreal fire: Last two bodies recovered from burned down building\u0022Our effort will now focus on finding the cause of the fire,\u0022 says fire operations chief Martin Guilbault.
Read more »
Teenage girl shot and killed in Martindale, northeast Calgary - Calgary | Globalnews.caThe shooting in an alley off Martin Crossing Crescent in the northeast Calgary community of Martindale was reported at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. Police found a teen girl dead.
Read more »