Over the past few months, there has been much talk of movement toward democracy in the Middle East. Highlighted by the recent presidential election in Egypt, referenced in Regan Doherty’s column last Wednesday, recent events in Lebanon and Iraq have brought about much talk of history-making shifts in the region heralding the arrival of democracy. I could not be happier about these changes, and I’m glad to see so many forward-moving, exciting developments in a region about which I care so deeply. Too often, what most people seem to often forget in these discussions is that there is already one established democracy in the Middle East: Israel.
While Ms. Doherty spoke in her article of how excited she was that nine opposition candidates have been approved to run against the incumbent (and eventually winner, with over 88% of the vote) President Mubarak, I could only think of how in Israel, a coalition, usually consisting of at least 5 or 6 parties, is required in order to build a majority in the Israeli version of congress, the Knesset. When she mentioned how opposition slogans are banned from Egyptian television, I instantly considered Israeli society, which seems to be built upon the (polite) political, social and religious debates amongst all its citizens, including all forms of media. She mentioned that Egypt might be on its way to “becoming a full-fledged democracy”; I couldn’t help but think of the only country in the region that has been a democracy since its inception in 1948. The developments in the Middle East are certainly noteworthy considering the region’s past. In my mind, this makes Israel’s existence in the region as a democracy only that much more remarkable.
I understand that this is not an entirely fair comparison; Israel was originally meant to be a democracy, and Egypt is just now beginning to make some changes that could result in its becoming a democracy at some point over the next few decades. Too often, advocates of Israel are silent and unheard unless there is something they feel they must defend their country against.Whenever there are allegations of using excessive force against potential terrorists, or accusations of unfair treatment of the Palestinians in general, pro-Israel advocates can often be heard; when there is an absence of negativity, however, these advocates seem to disappear.
It is crucial to not always be on the defensive, but also to be pro-active in promoting Israel as a fair, open and democratic state. Otherwise, it appears as though advocates of Israel are simply reactionary, which is especially problematic considering the polished and impressively media-savvy presence that Palestinian advocates are usually able to muster.
Recently, Israel finished moving all Jewish “settlers” out of the Gaza Strip, officially handing the land to the Palestinians and giving up a section of land that they have held since the Six Day War in 1967. Even though this small section of land might seem insignificant to many people, for a tiny country like Israel, even a few hundred square feet is a significant percentage of the country’s area. After being forced to halt the peace process in order to deal with the Second Intifada, Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, and the Israeli government have finally begun to move the peace process along. Since the death of Yasser Arafat, developments have been almost exclusively encouraging. These recent positive developments, such as continued talks between Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, and Sharon are even more remarkable considering the stream of bad news that seemed to flow out of Israel towards the beginning of the decade: suicide bombings, attacks on soliders, accidental deaths of Palestinian bystanders. Very recently, Israel seemed to be stuck in a war it couldn’t win, but fortunately, that seems to have changed.
This is not to say that Israel should be content with where it stands. The process ahead still has many difficult steps and will be quite arduous. Israel must be sure to show the Palestinians that terror is not an effective tactic for gaining land and the question of the West Bank will be a difficult one to find a full and complete answer for that will satisfy both sides. But, with its status as the only established democracy in the Middle East, hopefully Israel will continue its recent positive developments and keep moving forward into greater peace and prosperity, alongside its newly forward-thinking neighbors.
Matt is a senior in Arts & Sciences and a Forum editor.