President Isaac Herzog of Israel spoke to a cheering crowd of Senators and Congressmen and delivered a moderate, centrist message of hope for peace in the Middle East.
I'm interested in how you view the opinions voiced in the following blog post, it seems to me that many "liberals" are leaning the same way as this blogger.
The protestors in Israel are making the same mistake as the EU bureaucrats. They are confusing "democracy" (a procedure) with "liberalism" (a set of policy preferences).
We've been using the term "liberal democracy" for so many decades that we've forgotten it's actually an oxymoron; the two halves are in conflict. "Democracy" = the law will generally reflect the will of the majority. "Liberal" = the law must conform to a set of universal rights regardless of whether they're popular. We've veered so far toward the latter that many on the Left view any attempt to reassert democratic control as fascism.
Israel has a unique problem as well though. It claims to be a Jewish, democratic state that runs from the Jordan River to the Sea. However among those goals, 1) Jewish, 2) democratic, 3) geographic, you must pick 2. You can never have all 3, because of the Palestinians. A Jewish democracy will be smaller. A full size Jewish Israel can't be a democracy. And a democracy from the Jordan to the sea will no longer be majority Jewish. This conflict is innate to Israel's existence and the source of much of its internal political strife.
Excellent article Alan. Perfectly stated.
Sidenote: you, better than anyone, should know we're a constitutional republic, not a democracy.
An excellent article, I agree 100%. Although raised as RC, I have always been a strong supporter of Israel.
Professor, I would love to hear your analysis of the good, bad, and the ugly in the West Bank.
Alan,
I'm interested in how you view the opinions voiced in the following blog post, it seems to me that many "liberals" are leaning the same way as this blogger.
https://dekerivers.wordpress.com/2023/07/25/black-front-pages-of-israeli-newspapers-underscore-deep-anger-about-illiberal-policy-over-supreme-court/
What say you?
Brilliant.
The protestors in Israel are making the same mistake as the EU bureaucrats. They are confusing "democracy" (a procedure) with "liberalism" (a set of policy preferences).
We've been using the term "liberal democracy" for so many decades that we've forgotten it's actually an oxymoron; the two halves are in conflict. "Democracy" = the law will generally reflect the will of the majority. "Liberal" = the law must conform to a set of universal rights regardless of whether they're popular. We've veered so far toward the latter that many on the Left view any attempt to reassert democratic control as fascism.
Israel has a unique problem as well though. It claims to be a Jewish, democratic state that runs from the Jordan River to the Sea. However among those goals, 1) Jewish, 2) democratic, 3) geographic, you must pick 2. You can never have all 3, because of the Palestinians. A Jewish democracy will be smaller. A full size Jewish Israel can't be a democracy. And a democracy from the Jordan to the sea will no longer be majority Jewish. This conflict is innate to Israel's existence and the source of much of its internal political strife.