Going back to militant democracy
Op-ed: No one should be surprised with the recent storm of events swirling around MK Basel Ghattas and the smuggled cell phones, but Israeli democracy is being abused due to a misguided Supreme Court decision leaving Israel vulnerable.
First and foremost is the "leader" of the strategy, fugitive Azmi Bashara.
Hanin Zoabi and Basel Ghattas are outstanding heirs and pupils of Bishara. When Zoabi first ran for Mayor of Nazareth, she received little support. Yet without her extremism, she has no support.
Balad is an example of the failure of our democratic system. In this case, the failure is that of the Supreme Court.
On the eve of elections for the 16th Knesset, then-Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein (now Vice President of the Supreme Court) asked the court to prevent the Joint List from participating.
The opinion of the Ministry of Justice was not based on political motivation, but rather a clear, evidence-based platform. The Joint List's youth wing called for incitement and supported terror. The Central Election Committee accepted Rubinstein's position and rejected the Joint List.
However, the Supreme Court ruled, by a 7-4 majority, to overturn the decision of the Central Election Committee, leaving the gates of the Israeli legislature open to this reckless group.
In the past, the Supreme Court was characterized as "defending democracy." When a nationalistic, anti-Israel Arab list tried to take advantage of Israeli democracy, the judges ruled that "human rights are not a recipe for national extinction." Over the years, the Supreme Court has moved to an incorrect approach based on a radical and detached "rights discourse."
This decision has had grave consequences in the campaign against extremism and separatism among Arab parties and the MKs who serve them.
Israeli democracy has a vested interest in minority representation of Arabs in our parliament. Israel must be tolerant and defend the freedom of expression as well as the rights of Israeli Arab citizens to be represented. However, there must be a limit. Lack of boundaries is negatively affecting everyone in the legitimate political arena, not only those who are there by mistake.
The political system does not know how to deal with the error made by the Supreme Court.
Here is a solution: A change in law to disqualify candidates and lists for the Knesset. The Central Election Committee, which is a political forum, can make decisions only by a special majority in order to avoid wholesale disqualifications that are politically motivated. However, the majority required in the Supreme Court to cancel and change a decision made by the Central Election Committee is also a special majority.
If we do not go back to the concept of defensive democracy, the public will lose faith in the democratic system itself.
