Israeli writer Iris Leal warned that Israel stands at a decisive crossroads, arguing that the upcoming elections may be the last in their familiar democratic form. She based this assessment on the conduct of the current government, which she says shows no fear of losing power.
In her column published in Haaretz, Leal argued that the behaviour of the current government reveals contempt for public opinion and a deliberate effort to undermine the confidence of voters, including its own supporters. She noted that this is not the conduct of a leader preparing to win a fair election.
The writer reviewed several examples of what she described as a collapse of norms, including attacks on the judiciary, the politicisation of the security services and police, the weakening of cultural institutions, and the escalation of threatening and inciting rhetoric, all in the absence of any genuine effort to mobilise popular support.
In this context, she stated that the Israeli police had effectively surrendered to a serial criminal who was appointed as the minister in charge of the force. When the government’s legal adviser informed the Supreme Court that he was abusing his authority to exert improper influence over police operations, Itamar Ben-Gvir responded by saying, “You are a fraud, you are worthless.”
According to Leal, this approach suggests an intention to sabotage the electoral process itself by excluding candidates and parties, meaning that the damage to the integrity of the elections will intensify as the موعد approaches.
She pointed to alarming indicators, such as the adoption of policies that alienate the government’s own electoral base and a complete disregard for the consequences of scandals and controversial cases. In her view, this reinforces the impression that the goal is not an honest victory, but the imposition of a new political reality.
Leal concluded that the danger extends beyond a single election, warning of a project to reshape the system of governance in a way that strips state institutions of their role, while retaining only cosmetic elections resembling those of authoritarian regimes.
She ended by calling on the opposition and the public to abandon naive optimism, to recognise the scale of the threat, and to engage in the democratic struggle with full seriousness. She warned that if populism prevails, it could become entrenched for many years, and stressed that confrontation must begin now.
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