Ediblog.com
Israel Has Already Held A Referendum Long Ago
© 2005/5765 Ariel Natan Pasko
Israel is a strange place, a democracy in form, but weak in content. Of
course, a statement like that is made comparing Israel to the US, Europe,
and a handful of other countries. In comparison to much of the world, Israel
shines as a paradigm of democratic self-rule, notice that Israel has a new
government today.
The "Palestinians" aren't the only ones who can play
"Democracy".
The idea of representative government is firmly rooted in Israel. In fact,
so much so, that the "people's representatives" don't want the
people, to decide for themselves a question of historic magnitude. Rather
than go to new elections or hold a referendum about his Gaza expulsion plan,
Prime Minister Sharon has formed a coalition with the party that lost the
last election, Labor, adopting it's policies in the process. Those are the
policies that most Israelis rejected at the polls a couple years ago, I
might add.
Many of the "people's representatives" have come out against the
idea of holding a referendum over the Gaza transfer proposal of Sharon, some
claiming it to be "anti-democratic," others for
"practical" reasons.
When one takes into account that Members of the Knesset - Israel's
Parliament - are not elected in constituent elections to districts,
responsible to a certain group of voters, but through national party lists,
one can ask, whom do they represent beyond the party or themselves?
When Sharon first announced his expulsion plan last year, the then Minister
of National Infrastructure, Yosef Paritzky (then of the Shinui Party) spoke
out against a national referendum on the removal of the Jews from Gaza and
it's transfer of land to the Palestinians, claiming it contravenes the
democratic principles of the country.
It's legitimate to ask, whom did he represent?
Paritzky stated that the cabinet or Knesset must not unload the
responsibility of making pivotal decisions; decisions that parliamentarians
were elected to make. Paritzky's democratic idea, quite common in Israel, is
that one elects someone to be in charge, and then they do as they please.
With no feedback loops, no responsibility to constituents, little
accountability beyond toward the party, the "people" have to wait
four years to decide if they were happy or not with their elected officials
performance. There is no recall vote, like was held in California last year;
and no personal election of parliamentarians to represent a particular group
of voters in a given district, who can later "dump the bum."
Paritzky's then colleague in Shinui, the then Justice Minister and now
leader of the opposition, Yosef Lapid, also expressed his opposition to the
referendum idea, stating such a move is not part of our democratic process.
And both politicians have a point; modern Israel never has held a
referendum.
Yet others, Uzi Landau and the Likud loyalists who have been opposing
Sharon's Gaza/Northern Samaria plan for quite some time now, have been
calling on Sharon to hold a referendum. Even Netanyahu - who voted for
"Disengagement" - raised his voice for a referendum. Recently, the
leaders of the Yesha Settlers Council (the Council of Jewish Settlements in
Judea, Samaria and Gaza) began calling for a referendum, when all
"political" means (within Likud's Central Committee) seemed to
fail to stop Sharon's plans. Many argue that the democratic legitimization
of a referendum outcome would help to minimize the likelihood of civil war
breaking out in Israel.
But Sharon has stonewalled them all, refusing to give in. Now he's put
together his "Expulsion Government" of Labor, United Torah Judaism
(how could they do this?) and part of Likud. Sharon needed the far-left
Yahad party and the vote of two Arab MKs to pass his coalition, 58-56, in
the Knesset.
About referenda in Israel...
Former Prime Minister Menachem Begin - then a Knesset member - in the early
1950's opposed the deal that then Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion worked out
with West Germany, to accept reparations after the Holocaust. Begin
suggested a national referendum to allow the people to decide whether to
accept them or not, but Ben-Gurion refused. In February 1958, Menachem Begin
again suggested using referenda to decide on various issues in the young
Israeli democracy. Ben-Gurion's ruling party, Mapai, responded, calling the
proposal "Bonapartist, fascist and totalitarian."
Certainly, referenda are neither fascist nor totalitarian. They are used in
many democratic states around the world to allow the citizens to directly
decide important issues. For example, referenda have been used by European
countries to decide on whether to join the European Union, or once in, to
adopt the European Monetary System and replace their national currency with
the Euro. Many states in the US use referenda for a whole host of issues,
and the constitutional process of adopting a new state constitution itself
can include a referendum from voters.
Is there a more important issue today, pressing the people of Israel, than
the issue of territorial integrity or withdrawal from parts of it's historic
homeland, the biblically promised, Land of Israel?
But in all truth, Israel has in fact held a referendum already on this
issue.
In the Torah, after the story describing the giving of the 10 commandments
comes the portion of Mishpatim-Laws (Exodus 21:1-24:18). In it, Moses
conveys a long list of further rules and regulations - G-D's commands - for
the Children of Israel to live by, including torts and damages, criminal
law, marital law and ritual law, the proscription against idolatry and the
proper observance of Jewish holidays. Then comes the promise - by G-D - of
military victory in the upcoming war; to bring the people into the land
promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give it to Israel.
"Do not make a treaty with these nations..." (Exodus 23:32)
"Do not allow them to reside in your land..." (Exodus 23:33)
It continues, "Moses wrote down all G-D's words" (Exodus 24:4),
then "He took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people.
They replied, 'Everything G-D declared, - Naaseh V'Nishmah - we will do and
obey'" (Exodus 24:7).
There you have it, the description of the covenantal process between G-D and
the Jewish People, with the Jews adopting the Torah as their constitution,
by national referendum.
So, it's not true that Israel has "never" held a referendum. But
when the Jews voted to accept the Torah-Constitution for their nation, and
implemented the "promise to inherit the land" in the times of
Joshua, they set down rules for the nation for "all time".
Everyone in the world knows that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish
People. Christianity and Islam are built on Judaism and both recognize this
fact. The nations of the world, through the League of Nations and later the
United Nations gave its stamp of approval - after the fact - also.
The use of referenda to generally resolve issues in Israel is perfectly
democratic, it builds social solidarity and wide consensus, contrary to the
views of the "people's representatives". But on the issue of
territorial compromise and expulsion of Jews from their homes - such as the
Gaza/Northern Samaria question - something that gets to the heart of
Israel's national existence, even democracy has it's limits.
How many Americans would honor the outcome of a referendum in the US, to
return the "Occupied Territories" to Native American Indians,
along with the concomitant expulsion of millions of black, white, and
Hispanic "settlers"?
There is no legitimacy to such a referendum, the nation of Israel voted on
it long ago, at Mt. Sinai.
Ariel Natan Pasko
is an independent analyst & consultant. He has a
Master's Degree in International Relations & Policy Analysis.
His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank
websites, in newspapers, and can be read at: www.geocities.com/ariel_natan_pasko