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Jewish and Democratic and Large? Israel can only have any two of these three.

by Peter A. Belmont / 2011-11-16
© 2011 Peter Belmont

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Some Zionists want a State of Israel which is [1] Jewish and [2] Democratic. Almost all Israelis also want a State of Israel which is [3] Large.

In my view, and the view of much of the world, a democratic state of Israel is, inter alia, a state without permanent exclusion of most of its Palestinian residents and also without non-democratic apartheid.

The exclusion of most of its Palestinian (Arab) residents after the war of 1948 (a war in which most of them were expelled) prevents even the Israel of 1948-1967 from being democratic.

The apartheid regime that Israel has maintained in the occupied territories since 1967 further makes Israel undemocratic—in light of the clearly permanent nature of the “occupation”, which all circumstances mark out as intended to be an annexation of the land (contrary to international law and agreements) by Israel.

Jewish, Democratic, and Large. These three are incompatible. Israelis can have any two, but not all three.

Jewish and democratic, but small

You can have State of Israel which is Jewish and Democratic (i.e., without transfer or apartheid) in a small state (the size of NYC, 1/20 the size of pre-1967 Israel). In such a mini-state, even with FULL RETURN for 1948 refugees, so few refugees would return to the mini-state that Jewish large-majority would be assured—even if full citizenship including the right to vote were assured to the returnees. The population of Israel today is about the same as the population of NYC. If this option were chosen, Jewish Israelis would move to the smaller Israel, Palestinian Israelis would presumably stay put, most of them outside this mini-Israel in what would become part of Palestine, and returning Palestinian refugees from 1948 would live where they came from, very few from the new, smaller Israel.

Jewish and large, but not democratic

You can have State of Israel which is Jewish and Large, but which is not Democratic (as today—with apartheid and also with permanent transfer (1948)).

Democratic and large, but not Jewish

You can have a state of Israel which is Large and Democratic if it is not “Jewish” (the One-State envisaged by so many: Judah Magnes, most Palestinians).

Israelis, having the power to dictate the choice (in the abject refusal of the nations to enforce international law), have chosen Large & Jewish and sacrificed Democratic.

As history marches on, even the pseudo democracy within pre-1967 Israel is dwindling, even for Jews. (Land restrictions and continuing confiscation of land from Palestinian Israelis shows that it was never democractic w.r.t. the latter.)

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