Whereas left-wing columnists and political figures often complain that democratic liberties in Israel have been threatened, if not critically harmed, under the rule of "King Bibi" (who is currently practicing his fourth term as Prime Minister), some commentators on the right argue that the opposite is true, namely, that the Israeli democratic domain is in an ever-improving condition, compared to its situation in the past.

To be honest, this argument on the part of the rightists cannot be dismissed out of hand. Israel is basically a democratic society, and has been so ever since its birth in 1948. Its "Declaration of Independence" is an exemplary model of respect for human rights, and full of noble intentions. But in practical terms, Israel's democracy suffered from some inherent shortcomings. These can be attributed to Israel's prolonged security concerns, namely the constant feeling that we are a state surrounded by hostile neighbors, which gave priority to "security considerations", both real and imaginary, but also to a collectivistic state of mind, which then prevailed in the public discourse, and gave state interests priority over individualistic expression. Thus, the Arab citizens of Israel (which constitute 20% of the total population) were subjected for 18 years (1948-1966) to a harsh military administration, which limited their freedom of movement, and practically controlled every single aspect of their lives. On yet another level, a strict "cultural censorship" was then enforced on printed media, movies and theatre shows, for "public morale" or "security" considerations.

But these were "infant maladies", which were gradually overcome as the Israeli society reached an ever growing sense of self confidence, on both security and cultural levels. Laws were amended and liberalized, the public discourse became more tolerant, and serious steps were taken to promote more equality for the Arab minority. One of the most remarkable milestones in this direction was the "constitutional revolution" of the legal system, initiated and led by Judge Aharon Barak, the then President of the Supreme Court, which ruled that "everything is judgeable", including laws enacted by the Knesset. (In this context it should be noted that, for various reasons, Israel so far has no constitution, which is substituted by a dozen or so "basic laws", enacted by the Knesset, that enjoy the validity of "constitutional laws", so that regular Knesset laws are subject to Supreme Court supervision, and might be ruled out if they contrasted any "basic law").

This positive process of political and legal democratization reached its climax during Yitzhak Rabin's second term of premiership (1992-1995). It could be related to the attainment of the Oslo Accords and the optimistic expectations raised in their wake. However, after Rabin was assassinated, and the (democratically elected) Likud Party took over, this process was reversed. There have been, and still are, many indications that the Israeli democratic sphere is at an ever growing risk. The tough security policy of the rightist coalition, which is mainly accountable for the halt of the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, has brought to the fore again dormant antagonisms between Jewish majority and Arab minority in Israel proper. To add insult to injury, the outgoing Knesset resolved (under the pretext of "promoting governability") to elevate the threshold of votes required for admission to the Knesset, which was undoubtedly intended to reduce, if not totally annul, Arab parliamentary representation. The inevitable outcome of this arbitrary legislation was the creation of a joint Arab bloc, which aligned together four Arab parties, otherwise dissociated by political and ideological gaps.

Another indication of the attack on the democratic domain are the ever-recurring attempts, on the part of the right-wing coalition, to undermine the authorities of the Supreme Court, and revoke Judge Barak's "Constitutional Revolution" by limiting the Court's judicial control of Knesset resolutions, thus jeopardizing the democratic principle of separating the legislature from the judiciary. And there are many more troubling indications, not to mention the brutalization of the Israeli public discourse, which de-legitimizes Arabs, leftists and human rights organizations. It seems that what Netanyahu has in mind is some kind of "Erdogan-style" democracy, which is very troubling.

But despite these setbacks, the battle over the Israeli democratic domain is still far from being over. The foundations of Israeli democracy are sound, but, alas, not safe. The attacks on Israel's liberal democracy have not been won yet, but Israeli democracy is still at risk of being eroded piece after piece. Those who want to protect it must keep their eyes open.