November 14, 2024
This newsletter is based on an op-ed that I wrote in Hebrew that was published in the Israeli newspaper Maariv.
We are partners, and share so many important things: the value we place on human rights, our willingness to fight for systems that respect the dignity and rights of every person, our concern for the future, and so many more. Leadership that chooses rank populism over democratic values is not what I would have wished us to have in common.
The past few weeks have been difficult. Here in Israel, Netanyahu has crossed yet another red line in his blatant politicization of government appointments, while pursuing a policy of abandonment and an abdication of his responsibilities with the only aim of keeping the government intact. Internationally, Trump’s victory marks the beginning of what will be years of misogyny, racism, bigotry, the erosion of democratic norms and contempt for the rule of law, and a potentially catastrophic acceleration of the climate crisis.
Trump’s victory will most likely have very serious consequences when it comes to attempts to end the war, the situation of the Palestinians in the West Bank, and whether Israel's own democratic institutions can withstand the ways in which Netanyahu and his government try to undermine them. The Biden administration has provided Israel with almost unlimited weapons, which has enabled war crimes in Gaza. Though those of us working in human rights organizations have often found their implementation to be frustrating, slow, and inadequate, the US has been a crucial and irreplaceable part of the system of checks and balances to the Israeli government. The fact remains that the US government under Biden has been putting intense pressure on Israel when it comes to issues such as providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, demanding that settler violence be restrained, that steps towards annexing the West Bank be slowed or halted, and has served as a check on some of the Israeli government’s worst excesses. Within a few months, a major moderating force will be gone, and that absence will have dire consequences.
But amidst the (justifiable) doom and gloom, it is also important to remember our strength. In Israel, tens of thousands of concerned, dedicated citizens did not let their exhaustion and burnout stop them from once again taking to the streets to demand that the government fulfill its basic obligations towards its citizens. The protest movement in Israel has become one of the largest protest movements in human history (adjusted for population size) and demonstrates immense powers of organization, determination, and creativity. In the US, the Harris campaign raised unprecedented sums of money and mobilized hundreds of thousands of Americans to volunteer their time and energy canvassing in swing states. Her candidacy helped normalize discourse about gender and racial equality in ways that would have been unimaginable even 20 years ago.
Even in the midst of the scary and uncertain era that we are entering into, the facts remain the same. Democracy is still the best (or least bad) form of government. Equality and human rights are the basis for a just, thriving, and sustainable society. The forces that have mobilized in Israel and the US will have to work harder and more creatively to forge new tools, to lead a sharper and more inclusive discourse, and to maintain the strength necessary to wage a long and persistent struggle under difficult conditions. We must fight not only for democracy, but also for the values that give democracy its content and meaning. The values we share as partners, and the work we undertake together are what will allow us, ultimately, to prevail.
We will continue to update you on our work as things develop.
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