Israel
Note: This profile only covers Israel’s sovereign territory and does not reflect Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel performs in the high range in the Representation and Participation categories of the Global State of Democracy framework, and in the middle range in Rights and the Rule of Law. The second-level factors of democratic performance have been stable over the past five years, with the exception of Personal Integrity and Security which sharply declined following Hamas’ attack and Israel’s response in Gaza in 2023. While the country has an advanced, export-oriented economy whose main sectors include high-technology goods, it has one of the highest levels of inequality among advanced economies. This inequality disproportionately affects its minority populations, as well as Palestinian migrant workers from the occupied territories.
The modern state of Israel was established in 1948 following a UN resolution to partition Palestine. Its roots are in the nineteenth-century Zionist movement, which encouraged Jewish migration to Ottoman and later British Palestine as a refuge from violent antisemitism in Europe, a point that took on additional urgency after the Holocaust. However, in the process of the establishment of the state of Israel between 1947 and 1949, violent actions resulted in the forced expulsion and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Israel was invaded by five neighboring states immediately after the end of British control of the territory, and its borders have been contested by additional wars with neighboring states since that time. Today, Israel maintains a separated regime of governance between its internationally recognized territory, the annexed Golan Heights, and its military occupation of parts of the West Bank and Gaza. Israel controls the latter through physical military presence, and in the West Bank, through the application of a twofold legal system of military law for Palestinians and civil law for Israelis.
Israel’s dual commitment to being a democratic and Jewish state has proven difficult to balance. This issue was exacerbated by the controversial Nation State Law of 2018, which defines Israel as ‘the nation state of the Jewish People’. Such majoritarian commitments have also given rise to inequitable rules, laws, and practices that discriminate against non-Jewish citizens, which include Christian, Muslim and Druze minorities. Non-Jews are, for example, discriminated against in terms of family reunification, land ownership, and access to education. In recent years, the divide between religious and secular Jews has also grown.
Israel’s political landscape is highly polarized, with divisions on issues such as secularism, ethnic background, military service, Israeli settlements, and economic policies. These divisions have contributed to the instability that has plagued recent coalition governments and the successive snap elections that have resulted. The polarization has also been manifested in the efforts of Israel’s ascendent far right parties to reduce the powers of the country’s Supreme Court, which they perceive as obstructing their policy agenda. Legislation reducing the powers of the judiciary triggered nationwide protests and pushed the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis in early 2023.
Looking ahead, Rule of Law and Rights will be an area to watch, following an International Court of Justice (ICJ) case and International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings against Israel and its leaders, which have significant implications on Israel’s compliance with international law. The political climate surrounding the response to the ongoing war in Gaza should also be monitored, for example treatment of opposition politicians, journalists, academics and conscientious objectors, as it may impact performance across all Global State of Democracy Indices indicators.
Last updated: June 2024
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/
June 2024
Supreme Court orders disclosure of conditions at Sde Teiman detention camp amid torture allegations
On 23 June, the Supreme Court of Israel ordered the government to disclose to the Court the conditions under which Palestinian detainees are held at the Sde Teiman detention camp in the Negev desert. This order comes after international media investigations reported allegations of torture and sexual violence against Palestinian detainees from Gaza. Several Israeli human rights organizations petitioned the Court to close the detention center, citing severe abuse, including beatings, medical neglect, and arbitrary punishments. Prisoners were reportedly blindfolded and handcuffed within fenced compounds. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture urged Israel to thoroughly investigate these allegations. Despite the Israel Defense Forces previously informing the Court on 5 June of plans to gradually transfer detainees out of Sde Teiman and phase out its use, the facility remained partially occupied, prompting the Supreme Court to order updated information. Out of the approximately 4,000 Palestinian detainees held at Sde Teiman since October 2023, 36 had reportedly died by late May.
Sources: Supreme Court of Israel, Haaretz, The Times of Israel (1), The Times of Israel (2), CNN, United Nations
Supreme Court ends conscription exemption for Haredi yeshiva students
On 25 June, Israel’s Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision to revoke the longstanding exemption from military conscription previously granted to Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men. The ruling mandates that the state must now start to draft students from Haredi yeshivas –schools dedicated to the intensive study of Rabbinic literature– into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). In its decision, the Court emphasized the “principle of equality” in military service, stressing that it must apply equally to yeshiva students and other Jewish citizens to avoid “selective enforcement”. The decision sparked widespread protests and resulted in four arrests. The debate over compulsory military service in Israel has intensified amid the ongoing war in Gaza, with the IDF arguing for more personnel and the Haredim arguing that military service conflicts with their religious lifestyle.
Sources: Supreme Court of Israel, Haaretz, Associated Press, The Times of Israel (1), The Times of Israel (2)
May 2024
ICC Prosecutor issues arrest warrant requests for Israel and Hamas leaders
On 25 May, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan filed requests for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The next step is for the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I to review the applications and determine if there are ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ that these individuals have committed a crime under the Court's jurisdiction, and whether to issue the arrest warrants. A report by international law experts, convened by the ICC Prosecutor in January 2024, confirmed on 20 May that the gathered evidence was sufficient to meet the criteria for applying for the arrest warrants. PM Netanyahu called the ICC Prosecutor’s announcement ‘absurd’. Israel previously stated that it does not recognize the Court's authority and will not cooperate with the inquiry. Meanwhile, Hamas has called on the ICC to withdraw the arrest warrant requests for its leaders.
Sources: International Criminal Court, ICC Panel of Experts in International Law (1), ICC Panel of Experts in International Law (2), Diakonia, Middle East Eye, ABC, Associated Press
Communications Minister closes Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel
On 5 May, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi ordered the closure of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel for a renewable, 45-day period. On the same day, Israeli authorities shut down Al Jazeera’s local offices, confiscated broadcast equipment, blocked its websites and cut its channel from cable and satellite companies. The order was made using a new law passed in April 2024, which empowers the Communications Minister to close foreign media outlets, where – as is alleged with regards to Al Jazeera – they are deemed a threat to international security. The law was also used against another international outlet, the Associated Press, which reported having its broadcasting equipment confiscated and its live video of Gaza blocked after the Israeli government accused it of providing images to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera remains one of the few international media outlets reporting from Gaza during the war.
Sources: Article 19, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Times of Israel, Euro-Med Rights, International IDEA, Associated Press (1), Associated Press (2)
CSOs raise concerns over deteriorating conditions for incoming migrant workers
In May, civil society organizations (CSOs) raised alarms about the conditions faced by incoming workers from Malawi, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and India in Israel's agriculture and construction sectors. Concerns include inadequate compensation, contract violations, and mistreatment. Media reports highlight Indian migrants on Israeli farms being paid below minimum wage, enduring long hours without overtime pay, wage theft with their salaries diverted to recruitment agencies, and inadequate housing with outdoor toilets and no hot water. Fear of retaliation or deportation is said to prevent many from reporting abuses. On 8 May, 12 Malawians were deported after leaving farm jobs due to poor conditions and starting to work in a bakery instead, violating their visa terms. This issue comes amid Israel’s announcement on 15 May of further plans to ‘significantly increase’ its quota of foreign workers, aiming to alleviate labor shortages caused by the suspension of nearly 400,000 Palestinian work permits only in October 2023. CSOs argue that the rapid pace of replacement is causing the deteriorating conditions for incoming migrant workers.
Sources: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (1), Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (2), International Labour Organization, Labor Ministry of Israel, Al-Jazeera, Foreign Policy, BBC
April 2024
Knesset passes law facilitating closure of foreign networks
On 1 April, the Israeli parliament passed a law granting senior ministers the authority to shut down foreign news networks deemed to pose a 'threat to national security'. The law, which was passed by a vote of 71-10 in the Knesset, authorizes the communications minister to suspend broadcasting, close offices, seize equipment, and take down websites of offending foreign news channels. Shutdown orders can be issued initially for a period of up to 45 days, with provisions for renewals of up to an additional 45 days each time. There is no specified limit on the number of renewals. The law will remain effective until July 31, 2024, or until the state of emergency is lifted, whichever comes first. Media freedom organizations, such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, have criticized the law, arguing that it poses a significant threat to media and press freedom and called on the Israeli government to reverse this decision.
Sources: Knesset, Al-Jazeera, Times of Israel, Euro-Med Rights, Committee to Protect Journalists
March 2024
UN expert report finds ‘reasonable grounds’ genocide is being committed by Israel in Gaza
On 26 March, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council, which concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Referring to the Genocide Convention, Ms Albanese explained that ‘Israel has committed three acts of genocide with the requisite intent [to destroy Palestinians as a group]: causing seriously [sic] serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent birth [sic] within the group.’ Israel rejected the report, calling it ‘an obscene inversion of reality.’ Separately, on 28 March, in response to a further deterioration of living conditions in Gaza (it observed that ‘famine is setting in’), the UN’s International Court of Justice ordered Israel to implement new humanitarian measures, as part of a case in which it is considering whether the country has violated the Genocide Convention.
Sources: United Nations (1), United Nations (2), International Court of Justice
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