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KAHNTENTIONS

KAHNTENTIONS is a blog post written by Gilbert N. Kahn, Professor of Political Science at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. Beginning in 2011 KAHNTENTIONS was hosted by the New Jersey Jewish News which recently ceased written publication. KAHNTENTIONS presents an open and intellectually honest analysis of issues facing the United States, Israel, as well as Jews world-wide.

BY GILBERT N. KAHN

"These are the times that try men's souls."

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Democracies Under Attack


Although KAHNTENTIONS took a brief hiatus, it appears that the challenges to democracy have intensified. There are three democracies which will be undergoing changes in the next three weeks. Each case is different, and each presents different tests to the viability of democracy, but they once again are reminders of the fragility of democracy.


Next week Great Britain will have its third Prime Minister since Theresa May stepped down in July 2019; Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and her successor. Israel will be holding its fifth election since April 2019 on November 1. The United States will be holding mid-term congressional elections on November 8. In addition, last month Italy’s voters opted to elect a new Prime Minister who was the first fascist elected to head a Government in Italy since Mussolini.


It is the mother of all modern democracies which, although facing serious political and economic problems, will resolve its leadership battles without presenting an actual challenge to the viability of democracy in Great Britain. The Conservative Party will remain in power as Prime Minister Liz Truss turns over running the country to whomever the Tories select next week as their new leader. The crises that Britain faces at the moment are extremely serious and may eventually require the calling of early elections, but they do not threaten the future of democratic rule.


In Israel, following its election, there inevitably will be an extensive period of negotiation as the various political parties maneuver to select a party leader. The leader of one of the largest parties will then seek to cobble together enough support from other parties to form a viable coalition government. No party is likely to win enough seats in the Knesset to form a new Government and negotiations among the various groups will undoubtedly take several weeks —at least. Israeli democracy will be stressed and stretched as it struggles to remain effective in a political environment in which political jockeying among the parties continues to place a greater and more serious challenge on the viability of Israel as an effective, democratic viable state.

It is developments, however, within the Israeli body politic and among the various political parties, which presents Israel with the greatest threat to democracy. Israel always has had Arab political parties some of which have never accepted the legitimacy of the Jewish state. Within the ultra-Orthodox charedi world, many of them also do not accept or respect the political actions and behavior of the Jewish state. These wings of the Israeli public participate in the political process and make parochial demands on various Israel Governments, but they ultimately accept the legitimacy of governments. In return, they demand that their communities receive appropriate financial and political support for their perceived needs. Today, however, Israeli democracy faces a different threat.


The growth of the Religious Zionist Party, which, according to some polls, could attain as many as 10% of the seats in the next Parliament, is a genuine challenge to core democratic values. It is a far-right extremist party many of whose leaders view themselves as the heirs to Rabbi Meir Kahane, advocating no territorial concessions to the Arabs, as well as maximum occupation of the West Bank. Many of the Party leaders are racist, homophobic, and are explicitly anti-LGBTQ. The likelihood is that they would be part of a new Government should Binyamin Netanyahu become the leader of the new Government.


In the United States, the greatest challenge to democracy could occur on Election Day and immediately thereafter. One of the cardinal planks of any democracy is the integrity of elections and the electoral process. There are many House and Senate races which are highly competitive as the contests come down to the final weeks. As occurred in 2020, there is a high likelihood that many Republicans—if they are defeated—will challenge the legitimacy of the votes and elections. As former President Trump did in 2020, they will demand extensive and repetitive recounts as well as allege that elections—which they lost—were stolen.


The issue here is that local and state-wide election officials as well as law enforcement officers could face personal and even serious physical challenges should the elections results not be consistent with what some Republican candidates seek. Challenges will be supported undoubtedly by Trump and his followers throughout the country. Many tests might in fact occur in some of the same states where Trump raised objections in 2020, including Georgia and Arizona. The viability of American democracy may well rest on whether election results are respected.

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