Israel's Ethnocratic Democracy Has Always Excluded Palestinians and Is Now Turning Against Jewish Citizens
Source: Jared Hillel. "Israel’s Shaky Democracy Continues to Crumble." November 6, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
The author argues that Israel has never been a real democracy for Palestinians, who have faced military rule, occupation, and apartheid-like conditions. He says the same authoritarian tools are now being used against Jewish critics and expats, as seen in voting barriers, deportations, and citizenship denials. Even if the opposition wins, he expects only a return to the appearance of democracy, not real equality.
Conclusion
Israel has never been a genuine democracy for Palestinians, and its recent restrictions on expat voting, NGOs, journalists, activists, and Jewish immigrants show the exclusion is now spreading to Jewish citizens. Israel is an ethnocracy with a democratic facade, and even a change of government under Eisenkot would only restore the illusion of democracy.
Premises
- Since 1948, Israel has systematically discriminated against Palestinian citizens through military rule (1948–1966), land confiscation, the 2018 Nation-State Law, and ongoing discrimination in planning, economic development, and education.
- Since 1967, Palestinians in the occupied territories have lived under military rule without citizenship or voting rights, alongside settlers who have full rights, which amounts to an apartheid regime.
- Illiberal states that subjugate one group tend historically to turn against portions of their own citizens, especially when violence against the outgroup peaks.
- Recent actions against Jewish Israelis and critics point to democratic backsliding: Likud's efforts to block the Fly & Vote initiative, the Code 51 voter deregistrations, discussion of limiting airport landing slots, the V-Dem downgrade, the NGO ban attempt, journalists turned away at the border, deportation of Jewish activists, a proposed bill to strip citizenship over 'defaming' the IDF, and the first known denial of Law of Return citizenship over activism.
- Israel is now willing to violate its own supremacist laws, such as the Law of Return, to marginalize Jews seen as threats to Netanyahu, which shows how far the government has shed its democratic facade.
- Eisenkot's proposed policies do not address the core issues behind Israel's status as an ethnostate, and no major party addresses Palestinian injustices.
Assumptions
- A state that denies political rights to a large population under its control cannot be considered a democracy, even if it holds free elections for a subset of people.
- The occupied territories should be counted as part of Israel's political system when judging its democratic character.
- The historical pattern of illiberal states turning on their own citizens applies to Israel, and the recent events are an instance of it rather than ordinary political conflict.
- Likud's attempts to curb the expat vote were deliberate and targeted at anti-Netanyahu voters, despite no proof linking Likud to Code 51.
- Isolated cases of Jewish activists being denied entry or citizenship represent a systematic trend rather than exceptions.
- Ethnonational structures such as the Nation-State Law and the Law of Return are incompatible with democracy, so only dismantling them could make Israel democratic.