![[Commentary] No clear result in Israel's general election, indicating deep divisions within the country](/api/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Face%2Fws%2F240%2Fcpsprodpb%2F2a31%2Flive%2F8148c250-d311-11f1-a701-fddedf244c16.jpg)
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James Landale, Foreign Affairs Editor (Jerusalem)
"Democracy is the worst form of government apart from all others that have been tried." Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said this in the British House of Commons in 1947.
On the night of the 27th of this month, as the results of Israel's election gradually became clearer, this quote from Churchill came to mind. The people were voting to decide whether their hopes and fears would be dashed or realized, and preliminary vote counting and exit poll results were being announced mixed together.
This election was, in a sense, a celebration of democracy. A record number of Israeli voters cast their ballots. The same was true for Jews and Arabs. Many voters spent thousands of dollars to fly in from overseas to cast their votes.
I witnessed the passion of campaign workers at polling stations across the country. Campaigners were doing everything they could to change voters' minds and win that last vote.
President Yitzhak Herzog said the election was a "badge of honor" for Israeli society. "It was great to see how deep the desire for democracy runs in Israel," the president stressed.
However, the recent elections have left Israel, the most established democracy in the Middle East, with no clear path to forming a new government. The result was ambiguous, with neither side gaining a majority in parliament.
Some might say that this is always the case.
Israel has never had a single-party government. It is no exaggeration to say that the system of proportional representation, which is divided into small parts, was designed with the assumption that it would be ruled by a coalition government.
But many commentators warned that the election exposed the fundamental, and perhaps growing, divisions plaguing the country. This was not the kind of vote where voters were united around one issue.
Some of the rifts among voters were long-standing. For example, disagreements over judicial reform led to large-scale demonstrations in the early days of the current government.
Regarding the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, opinions were divided over whether to prioritize rescuing the hostages or destroying Hamas first. The subsequent casualties of Israeli reservists in the fighting in Gaza exacerbated tensions in the country over exemptions for young ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service.
But has this election brought into sharper relief than ever the deep rifts that run through Israeli society?
In Israel, there is a tension between religion and the secular. This divides not only faith but also society.
Should the Israeli government subsidize religious research? Should some parents sacrifice their sons and daughters to protect Israel while others do not? Ultra-Orthodox Jews currently make up about 15% of the population. Their worldview is diametrically opposed to that held by residents of Tel Aviv's high-tech, modern neighborhoods.
There are also differences of opinion regarding fundamental political views.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party is expected to become the largest party in the Knesset (Israel's parliament), although it lost a large number of seats. The prime minister has been accused of corruption, which he denies. He has also been accused of failing to protect Israel before October 7, but he has refused to investigate this matter.
About 10% of voters supported far-right Jewish supremacists. For example, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich pledged to build Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip even as the results were being announced.
Arab parties, representing the voices of about 20% of Israelis, received about 15% of the votes. It was a major breakthrough, with the possibility of winning seats in the upper 10s.
And while the opposition coalition, a mix of centrist, left-wing and right-wing forces led by former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, promised changes that many voters believed were essential to the country's future, it could not immediately win them over.
How can such vastly different perspectives be translated into some form of government? This challenge facing Israeli national politics is by no means an easy one. Israeli politics will be forced to make various choices and compromises in the future, and these may involve fundamental decisions regarding the future of the country.
Is Prime Minister Netanyahu prepared to abandon the religious right, which has supported his coalition government, and form a coalition with the opposition right? Will the right-wing opposition parties be ready to abandon their hostility to the prime minister and join his government?
Is the opposition coalition ready to abandon many of its campaign promises and work with Arab parties to oust Prime Minister Netanyahu? Meanwhile, are Arab parties ready to take the risk of joining a government that might collapse in a few months?
Yair Golan, leader of the Left Democratic Party, urged the opposition coalition to work with Arab parties. "Netanyahu racially divides the Jewish vote and the Arab vote, and we must no longer accept that discrimination," Golan said.
But are Israelis ready to accept such a reality?
Israeli commentator Amit Segal, who is sympathetic to Prime Minister Netanyahu, said the high turnout among Arab Israelis was "another demonstration that Jews on both sides of the aisle (right and left), who have been at odds for years, may need to learn to sit together after all."
Far from setting Israel on a new path, this election has renewed questions about what it is that unites Israel. What are the common elements that unite this complex and diverse group into a single political form?
Dictatorships continue to increase in the world. Authoritarian regimes have long criticized democracy, saying that democracy creates weak and short-lasting regimes, and that instead of realizing the wishes of the people, they often have coalition governments that struggle to maintain solidarity.
Israel may struggle to form a government in the coming months. In some cases, it may fail and new elections may have to be held.
President Herzog acknowledged this risk head-on as he prepared to begin coalition negotiations, saying: "Given yesterday's events, we must do everything possible to avoid another election."
Israel has long focused on defending itself against external enemies. But should Israel also prepare for internal dangers if the internal divisions highlighted by this election get out of control?
Former British Prime Minister Churchill once said in a separate speech that democracy is not only ``insurance against threats from abroad'' but also ``insurance against threats just as serious, much closer to home, and constantly threatening us at home.''
Can Israeli democracy meet this challenge?
(English article: Israel's election deadlock is a sign of the country's deep divisions)
