It may seem ironic that Israel, which possesses so much military and technical power and for which many countries compete for its cyber products, faces internal structural crises at the societal and political levels, which represent an unprecedented threat to its survival.
Benjamin Netanyahu's government's introduction of the "judicial amendments" plan has allowed for a number of these challenges, namely the deepening political division and ethnic polarization, and the intensification of the conflict over the nature of the relationship between religion and state between religious and secular, which has become a major challenge to the cohesion of the social fabric, and these challenges have exacerbated the instability of the political system.
Building an objective approach to the impact of internal challenges, which have become one of the most important factors of weakness that detract from the value of Israel's power capabilities and reduce its ability to face external challenges, requires understanding the structural dilemmas that have affected the structure of Israeli society and the cohesion of its fabric and damaged the stability of the political system.
The 1967 war and its consequences from the occupation of the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip constituted an opportunity for the religious-nationalist movement to lead the settlement project in the newly occupied Palestinian territories.
Strategism and its racial manifestations and political repercussions
Israel's founder and first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, formulated a "melting pot" strategy, which aimed to integrate the different identities and cultures of Jewish groups that immigrated to Israel, with the aim of forming a "unified Israeli identity."
This strategy was aimed in particular at trying to minimize the impact of cultural disparity between Jews who emigrated from the West and Russia and those who emigrated from Arab and Muslim countries.
Ben-Gurion saw joint military service in the army as the best way to reduce the impact of ethnic differences between Easterners and Westerners on the fabric of society.
But what Ben-Gurion tried to achieve was merging by the opposite means with another, ordering the establishment of separate settlements in the far north and south of Palestine, which he allocated to Mizrahi Jews and called them "cities of development."
The "development cities" were characterized by a decline in the level of services, poor economic infrastructure, a decline in educational and academic achievement, high unemployment rates, and an increase in crime rates, while Western Jews settled in major cities and cooperative villages "kibbutzim" with a strong economic structure, which contributed to the emergence of clear class differences between these two segments.
Although the overwhelming majority of Mizrahi have been voting for the center and left forces led by the Labor Party, which founded Israel, since its announcement, the continued manifestations of injustice and discrimination against them have led to a major shift in their voting patterns in elections.
This shift culminated in the 1977 elections, when a large majority of Mizrahi voted for Likud in protest against the policies of centrist and left-wing governments toward them, enabling the right to come to power for the first time in Israel's history.
The results of the 1977 elections were based on the emergence of "tribal" engagement in Israeli political life and social movement, where the overwhelming majority of Mizrahi still vote for the right, and this also explains the support of the residents of development towns for the "judicial amendments" plan, as they act as a tribe committed to supporting the programs of the right-wing government, unlike what the middle-class members of the Western secularists do.
The participation of religious currents in governance has contributed to reducing the chances of reaching a political solution to the conflict with the Palestinian people
Second: The rise of the religious extreme right and its high cost
The Jewish religious forces in Israel are divided into two main currents: the nationalist current, which has been keen to integrate into state institutions and society since the declaration of the establishment of Israel, and the ultra-Orthodox movement, which initially adopted absolute isolationist positions and refused to integrate into state institutions, and then became an important component of the Israeli political system.
The attitudes of ultra-Orthodox nationalists and Haredim have undergone a shift in political and social life and their influence on Israel as a result of two major developments: the results of the 1967 war and the 1977 elections.
The 1967 war and the consequences of the occupation of the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip constituted an opportunity for the religious-nationalist current to lead the settlement project in the newly occupied Palestinian territories, and through this project this movement became a major influence on decisions related to the conflict with the Palestinian people.
After the Likud party won the 1977 elections, it found itself unable to form a government on its own, which prompted it to ally with parties and movements representing the nationalist and Haredi religious currents.
This alliance allowed these two currents to move from being on the margins of the political context to becoming at the center of the political arena, thus significantly increasing their influence on the decision-making process.
It has been noted that the participation of religious currents in governance has contributed to reducing the chances of reaching a political solution to the conflict with the Palestinian people, in addition to deepening divisions within Israeli society and the religious-nationalist current, which is currently represented in Netanyahu's government by the two most extreme movements in the Israeli arena, namely "Jewish Power" led by Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, and "Religious Zionism" led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The instability of the Israeli political system is due to rampant corruption and the rise of personalities, as Netanyahu insisted on forming a coalition that would allow him to escape prosecution in the serious corruption cases he faces, which was rejected by the "liberal" right-wing parties, leading to a re-election.
The recent decision of Itamar Ben Gvir to reduce visits to the families of prisoners in Israeli prisons is evidence of the size of the bill paid by Israel due to the rise of the religious right to power, as there is consensus within the military and security establishment in Tel Aviv that this decision represents a threat to Israel's interests, as it increases the chances of a comprehensive confrontation without objective justification.
Itamar Ben-Gvir's recent decision to reduce visits to the families of prisoners in Israeli prisons is evidence of the size of the bill Israel is paying due to the rise of the religious right (agencies)
On the other hand, the participation of the Haredim in governance has played a role in exacerbating the societal rift, as the Haredi parties use their influence to reduce the ability of secularists to live according to their premises, as the Haredim have pushed the current government to take decisions that reduce the presence of women in the public space, such as gender segregation in many institutions and places of recreation, in addition to stricter the sanctity of the Sabbath, and allowing biblical courts to decide civil cases, among others.
In addition, the ultra-Orthodox represent a black hole for Israel, where the vast majority do not perform military service or contribute to the labor market, and in return drain huge financial resources in the form of social security benefits and assistance to their religious, social, and educational institutions as a result of the overwhelming influence enjoyed by the movements that represent them in the government.
It is clear that the cost of integrating the Haredim into the political system will increase over time due to their high levels of natural increase, as the average number of births of Haredi women is about seven.
The collapse of the stability of the political system
Although the Israeli political system has been characterized by a limited level of instability since its formation due to the nature of the electoral system and the characteristics of the party map, this system has witnessed during the past four years an unprecedented state of instability, embodied in the re-holding of electoral rounds without a clear decision.
The paradox lies in the fact that the collapse of political instability comes in light of the erosion of ideological differences between Israeli political parties, as it is no longer objective to classify parties in Israel into right, center, and left, as the orientations of the parties represented in the current Knesset vary between the liberal right, the conservative right, and the extreme religious right.
The instability of the Israeli political system is due to rampant corruption and the rise of personalities, as theoretically the results of the two rounds of Knesset elections in 2020 and 2021 were supposed to contribute to the formation of a stable government, especially since right-wing forces won more than 80% of the seats, but Netanyahu was determined to form a coalition that would allow him to escape prosecution in the serious corruption cases he faces, and this was rejected by the "liberal" right-wing parties, which led to a re-election.
The weakness of the ideological basis and the fading luster of the Zionist idea have given Netanyahu and other leaders accused of corruption – especially Aryeh Deri of the Shas movement – the opportunity to try to shape the political reality in line with their interests, which explains why Likud leaders and audiences have aligned behind Netanyahu despite serious accusations of corruption and despite the realization that his political behavior patterns may harm Israel's interests.
The political instability in Israel is also due to the depletion of leading sources, which shows us that Netanyahu will remain in power for a long time despite successive accusations against him and the failure of his rivals to put forward an alternative that convinces the public.
In addition, the impact of the predominance of populism and narrow political considerations on the strategies of parties and leaders, which has deepened instability, cannot be ignored.
In the last decade, liberal tendencies have emerged in Israel that encourage individualism and its preference over the national interest, which has reduced the interest of the Israeli public in playing a decisive role in facing the challenges facing the regime, and serious public intervention has emerged only after the introduction of the "judicial amendments" plan, which sparked controversy among secularists who fear that the implementation of this plan will strengthen religious coercion and that the followers of the Haredi religious movement will own the central matters in the "state", especially since they do not participate effectively. In military service and the labor market.
Parliamentarians in the Israeli Knesset on July 24, 2023 amid months of protests against the government's planned judicial reform (French)
This strategy also contributed to reducing the chances of conflict between secularists and religious people, as it relied on the "status quo" policy, which sought to balance the relationship between religion and the state, taking into account respect for the basic values of the religious, such as respecting the sanctity of the Sabbath, relying on personal status laws on religious heritage, etc., while at the same time allowing secularists to adopt their liberal lifestyles freely.
On the one hand, Ben-Gurion allowed most of the followers of the Haredi religious current - who avoid integration into Israeli society - to be exempted from performing military service, and agreed to their presence in isolated residential areas far from secular centers such as the cities of "Bnei Brak" and "Yehud" northeast of Tel Aviv, and independent neighborhoods in occupied Jerusalem, while the religious followers of the national religious current have integrated into society and political life and participated in military service, but their political and social influence remained limited.
But the "melting pot" strategy soon collapsed.