MK Einat Wilf: Israel now freer, more tolerant than ever
Many critics in Israel and abroad lament the recent series of controversial laws debated in the Knesset. But according to the Atzmaut politician, the region's only true democracy is alive and well
Several “anti-democratic” bills and laws notwithstanding, Israel is increasingly becoming a better, more tolerant society, according to MK Einat Wilf of the Independence Party, a brand-new spin-off of the Labor Party.
“Israel today, objectively speaking, is a far more open, tolerant, pluralistic, welcoming society than it ever was,” Wilf told The Times of Israel recently. “Until 1966, the Arab citizens of Israel were under some form of military control. We conveniently neglect that when we look back. The fact that today, the Arab citizens of Israel are freer than ever to express some of the most extreme anti-Israel views is testimony to how much more open Israel has become.”
Over the last few months, local and international groups and politicians have criticized Israel’s lawmakers for promoting — and in some cases voting into law — controversial laws perceived by many as censuring the country’s courts, attacking Arab citizens, and curtailing freedom of speech.
“You might have two steps forward and half a step back, but on the whole Israel is on a remarkably progressive course”
“When you tell people that most of these laws haven’t passed, [and] aren’t close to passing, they’re not interested” because they like to believe in the narrative that Israel’s democracy is headed in the wrong direction, Wilf, 41, said. “People who lived here in the ’60s and ’70s under the rule of Mapai [the Labor party’s predecessor, which was dissolved in 1968] will tell you that we’re in a very different place in terms of the vibrancy and the openness.”
The current Knesset has ratified at least four highly controversial bills: to ban public funding for activities mourning Israel’s creation (the so-called Nakba law); to stipulate fines for people calling for boycotts of Israel; to allow communities to reject people based on “socio-cultural” factors (the so-called Admissions Law); and to provide harsh prison terms for refugees and stiff penalties for Israelis who help them. Other proposed bills seek to increase the penalties for libel and to reduce the donations nongovernmental organizations can accept from foreign governments.
“[Many of the] laws have not passed, and even if one or two have passed — they’re nothing compared to where this country was in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and even ’80s,” said Wilf, who holds degrees from Harvard and Cambridge. “You might have two steps forward and half a step back, but on the whole Israel is on a remarkably progressive course all the time.”
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