Reflection #4

I find our class' intellectual relationship with Israel quite amusing. We (myself definitely included) seem to be averse to discussing Israel in class and on the blogs for what seems to be a couple of reasons. As SIS students, and American University students in general, we are continually told to "expand our horizons" and "shift our perspectives." Especially after viewing the Edward Said documentary, we do not want to fall into the Orientalist trap of viewing the Middle East through the lens of the United States' relationship with Israel, nor do we want to spark a politically and perhaps religiously charged, but almost always unproductive  debate that often accompanies any mention of Israel or Palestine on this campus. Having said that, Israel is a key component in the politics of the Middle East and deserves some attention once in a while.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently pushed elections scheduled for October 2013 to January 2013. This is a smart political maneuver for a few reasons. First, Bibi is currently experiencing a surge of domestic support after his international display of hard-lining Iran.  The most recent polls put him at a 35 percent approval rating, which, according to the poll, puts him at more than double his closest competitor (remember, Israel has a parliamentary systems in which majorities are rare). That's not to say, however, that Bibi is untouchable. The conservative Netanyahu faces staunch opposition from a variety of groups in the center and left, but they are largely unorganized and do not have time to rally behind a viable leader or platform, which, if elections were held in one whole year from now, would definitely be a possibility. Benjamin Netanyahu will easily win reelection twice, which would mark only the second time in Israeli history a PM has accomplished such a feat.

Bibi runs on a platform of domestic security and stability, and remains popular in Israel due to his strict adherence to the status quo.  However, his unwillingness to deviate from the status quo may limit his foreign policy flexibility in a region whose interactions between states (and non-state actors) continue to become more and more complex.  He limits himself on advancing peace talks with Palestine, addressing the protests in major Israeli cities regarding the growing wealth gap in Israel, and arbitrating disputes between secular Israelis and ultra-Orthodox parties over military conscription.

Shout out to Hannah Huntley:
Do you think that the limits of parliamentary democracy in a certainly sometimes undemocratic Israel warrant our worry? We don't understand the way Israel does democracy, so should we increase our presence there?