For weeks, Israelis across the country have been protesting against a planned judicial reform that they see as a threat to democracy. The reform empowers Parliament to overturn Supreme Court rulings by a simple majority, and politicians should decide on the appointment of judges. At the recent rally in Tel Aviv, world-renowned historian Yuval Noah Harari called on his compatriots to resist. Here is his speech in full.
We are in the midst of a historic tsunami. This tsunami does not stir up anger or hatred in us – but fear. We’re worried, we don’t sleep at night because we’re scared. And that’s perfectly fine!
There are moments in history when fear is the most reasonable response. There are moments in history when fear is necessary to propel us to action. Today we have excellent reason to be afraid and we have excellent reason to act.
Make no mistake: what this government is embarking on is not judicial reform – it is an anti-democratic coup d’etat! This is what a coup looks like.
They are not always carried out with tanks on the streets. Many coups in history have been carried out behind closed doors with pens and papers, and by the time people understood the meaning of what was in those papers, it was too late to resist.
History is full of dictatorships established by people who first came to power through legal means. It’s the oldest trick there is: first use the law to gain power, then use your power to pervert the law.
The government wants unlimited power
Considering the laws this government is currently preparing in their entirety, there is only one interpretation (and you don’t need a law degree for that): If these laws are passed, the government will have the power to completely destroy our freedom .
61 of the 120 Members of the Knesset can pass any racist, tyrannical and anti-democratic law they can think of. 61 members of the Knesset could also change the electoral system to prevent us from replacing the regime.
When we ask the leaders of this coup what will keep government power in check under the new regime and what will protect basic human rights, they only have one answer: “Trust us!”
(Prime Minister) Netanyahu, (Minister of Justice) Levin, (MP and Chairman of the Constitutional Committee) Rothman: We don’t trust you! You tear up the contract that has somehow held our society together for 75 years, and then you expect us to trust you?
We don’t trust you because we know very well what you want: you want unlimited power. You want to silence us and dictate what we eat, what we wear, what we think and even who we can love. But you don’t understand who you’re dealing with.
“We must raise our heads now – or hunker down for the rest of our lives,” says Yuval Noah Harari.
(Photo: IMAGO/APAimages)
Israelis are not good raw material for making slaves. We Israelis are stubborn, we are free spirits, we are tricksters and no one has ever managed to silence us. We will not allow you to turn Israel into a dictatorship.
So what will happen in the next few weeks? You will keep trying to pass your dictatorial laws. You will continue to call us “anarchists” and “traitors” and will exploit or even initiate extreme events to quell our resistance.
But we will continue to protest and ensure that the Supreme Court justices have both popular support and a determination to overthrow these dictatorial laws.
Citizens are the last and most important line of defense of democracy
And what if the government refuses to accept Supreme Court decisions? Then we slide into a constitutional crisis in which there are neither clear rules nor laws.
So who will the police take their orders from – the government or the courts? Who will the Shin Bet and Mossad get their orders from?
Who will the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) obey?
And the most important question of all: What will the citizens do? Opinion polls clearly show that a large majority of Israelis reject what this government is doing. But polls don’t stop dictatorships.
History teaches us that the last and most important line of defense in any democracy are the citizens – and that is you. Democracy is a deal whereby citizens must respect the decisions of the government on condition that the government respects citizens’ fundamental freedoms.
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If one side breaks the deal, the other side no longer has to do their part. When a government tries to establish a dictatorship, citizens are allowed to resist. This is a historic test for the citizens of Israel, and if we fail, we will not get a second chance.
We must raise our heads now – or hunker down for the rest of our lives. We must raise our voices now – or keep our mouths shut for the rest of our lives. It is therefore necessary to protest, to shout – but also to stand still.
For example, as a university professor, I hope that all academic institutions in Israel will go on strike as long as this anti-democratic coup lasts. Of course we must continue to support our students during these difficult times, but this is the moment to stop all regular courses and only teach Democracy, Human Rights and Freedom.
Israelis will find creative ways to ignore orders
While some of us may find it difficult to formally strike, I am confident that we Israelis will find creative ways to respond quickly and ignore orders. Any one of us can thwart the anti-democratic putsch.
As I have been given the microphone, I would like to take this opportunity, as a typical Israeli, to convey some personal messages. To Esther Hayut, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and to Gali Baharav-Miara, the Attorney General: You have been entrusted with one of the most difficult and important tasks in the history of Israel.
This is a great responsibility, but also a great privilege. This is your moment to make history. Do not hesitate and do not back down – protect our freedom!
To President Herzog and the leaders of the opposition parties: protect our freedom and make no compromises! If a tiger comes to eat us, we cannot negotiate a compromise where the tiger only eats half of our body.
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To the reserve soldiers who are considering what to do: Don’t serve dictators! You have a contract with Israeli democracy, not with their undertakers.
To the Army, the Shin Bet, the Mossad and the Israeli Police: When the moment of truth comes, make the right decision! Will go down in history as the protector of the citizens – not as the servant of despots.
To all the demonstrators protesting here and across Israel tonight, I just want to say I love you.
And finally, I want to send a clear message from all of us to Netanyahu, Levin, Rothman and their colleagues: You may have 64 fingers in the Knesset, but that doesn’t mean you can stick those fingers anywhere you want.
Leave our freedom alone. Stop the coup – or we will stop the country.
The author:
Yuval Noah Harari is an Israeli historian. He has taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem since 2005 and is the author of the bestseller “A Brief History of Mankind”.
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