What kind of democracy is Israel?
Abstract
Among the successes Israeli leaders pride themselves of having achieved is the fact that they have established in the Middle East the only genuine democracy which has worked without an interruption since more than 65 years. When they went to the polls for the 20th time since 1948, in March 2015, to choose 120 deputies from 10 parties, among a record 26 lists, Israeli citizens proved certainly that Israel is a vibrant parliamentary democracy with a regular, open and pluralist electoral race. Electoral choices were made following lively public debate, relayed by an independant press, under the vigilant control of Suprem Court that for the last two decades has been especially attentive to the respect for public freedoms. The results are all the more flattering when geopolitical situation of the region is taken into account. Indeed, this democracy has fonctioned uninterruptedly despite the fact that the country was surrounded by authoritarian states with wich it has been engaged in a full confrontation for 30 years up until the signing of the peace agreement with Egypt in 1979.