Israeli novelist Ayelet Gundar-Goshen published an article in the Sunday Times, discussing the death of democracy in Israel and the civil resistance, explaining why she is now afraid to bring her children to the protests.
Gundar-Goshen stated that she and the opponents of the Reasonability Test Law, which undermines the authority of the Supreme Court, stopped laughing and began crying after 30 weeks of protesting against the legislation passed by the Knesset last week.
She pointed out that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally succeeded in bypassing the Supreme Court’s authority, and even though his defence minister, university professors, tech giants, and economic leaders all begged him to stop, he did not listen. Her 89-year-old grandmother told her, “This is how it ends. The end of what we started here 70 years ago, the end of our democracy.”
Widespread Resistance to the New Law The novelist emphasized that this is not the ultimate end, “it is just the beginning. Many of us are willing to pay the price for our freedom.” She mentioned that military pilots refuse to fly, doctors refuse to open clinics, university professors refuse to teach, hundreds of reservists suspended their duties, and at least 10,000 volunteer reservists have declared that they will not serve if the government persists.
She quoted her Arab friend saying, “For the first time in your lives, you know a little about what it means to be Arab in this country.”
The author stated that while Israelis are now protesting for their democracy, they should ask themselves why they didn’t fight harder when the government took anti-democratic actions in the occupied territories. She added that the clear link between judicial reform and the occupation is still a blind spot for many protesters.
The Israeli novelist also mentioned the police’s training on aggressive behaviour towards civilian protesters in the occupied territories, which they now apply against demonstrators opposing the new law. She recounted how they pushed her partner during a protest in Jerusalem, saying, “We taught them to ignore their conscience and obey, and now we are reaping what we sowed.”
Gundar-Goshen used to take her children to protests to teach them about good citizenship, but now she is terrified to do so. She noted that earlier this month, the National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, fired Tel Aviv Police Chief Ami Eshed for being “too lenient” with the protesters.
She concluded her article by saying that when Netanyahu’s plan ultimately fails – and it will fail – “we will have to forge a new civil agreement that includes not only the Jewish majority but also the Palestinians who live here. We must take stringent measures, like a general strike.”
