The Zionist regime and its leaders have long tried to brand themselves as “the only democracy in the Middle East,” fabricating a false image through media manipulation. This label is not only mocked by some of the regime’s own intellectuals, but a look at history reveals that this title acts like a disguise for a cancerous tumor, spreading and attempting to whitewash its corrupt nature. Far from being democratic, the Zionist regime is an illegitimate, criminal entity, likened to a cancerous tumor in the ancient and Islamic region of West Asia. During the inauguration ceremony of the 14th President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khamenei stressed: “The Zionist regime is presenting and showing itself in the most grotesque image of a criminal gang. They’re not a government. They're a gang of criminals. They’re a gang of murderers. They’re a gang of terrorists. In their acts of terrorism, cruelty, and crime, they’ve reached a new level in their shocking crimes in the history of human criminality in the world. They've reached a new level.”
But why is the title “the only democracy in the region” so absurd?
1. The origins of the Israeli regime:
The core problem with the claim of being a democratic entity lies in the very foundation of its existence. The Zionist regime was established on undemocratic principles, rooted in racial superiority and ethnic supremacy. Legally, its creation was entirely based on undemocratic, inhumane, and unlawful processes. This didn’t just happen in 1948; it has continued ever since. As Imam Khamenei stated at the Sixth International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada: “ An intelligent quest in history shows that no people in any era of history have ever been subject to such pain, suffering and cruelty. It has never been witnessed that a country is completely occupied in a supra-regional plot, that a people are driven away from their home and their country and that another group of people from remote areas in the world are brought there in order to replace that nation. It has never been witnessed that a real entity is ignored and that a fake entity takes its place. But this is another dirty page in history which will be closed with the permission and assistance of Allah the Exalted, just like other dirty pages in history: “Falsehood is bound to perish” (Quran, 17: 81) and He says: “My servants the righteous shall inherit the earth” (Quran, 21: 105). Looking at history, Britain’s betrayal and illegal actions during its mandate over Palestine facilitated the increase of the Jewish population in Palestine from 40,000 to over 650,000 between 1930 and 1950. In early 1947, Britain asked the United Nations to take up the Palestine issue.” At the time, major powers needed UN approval to establish a Jewish state and partition Palestine, but they couldn’t secure the necessary two-thirds majority. On November 26, 1947, realizing the vote would likely fail, the Brazilian president of the General Assembly delayed it. Afterward, Jews, Zionists, and Americans worked tirelessly to gain more votes. The partition plan passed through questionable tactics. For instance, the wives of Latin American representatives were showered with lavish gifts like diamonds and expensive leather coats. Some governments that initially opposed the resolution changed their stance after receiving promises of US economic aid. The votes of Guatemala and the Philippines were also bought through various means. Eventually, the partition resolution passed on November 29, 1948, by a slim margin: 23 votes in favor, 14 against, and 10 abstentions. It’s important to note that this resolution has faced numerous legal challenges, as General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding and do not impose obligations under the UN’s own charters. Resolution 181 fundamentally conflicted with the core principles of the United Nations, which were based on the recognition of peoples' rights to freedom and self-determination.
There is no constitution in this so-called “democracy”
One of the key legal arguments made by figures in the Zionist regime to support their claim of being "the only democracy in the region" is the structure of their legal system, the separation of powers, and the role of the people within it. However, it’s important to note that the Zionist regime’s legal framework lacks a constitution, making it difficult to accurately compare the role of the people there with other legal systems in the region. In reality, the Knesset, or parliament, is the central institution in the governance of the Zionist regime. Its primary role is to elect the prime minister and the government. The Knesset forms the core of Israel’s political structure and holds significant influence. A party or coalition that secures a majority of seats can form the government. Voting in Israel is entirely based on party lists, not individual candidates. Residents of the occupied territories can only vote for a party list in elections and cannot select individual candidates or remove specific people from the list. Israel’s electoral system has long been criticized by both Israeli and non-Israeli experts, who argue that it minimizes the role of the people and is fundamentally flawed. Some of these critiques include the following: One of the main criticisms of Israel’s electoral process is that voters must choose from a set list with no flexibility. This limits individual choice significantly. Another issue that challenges the democratic nature of the system is the rise of party dictatorship. Individuals often strive to be placed higher on party lists in order to secure a seat in the Knesset, leading them to make concessions to party leaders. This, in turn, increases their dependency on the head of the party. After Knesset elections, the party or coalition that holds the majority has the power to form the government and select the prime minister. As a result, the leader of the majority party essentially consolidates power. Once in office, the prime minister, supported by a Knesset majority from their own party, has wide latitude in shaping policies, appointing ministers, and more. These factors have allowed the political system in the Zionist regime to evolve in such a way that Netanyahu has remained in power for about 15 years. Whenever faced with criticism from his ministers, he has either dissolved the cabinet or dismissed them, taking control of the ministries himself. At certain times, Netanyahu has held leadership over four ministries simultaneously, and the law does not prevent him from doing so.
The apartheid law of jewish Nation-State
One of the clearest signs of the regime's non-democratic nature lies in its internal laws. On July 19, 2018, the Jewish Nation-State Law, which had been under discussion in the Knesset since 2011, was finally passed. This law explicitly defines "Israel" as the nation-state of the Jewish people. The first clause of the law is entirely anti-democratic, as it emphasizes Jewish ethnicity rather than the Jewish faith, revealing the law’s racist undertones. Additionally, the claim that the Jewish people have a natural, religious, and historical right to the land of Palestine is completely illegal and inhumane under United Nations, Security Council, and UNESCO resolutions. This clause asserts that the right to self-determination in "Israel" belongs solely to the Jewish people, blatantly excluding Arab Jews, Druze, and even Falasha and African Jews, who many Zionists do not consider ethnically Jewish. When the law was initially proposed in 2011 by 40 members of the Knesset, the "Israel Democracy Institute," a Zionist think tank focused on studying the state of democracy in Israel, strongly criticized the proposal. In a note titled "A Jewish State, Not a Democracy," Professor Mordechai Kremnitzer wrote: "The proposed Israel - Jewish Nation-State Law signals the collapse of Israeli democracy, reducing it from a true democracy to an empty shell... One-third of Knesset members now seek to establish, once and for all, that equality, the core value of any democratic regime, is not part of the Jewish state's values." Despite these concerns, the law was passed in 2018. Ayman Odeh, leader of the Joint List, a coalition of Arab parties in the Knesset, described the passage of this racist Jewish Nation-State Law as the "death of democracy." The Antiwar magazine, in response to Odeh's comments, questioned, "Did Odeh really think he was living in a true democracy before this law was passed? Seventy years of supremacy, genocide, ethnic cleansing, war, blockades, mass killings, and numerous discriminatory laws should have been enough to show him that Israel has never been a democracy".
Behavioral examples of the Zionist regime over 70 years
The Zionist regime's false claims of democracy are evident in its consistent behavior over the past 70 years. Despite changes in government, these actions have remained unchanged:
- During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel expanded its territory, taking control of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
- After the 1967 conflict, Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip and began extensive settlement construction in the West Bank.
- In 1981, Israel officially declared sovereignty over the Golan Heights without holding a referendum, which was an undemocratic move.
- Following the Six-Day War, Israel sought to control East Jerusalem and officially annexed it in 1980. This annexation was carried out without a referendum, forcing the local population to accept it against their will.
- Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem do not have voting rights or other civil rights in Israel. Therefore, the Israeli regime does not adhere to even basic democratic standards in these areas.
The problem is that no institution or authority within the Zionist regime has made any effort to address or correct these issues. The situation for Arabs and other groups in the occupied territories has deteriorated, especially with the rise of radical nationalist influences.
Conclusion
The ongoing conflict in Gaza is not just a reflection of the Zionist regime's departure from democracy and its misleading claims but also a result of the global and Western media's and intellectuals' disregard for 70 years of undemocratic and racist behavior by Israel. If this regime had not been falsely labeled as democratic over the years, such atrocities in Gaza might have been avoided.
A telling perspective on Israeli democracy can be found in the work of Avi Katz, a cartoonist for the Jerusalem Report, a publication under the Jerusalem Post. Katz depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several Knesset members as pigs from George Orwell's Animal Farm, including a quote from the book: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".
