Külügyi Szemle - A Teleki László Intézet Külpolitikai Tanulmányok Központja folyóirata - 2003 (2. évfolyam)
2003 / 1. szám - KÖZEL-KELET - Gazdik Gyula: The evolution of the Israeli party system
The evolution of the Israeli party system Gyula Gazdik T he Israelis pride themselves in being the only democracy in the Middle East. At first sight this claim seems to be the case. It is true to say that while the region's Islamic countries made numerous attempts during the past decades to reform their institutional system - by contrast to the Jewish state - they made little progress with respect to the liberalisation of society and executive control. However, such comparison can only be ostensible, since the exercise of power is largely influenced by the historical and cultural diversity of the countries under scrutiny. The situation of the Palestinian population of Israel is the primary target of various critiques with respect to Israeli democracy.1 Israel - with a population of six million - is a multiethnic, multi-religious and multicultural country.2 Eighty per cent of the population is Jewish and - besides the 17 per cent-strong Arab community - there are also Druses, Circassians and other minorities. The coexistence of three regional monotheistic religions makes the country unique. While one half of the Jewish population was in Israel, the other half comprises immigrants from 70 countries. As a consequence of the wave of large-scale immigration from the successor states of the Soviet Union at the end of the 1980s, approximately 800,000 people arrived in the country. This enduring multicultural environment had an intrinsic effect on national integration. Whereas this persistent hostile environment, which has endured since the creation of the state in 1948, coupled with the feeling of insecurity following the Arab- Israeli conflict reinforced this process, the continuing division between the various Jewish communities retarded integration. Zionism, - a synthesis of the modern Western liberal, collectivist nationalist values - mirrors the attitude of the Ashkenazim Jewish community, which has been arriving in Israel since the end of the 19th century. The principal consideration with respect to the socialisation of the ruling Ashkenazim political and economic elite stemmed from the conviction that African and Asian Jewish immigrants - generally termed Eastern or Sephardim Jews - were not primed enough for social integration or the assimilation of Ashkenazim values.3 The nationalist elements in public awareness became more manifest after the 1973 Arab34 Külügyi Szemle
