All of the above does not mean that Israel is not a democracy, or that we are on the verge of ceasing to exist. It does mean that we are a real country with real problems and real consequences at stake in the coming election.
Israel is not a democracy. Its not a democracy when millions can not vote.
Gerrymandered
A look at the West Bank - the Israeli states of Judea and Samaria, is reminiscent of a map of our congressional districts.
The portion of the map in Red is Area C, it constitutes 61% of the West Bank and is under total Israeli control. This is where the “settlers” live and enjoy full Israeli privileges.
One prominent Israeli openly calls for the small number of Palestinians left within the red area to be given Israeli citizenship with the official recognition of area C as being part of Israel:
The other part of the Stability Plan deals with the remaining portion of the West Bank, known as Area C, where 400,000 Israelis and 70,000 Palestinians live. Under my plan, Israel would annex this territory, much as it exercised sovereignty over East Jerusalem in 1967 and the Golan Heights in 1981. The Palestinians who live in Area C would be offered full Israeli citizenship.WSJ
As I have been pointing out, the Israelis in this area already have the same exact rights and protections as Israelis living in Tel Aviv or Haifa. This includes the right to vote in Israel’s elections.
The Joint List (the Arab combined parties) are upset that the ballot slips are being printed in Area C. I think that the response of Israel’s election authorities explains the situation quite well:
“They’re Israeli; there’s an Israeli flag there,” a committee spokesman said of the printer.
The West Bank is de facto territory of Israel. This quiet annexation brought with it a problem: what to do with the unwanted ethnicities? The solution has been to corral them, see the white crosshatched areas of the map. Palestinians live here. They can not vote. They have no rights.
These are clear facts that can only be denied through the most strenuous mental gymnastics. After a half century, the West Bank has been made a part of Israel on the down low. They can’t admit to this because then they have to admit to what they are: Israel is an apartheid state.
Gaza is another matter
Gaza comprises occupied territory. Having no natural resources, crowded with the wrong demographic, Gaza is maintained as a ghetto.
There are also important civil issues being discussed in Israel. There are no civil marriages in the country—all couples need to marry through the rabbinate, leaving tens of thousands of couples without the ability to marry in Israel. This, of course, means that LGBT couples have no chance of getting married.
Also meaning that mixed marriages are blocked.