Israel: Elections exposed deep differences of society, Arab parties showed their strength

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except all the other forms that have been tried before."

Winston Churchill had said this in 1947 in the House of Commons, the lower house of Britain.

When Israel's election results started coming out on Tuesday night, Churchill's statement came to mind. The results of exit polls and vote counting were either breaking or fulfilling the hopes and fears with which people had voted.

In some ways this election has been a celebration of democracy. A record number of voters voted. These included both Jews and Arabs. Many people spent thousands of dollars traveling from abroad to cast their vote.

We saw the enthusiasm of election workers at polling stations across the country. Till the last moment, he was seen trying his best to win over the voters in his favor and get every single vote.

President Isaac Herzog said the election was a "symbol of pride" for Israeli society. He said, "It is remarkable to see how deep the desire for democracy is in Israel."

Still, the election offered no clear path to the formation of a new government in the Middle East's most established democracy. The results were inconclusive and no group got a majority in Parliament.

Some people may say that this is nothing new.

There has never been a one-party government in Israel. The election system there is such that different parties have to come together to form a coalition government.

Nevertheless, many commentators cautioned that the election highlighted fundamental and perhaps growing divisions within the country. This was not an election in which voters appeared united behind a common issue or objective.

Some of these cracks are not new. In the initial years of this government, there were large-scale demonstrations regarding judicial reforms. These demonstrations had brought to the fore the differences existing in the society.

There were also differences of opinion over how to respond to the deadly attacks of October 7, 2023 – whether to rescue the hostages or destroy Hamas. After this, a large number of Israeli reserve soldiers were killed in the Gaza war. In such a situation, the controversy over the exemption given to ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth from army recruitment deepened.

But has this election further exposed the deep fractures within Israeli society?

Tension exists between religious and secular people. This division is not only of faith, but also of society.

Should the Israeli government subsidize religious education? Should some parents sacrifice their sons and daughters to defend Israel while others do not? Ultra-Orthodox Jews now make up about 15% of the population. Their perspective is completely different from that of people living in the modern and high-tech areas of Tel Aviv.

There are differences even on basic politics.

Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud party has suffered huge losses. Nevertheless, it is on track to become the largest party in the Israeli parliament. All this is happening under the leadership of a Prime Minister who is accused of corruption. Netanyahu denies these allegations. He is also accused of failing to protect Israel before October 7. There have been demands for an investigation, but Netanyahu is not ready for it.

About 10% of voters supported Jewish supremacist far-right parties. These include leaders like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who was promising to establish Jewish settlements in Gaza even when the results were announced.

Arab people constitute about 20 percent of Israel's total population. The Arab parties representing them also achieved great success. He is expected to get around 15% votes. With this, their number of seats in Parliament can increase significantly.

The opposition group included members of centrist, left and right parties under the leadership of Gadi Aizencott. But he failed to bring about the change he desired. A change which many people considered very important for the future of this country.

Bringing together so many different ideas and political interests into one government is now the biggest challenge facing Israeli politics.

Would Netanyahu be willing to abandon his religious allies and form a coalition with right-wing opposition leaders? And would leaders who have long been opponents of Netanyahu be willing to join him in a government?

Is the opposition coalition willing to abandon large parts of its election promises and cooperate with Arab parties to oust Netanyahu from power? And would Arab parties risk joining a government that could fall within months?

Leftist Democrat leader Yair Golan appealed to the opposition group for partnership with Arab parties. "We must no longer accept the racist division being created by Netanyahu between the Jewish and Arab votes," he said.

But are the people of Israel ready for such a situation?

Israeli commentator Amit Segal, who is sympathetic to Netanyahu, said that the high turnout among Arab Israeli voters "reminds Jews on both sides that after years of division, they may finally have to learn to sit together."

The danger is that instead of giving Israel a new direction, this election may deepen a question. After all, what are the things that keep its citizens united? What are the common threads that bind a society with so many different communities and ideas as a political unit?

The increasing autocratic governments in the world have been criticizing democratic systems for a long time. He argues that democracy often produces weak and temporary governments. Such governments rest on fragile coalitions and struggle to fulfill the expectations of the people.

President Herzog pointed to this danger before the coalition talks began. He said, "We should make every possible effort so that the country does not have to face another election."

For years, Israel focused on protecting itself from external enemies. But if the deep differences that have surfaced in this election grow so large that they become difficult to handle, will it now have to be prepared to protect itself from the threats within itself?

In another speech, Churchill said that democracy was not merely "protection against dangers from abroad." He added, "It is also a protection against dangers that are almost as grave and that threaten us much more closely and constantly at home."

Can Israel's democracy face this challenge?