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Israel and its supporters turn Palestine into a litmus test of democracy.
By James M. Dorsey
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Innocent Palestinians bear the brunt of Israel’s Gaza war, but they are not the only victims of the conflict. So are freedoms of expression, the media, and academia in the West, as well as Arab autocracies.
If anything, Israeli and pro-Israeli efforts to curtail debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, suppress criticism of Israel, and impose a restrictive definition of anti-Semitism may be the one aspect of the Gaza war in which Israel can claim success.
To be sure, nothing is more existential than the Palestinians’ struggle for sheer survival and to stay alive.
Yet, in political terms, Palestine, Israel, and anti-Semitism have become lightning rods in what is an existential battle in defense of liberal democracy.
“The Gaza crisis is truly becoming a global crisis of the freedom of expression. This is going to have huge repercussions for a long time to come,” said Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
“We need freedom of expression,” Ms. Khan said, arguing that it is important for democracy, development, conflict resolution, and peacemaking. “It will be harder to negotiate if you shut down one side,” she added.
Israel and its supporters are but one protagonist in a campaign that predates the war as well as former US President Donald J. Trump’s demonisation of the media, alongside illiberals, religious nationalists, ultra-conservatives, and Arab autocrats.
