Australian Politics Forum - Israel is a democracy in the middle east

freediver Gold Member Offline www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 53316 At my desk.	Israel is a democracy in the middle east Aug 9^th, 2026 at 7:38am waggawoody wrote on Aug 8^th, 2026 at 11:31pm: At least he's stopped (for now) with all that Israel is the only democracy in the Mid East nonsense. Which part do you think is nonsense? That Israel is in the middle east, or that Israel is a democracy?
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Frank Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 59554 Gender:	Re: Israel is a democracy in the middle east Reply #1 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 1:10pm Of course it is - it is the only non-islamic country in the ME. MAHMOOD don't surf do democracy.
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Ai_Killed_Humanity

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Re: Israel is a failing democracy
Reply #2 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 3:44pm

Recent assessments by major international indices indicate that Israel has experienced significant democratic deterioration, with its status downgraded from a liberal democracy to an electoral democracy or flawed democracy. According to the 2024 Democracy Report by the V-Dem Institute, Israel lost its classification as a leading liberal democracy in 2023, placing it on par with countries like Poland and South Africa, with warnings that continued trends could lead to an electoral autocracy status similar to Hungary and Russia.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index for 2023 similarly classified Israel as a flawed democracy, ranking it 30th globally. Specific components showed notable weaknesses, particularly in civil liberties (scoring 5.59 out of 10, lower than Poland and Hungary) and governmental functioning (7.50 out of 10). This decline has been attributed to political instability, including five election campaigns in three and a half years, rising populism, and unprecedented public protests starting in early 2023, which some analysts argue contributed to a broader erosion of liberal democratic norms and checks and balances.

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Paki gob on a stick

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Re: Israel is a democracy in the middle east
Reply #3 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 4:09pm

freediver wrote on Aug 9^th, 2026 at 7:38am:

waggawoody wrote on Aug 8^th, 2026 at 11:31pm:

At least he's stopped (for now) with all that Israel is the only democracy in the Mid East nonsense.

Which part do you think is nonsense? That Israel is in the middle east, or that Israel is a democracy?

Oh? Where does Israel stand on your democracy index, FD?

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freediver Gold Member Offline www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 53316 At my desk.	Re: Israel is a democracy in the middle east Reply #4 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 6:07pm Quote: Recent assessments by major international indices indicate that Israel has experienced significant democratic deterioration The Economist's democracy index shows it going up from 7.3 to 7.8 out of 10 over the last 20 years. It is currently ranked higher than the US.
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Ai_Killed_Humanity Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 1071 Gender:	Re: Israel is a flawed democracy Reply #5 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 7:45pm One flawed democracy is rated slightly higher than another flawed democracy. Woo Hoo !
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freediver Gold Member Offline www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 53316 At my desk.	Re: Israel is a democracy in the middle east Reply #6 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 8:11pm Are you saying that Israel and America are both democracies? Can you tell us which one is in the middle east?
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tallowood Gold Member Offline Израиль Навсегда Posts: 8680 Gender:	Re: Israel is a democracy in the middle east Reply #7 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 8:24pm Quote: Recent assessments by major international indices indicate that Israel has experienced significant democratic deterioration, with its status downgraded from a liberal democracy to an electoral democracy or flawed democracy. Yes, there are some Arabs in Knesset.
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Frank Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 59554 Gender:	Re: Israel is a flawed democracy Reply #8 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 8:30pm Ai_Killed_Humanity wrote on Aug 9^th, 2026 at 7:45pm: One flawed democracy is rated slightly higher than another flawed democracy. Woo Hoo ! The surrounding Musulman countries are not even flawed democracies.
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Ai_Killed_Humanity

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Re: Israel is a flawed democracy
Reply #9 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 8:36pm

Quote:

It is currently ranked higher than the US.

You brought up the yanks. Since Iran defeated the US convincingly, it's possible the US's days in West Asia are nearly over.

Quote:

The surrounding Musulman countries are not even flawed democracies.

What's special about democracies. Mugs vote, governments ignore. Doing the same thing over and expecting a different result ... definition of insanity.

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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." Henry Kissinger

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tallowood Gold Member Offline Израиль Навсегда Posts: 8680 Gender:	Re: Israel is a democracy in the middle east Reply #10 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 8:40pm Commies hate democracy and are bent on killing humanity.
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Dnarever

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Re: Israel is a democracy in the middle east
Reply #11 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 11:02pm

tallowood wrote on Aug 9^th, 2026 at 8:40pm:

Commies hate democracy and are bent on killing humanity.

The typically authoritarian right is the greatest threat to democracy everywhere.

Israel’s farcical elections and fictional democracy - Less than half of the Jews live in Israel and less than half of the people who live in Israel have the vote. They tend to be authoritarian which is undemocratic.

They have a mask of democracy but it is very thin.

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Dnarever Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 62048 Here Gender:	Re: Israel is a democracy in the middle east Reply #12 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 11:05pm tallowood wrote on Aug 9^th, 2026 at 8:40pm: Commies hate democracy and are bent on killing humanity. I doubt that you have ever seen a commie.
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tallowood Gold Member Offline Израиль Навсегда Posts: 8680 Gender:	Re: Israel is a democracy in the middle east Reply #13 - Aug 9^th, 2026 at 11:13pm Dnarever wrote on Aug 9^th, 2026 at 11:05pm: tallowood wrote on Aug 9^th, 2026 at 8:40pm: Commies hate democracy and are bent on killing humanity. I doubt that you have ever seen a commie. I lived under commie dictatorship, I fought it and I won. USSR no more.
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freediver

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Re: Israel is a democracy in the middle east
Reply #14 - Aug 10^th, 2026 at 8:56am

Dnarever wrote on Aug 9^th, 2026 at 11:02pm:

Less than half of the Jews live in Israel and less than half of the people who live in Israel have the vote.

Why do you have a problem with Jews living outside of Israel? Or think it is relevant to whether Israel is in the middle east?

Israel has universal suffrage. All citizens who are over 18 can vote. Including Arab Muslims, who make up a significant part of the population.

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