Israel Israeli culture Israeli Politics

ISRAEL’S MULTIPARTY DYSFUNCTIONAL GOVERNMENT: AN INTERVIEW BY WOLFF BACHNER WITH DR.PAUL EIDELBERG…….

 

This interview is re-published here in part, with the permission of the author….

Organized Treachery vs. Organized Hypocrisy: A 35-Year Study of Israel’s Dysfunctional Government [With Dr. Paul Eidelberg]

Bibi Netanyahu

There are few Israelis who are able to speak with more authority about Israel’s dysfunctional government than Dr. Paul Eidelberg. For more than three decades, Dr. Eidelberg has been “the voice of one crying in the wilderness,” imploring Israel’s leaders to draft the nation’s first Constitution and replace the current system of Proportional Representation with individual elections for each member of the Knesset.

Not one to pull his punches or restrain his abundant intellect when speaking about the survival of his beloved Israel, Dr. Eidelberg takes no prisoners as he discusses who is to blame for Israel’s lack of security and diminished status with the nations of the world:

“After studying the pronouncements and policies of Labor and Likud Governments since 1976, I have come to the serious and dismal conclusion that if the Labor Party represents ‘organized treachery,‘ the Likud Party Represents ‘organized hypocrisy.’ I have yet to decide which has been more damaging to the State of Israel.”

While many social critics constantly complain and offer few fresh ideas, Dr. Eidelberg has spent the last 35 years analyzing the problems with Israel’s system of government and proposing solutions. An American-Israeli political scientist, author and lecturer, Eidelberg is the founder and president of The Foundation for Constitutional Democracy. He wrote three groundbreaking books on America’s founding fathers: The Philosophy of the American ConstitutionOn the Silence of the Declaration of Independence, and a Discourse on Statesmanship.

After witnessing the chaos and confusion that emanates from Israel’s current political establishment, Dr. Eidelberg authored detailed proposals for political reform and drafted the first Constitution for the State of Israel. Although the document was well received by some members of the Knesset, Israel’s political elite have largely ignored Dr. Eidelberg’s work. They are happy with the status quo and they have chosen to forego the opportunity to become a true democracy “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

Israel is the free world’s last outpost in the Middle East and her survival is an imperative for anyone who loves freedom and democracy. Should Israel fall, there would be nothing to stop the establishment of a new Islamic Caliphate from the Mediterranean to Asia and the forces of tyranny would be poised to overrun Europe.

As one of the leading voices for Constitutional reform in Israel, we invited Dr. Eidelberg to visit The Inquisitr for an in-depth interview about the current state of affairs in Israel and to tell us what must be done to protect and preserve the one safe haven on this earth for the Jewish people.

Wolff Bachner: Dr. Eidelberg, welcome to The Inquisitr.

Before we get into the specifics of our discussion, please explain to our readers why you decided to leave the United States and make Aliyah to Israel?

Dr. Paul Eidelberg: In my first visit to Israel, I learned that its political system of multiparty cabinet government was dysfunctional. This system violated the basic principles set forth in The Federalist Papers, the most important commentary on the American Constitution the great English Prime Minister William Gladstone (1809-1898) regarded as “the most wonderful work [on statesmanship] ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.” Since the subject of my doctoral dissertation and first book was on the Constitution, I felt I might facilitate some urgent reforms of Israel’s political system which was dis-empowering the people and undermining Israel’s survival.

Wolff Bachner: Paul, I would imagine that people would be stunned to discover that Israel does not have a Constitution.

How has the state of Israel managed to function as a democratic nation for 65 years without a Constitution?

Dr. Paul Eidelberg: Any authentic constitution affects the relationship between the rulers and the ruled. But for the ruled—the people—to affect public policy—they must have a majority party that represents them in the Legislature. Israel has never had anything close to a majority party! The people have been fragmented by the seemingly democratic principle of Proportional Representation with a low electoral threshold (today only 2 percent). This multiplies parties like mushrooms. Each of the last two elections fielded 33 parties!!!

As a consequence, every Israeli government has consisted of a coalition of 5 or 6 or more parties. This makes it virtually impossible to pursue coherent national polices. But this means that what are naively called the “people” are not a people but a conglomeration of diverse economic and ethnic and ideological groups competing with each other for a larger slice of the public treasury!

Wolff Bachner: How did you become involved in the attempt to reform Israel’s chaotic system of government?

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