In recent years, much has been written about the downsides of the Israeli political culture. Israelis, in particular the general Jewish majority, have often been accused in the local and foreign media—as well as in some academic and political analyses—of professing non-democratic if not anti-democratic views and sentiments. Sometimes these views and sentiments have even been depicted as "racist", specifically concerning the non-Jewish minorities in the country.
These readings were heavily—and quite understandably—influenced by more than a few highly disturbing verbal and physical attacks, mostly (but not only) against Arabs. These attacks were most notable during the summer of 2014, during the Protective Edge (Zuk Eitan) operation. The impression deepened with the prevalent condemnations in Israel of liberal positions, legislation initiatives and policy proposals tabled by politicians and civil activists of the left. Of course, the overall picture of anti-democratic and/or racist Israelis was quite gladly embraced by Israel's rivals, and also by some of its "disappointed lovers" from both inside and outside the country.
Yet, based on some indicative findings of the annual Israeli Democracy Index survey conducted in May 2015, the critics' verdict was in certain respects too harsh and too hasty. As Dahlia Scheindlin previously noted in this debate, on the conceptual level, the majority of Jewish Israelis are familiar with basic human rights and civil rights, and also rather supportive of them. But the difficulty arises when it comes to translating these abstract concepts into policy preferences. This is particularly true when human and civil rights clash with either security concerns or with the (far too opaque) definition of Israel as Jewish and democratic. Because of Arab citizens calling to transform Israel into a state of all its citizens, this Jewish definition of Israel is not only problematic, but Jewish Israelis widely perceive it as threatened.
