The Rise and Gradual Decline of Israeli Democracy, 1920–2020

The article discusses the developmental stages of Israeli democracy: from the pre-state Jewish Yishuv, to the formative years of democracy in Israel; from the 1950s to the early 1960s; and during the years of liberalization and democratization, from the mid-1960s until the early 1980s. However, since the 1980s, the sense of inclusiveness and equality in Israeli society has gradually declined, amid antidemocratic legislation and the spread of antidemocratic incitement, polarization and authoritarian challenges to the political system. The article observes the dark clouds that threaten Israel's democracy and the struggle between its democratic and antidemocratic forces.