Neither Right nor Left: The Elections on 27.10 Are About the Question of Who We Are | Dr. Nissim Katz
Dr. Nissim Katz argues that the elections on 27.10 are not about right versus left, but about the question of Israel's identity. He describes a rift between a 'statist' camp that emphasizes democracy and liberal values, and a camp that emphasizes the Jewish component. Politics has become an existential struggle where there is no room for compromise, and the question 'who are we' will determine policy.
In an opinion piece, Dr. Nissim Katz argues that the upcoming elections, to be held on 27.10, are no longer about the 'how' – managing the state and its resources – but about the 'what', that is, the very identity of Israel. According to him, the elections reflect a deep identity rift between two camps: one raises the banner of 'statism', which sees democracy as a comprehensive essence based on equal rights, protection of minorities, independence of the judiciary, and liberal values; the other emphasizes the Jewish component, subordinating democracy to religious, halachic, or particularistic national identity. Katz notes that in the past, the debate between right and left revolved around borders, settlements, and the fight against terrorism, under a shared assumption about the rules of the democratic game. Today, the rules of the game themselves have become the central issue, and politics has become a personal and existential struggle with no room for compromise. He describes this as a zero-sum game: if the state is perceived as 'more Jewish', it is experienced as 'less democratic', and vice versa. The article concludes with the assertion that the elections are not about managing the state but about defining its face for generations, and the question 'who are we' will overshadow the question 'what will we do'.