The Complexities of Pro-Democracy Protests in Israel

Arab Israelis have largely stayed away from the pro-democracy protests against the Israeli government's plan to overhaul the judiciary, which they fear would weaken the judiciary's independence. The Arab community sees the demonstrations as an exclusively Jewish movement that is blind to the longstanding perceived injustices against them. While the protesters say their aim is to safeguard the Supreme Court, many Arab Israelis see the court as having failed them repeatedly. They have long viewed Israel's democracy as tainted by both the country's treatment of them and its 55-year, open-ended military rule over lands the Palestinians seek for an independent state.