The Foundation for Constitutional Democracy

Unlike David Ben-Gurion, Benny Elon approves of Israel’s parliamentary electoral system. Let me offer a thumb-nail sketch of this system before citing Ben-Gurion.

Unlike 74 out of 75 democratic countries, Israel constitutes a single nationwide electoral district. Parties must therefore compete for Knesset seats on the basis of Proportional Representation. Since no party has ever won a majority of Knesset seats, the cabinet invariably consists of a multiplicity of rival party leaders, each with his own agenda.

Moreover, since Knesset Members are not individually elected by and accountable to the voters in regional or constituency elections, they can ignore public opinion with impunity. This is precisely what 23 Likud MKs did when they voted for Sharon’s—really Labor’s—disengagement policy, a policy rejected by a vast majority of the public in the 2003 elections.

Unfortunately, there is not a word in Benny Elon’s National Union/National Religious platform about reforming this undemocratic (and even unJewish) parliamentary electoral system. Now let’s consider the views of David Ben-Gurion, as set forth in his Personal Memoirs.

Referring to the November 4, 1948 debates on a proposed parliamentary electoral system, Israel’s first Prime Minister expresses his opposition to “a single constituency for the whole country, with every voter choosing from a list of 120 candidates, with most of whom he was completely unfamiliar.” This, he continued,

would lead to fragmentation of the nation’s forces and artificial conflicts. The public would have no influence in choosing the candidates, since the lists would be drawn up at party headquarters. [Primaries have not significantly altered this oligarchic state of affairs (P.E.).] The system would cut any connection between the voter and his representative, who would be dependent on his party leadership rather than on those who elected him and whom he would not even know. The ensuing party fragmentation would result in many parliamentary factions uniting to form a dominant majority, not on the basis of a common program but merely to divide up the positions of influence and the national budget.

Regional elections alone could prevent this, as the deputy would know who had elected him and would maintain constant contact with them. To win a majority, the candidate would have to gain the approval of the majority of voters in his own constituency and concentrate on the problems that concerned that majority. Instead of a multiplicity of parties and election lists, a constituency system would promote national unity and an organic link between the voter and his legislative representative.

In the sequel, Ben-Gurion points out that, “The first two elections proved to anyone who could see and was concerned for the country’s fundamental interests that the national proportional system distorted the principles of elective representation and resulted in excessive multiplication of parties. This tended to division in a nation that needed unity above all…”

Ben-Gurion then declares:

The proponents of proportional representation are under the illusion that such a system provides a fuller, more accurate and more faithful reflection of public opinion. The truth is that no elected body can represent the voters’ wishes with complete fidelity and accuracy. When thousands of voters vote for one man, it does not imply that they all agree on all issues and always identify with him in every respect….

Finally, Ben-Gurion warns that whatever merit one may attribute to proportional representation, the disadvantages outweigh its advantages, if only because multi-party cabinet government is not “a partnership based on truth and good will.”

Given the existential threat now confronting Israel, Proportional Representation, which fragments the country as well as the government, can only lead to Israel’s emasculation and ultimate demise.

Here, however, is a word of hope. Even though the Jewish National Alliance (Hazit) is a small party whose electoral prospects would benefit from Proportional Representation, it nonetheless proposes regional or constituency elections, which it deems a necessary precondition for changing the government’s suicidal policy of territorial retreat. Only personal election of representatives can empower the Jewish people, whose abiding beliefs and values have been betrayed repeatedly by those who rule this country.

Therefore, will National Union chairman Benny Elon (may he fully recover from his illness) address this issue? Will any colleague of his stand up and refute my contention that the expulsion of 8,000 Jews from Gush Katif would never have happened if members of the Knesset were individually accountable to the voters in constituency elections?