After nearly 18 months of war, many voices on Israel’s left have begun, once again, to sound the alarm, raising the specter of civil war and claiming that the current government is dismantling Israeli democracy.
Last week saw the dismissal of Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the last remaining security chief directly tied to the catastrophic failures of October 7. Days later, the cabinet unanimously voted to censure and initiate proceedings to remove Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara.This week, the Knesset is likely to pass legislation that will alter the process for appointing Supreme Court justices and restructure the Bar Association.
Taken together, these moves have triggered a predictable reaction. The opposition has returned to its pre-October 7 playbook – framing every institutional reform as a democratic death blow. But this time, they’re playing that hand in the middle of a multi-front war.
In any functioning democracy, a strong, vocal opposition is not only expected – it’s vital. It keeps the powerful in check, injects alternative thinking into policy-making, and offers voters a real alternative at the ballot box. That’s the democratic ideal. And that’s exactly what Israel is missing.
For the sizable share of Israelis who don’t see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition as their preferred leaders – not even as a fallback option – the political alternatives are strikingly limited. Instead of a responsible, issue-driven opposition, they’re left with a radicalized bloc willing to torch the political house if it means grabbing a seat at the table afterward.
This is not a serious political opposition. These leaders offer no program, no vision, and no broad appeal. Their politics is not built on constructive criticism but on reckless provocation – napalm rhetoric that divides the public, energizes the fringes, and fixates on personality over policy.
What would a real opposition look like in a healthy Israeli democracy?
For starters, it would have a strong case to make – because let’s be honest: there’s plenty of dysfunction in Israeli governance, and Netanyahu hasn’t solved it. At best, he’s managed it. At worst, he’s manipulated it. A mature opposition wouldn’t obsess over Bibi as the root of all evil but would focus on the deeper structural rot in the system.
It would also reject Pyrrhic victories. Instead of branding entire communities as parasites, it would craft programs that integrate Israel’s religious population with national service in a meaningful, dignified way.
When judicial reform is proposed, it would engage – not with hysteria or slogans – but with principled counterproposals. It would acknowledge the legitimate concerns over an unaccountable judiciary and offer checks and balances grounded in constitutional logic, not talking points.
Imagine an opposition that, when confronted with judicial overhaul, responded not with Alinskyite tactics and foreign-funded PR blitzes but with a thoughtful constitutional agenda. Imagine they defended the principle that a wartime prime minister should not be spending five hours a day in courtrooms.
Imagine they upheld the prerogatives of the Knesset, regardless of who controls it. Imagine an opposition that viewed military service as a civic duty – non-negotiable, above politics.
Is Israel undeserving of that kind of leadership?
Is the country condemned to be ruled by one mediocre coalition after another simply because the opposition is too immature, too fractured, or too ideological to offer a credible alternative? To sit in opposition is no less important than holding office.
It shapes the national imagination. It defines the limits of acceptable discourse. It sets the spectrum of debate – the Overton window – through which all policy must pass. It creates the possibilities the nation sees, and it reveals the opportunities the nation is missing.
Right now, Israel’s opposition generates nothing but upheaval at a time when unity is paramount. They offer no choice, only chaos. And in the face of that, the public once again defaults to the same tired political managers – not because they are inspired, but because they seem unlikely to burn the house down.
If only Israel had an opposition worthy of its people – worthy of this moment.
The writer is a co-founder of the Jewish National Initiative and a hi-tech executive.