Referenda can Endanger Democracy
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Gaza Strip
While the Israeli government is considering putting Israel’s disengagement from Gaza to a referendum, there are voices within the academic world questioning this measure. “I think that the idea of introducing referenda as a regular political tool is a very dangerous one,” said Ruth Gavison, a professor of law at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a founder of the association of civil rights in Israel.
If it is introduced, she said, it should address a very limited scope of subjects such as the country’s borders or state and religion. “In principle, I think that a democracy is better off without referenda,” Gavison said in an interview with The International News Hour, although she said there are exceptions.
Gavison said that an internal dialogue could have led to a decision for disengagement from a better place of strength, rather than the current situation in which those who object to the government’s policy feel they are silenced and that they are not being given an opportunity to persuade the population of the validity of their claims.
“The problem of trying to deal with an ongoing constitutional crisis with a referendum is a problematic idea,” Gavison said.
She said ideally she believes the right thing to do in this case is to call an election.