It’s time to do something about Israel’s lack of political education

By URIYA ROSENMAN
An empty Knesset Plenum (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
An empty Knesset Plenum
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Critical observations of Israeli politics reveal a bleak picture: Corruption is the norm, elected officials break promises without hesitation, pressure groups promote laws contrary to the public interest, and substantive decisions are made on the basis of narrow considerations by layman politicians. Dozens of demonstrations that have taken place at Rabin Square in recent years indicate a civic awakening and a willingness to act for change.
In order to begin the process of healing our politics and influencing the decisions that shape our lives in this country, a grassroots movement of political education is needed – a social initiative coming from the people, in which citizens will be exposed to up-to-date practical content preparing them for active involvement in elections and politics. This will address the two main concerns of Israeli politics: a lack of public understanding and involvement, and the quality of human capital.
Why are Israeli politics mocked by the public, staffed by charismatic yet usually not professionally-and-morally qualified individuals, and considered a loathsome path that most ambitious people refrain from taking? How come Knesset members do not understand “conflict of interest” limitations and that majority elected parties eventually break up and betray their voters? How do they allow previously imprisoned ministers to return to key positions?
From a broader perspective, Israel is a young country that has been dealing with severe security threats since its establishment, which in the first decades constituted an existential danger. The country’s dominant leaders were former military generals, and politics overflowed with expert MKs who mastered these threats.
One implication of this “danger” mentality is the dominance of security issues within agenda and budget considerations, and the shifting of decision-makers’ attention toward external potential threats rather than internal state affairs.
Additionally, the danger mentality is the prominent cause of the fake momentary feeling of “unity” around a common enemy which, together with the Israeli “we’ll-be-alright” mentality, creates an illusion that everything really is okay. We have become accustomed to not complaining about domestic malfunctions because there is always a greater outside threat.
The world has progressed in recent decades, our security status in the Middle East has stabilized, and a new generation of Israelis believes life here could be better. Economic crises have given rise to social protests. Institutional corruption has led to the conviction of officials and general distrust, and attention has gradually diverted from outside threats to our dirty laundry at home: mismanaged and under-budgeted health and education systems, sprawling public transportation, a high cost of living, racist abuse of minorities, and above all, a feeling that there is no agenda.
AS GLOBALIZATION and the emergence of social networks have made everything more accessible to us, the pervasive COVID-19 epidemic and subsequent economic crisis generate feelings of uncertainty anxiety and chaos. Given the civil awakening and the complex events happening in our country, Israel 2020 seems to be on the verge of an explosion, a divided angry society where citizens demonstrate regularly and increasingly resent the leadership.
The average person is considered rationally ignorant and can become invested in politics only after taking care of his or her family’s livelihood, security and well-being, based on the meager remaining resources. Therefore, people’s lack of understanding and involvement constitutes a major problem for the Israeli public.
Politicians are democratically elected by the people, and when the people don’t understand politics, unworthy candidates benefit. The decisions they make affect the efficiency and development of state institutions, and political knowledge remains a matter of government-linked stakeholders, who eventually become pressure groups that influence politicians to promote personal interests, contrary to the benefit of the majority.
Finally, a cycle of ignorance forms and deepens. People don’t want to understand and engage in politics, assuming it’s complicated and corrupt, and the power retained by the few facilitates public deception.
The wide variety of religions, sectors and interests in Israel makes it difficult to create a unified narrative that can be simply taught, which partially explains our difficulties with political education.
School civics studies are ineffective, and include primarily a theoretical basis of governance and a particular historical narrative – materials that students “spit back” in their final exams before instantly forgetting, and which are irrelevant to understanding politics and its practical effects on our lives.
Beyond the major challenge of teaching the public complex politics, politicians continue to be interested in preserving the ignorance and gaining political power, thus using the security threat as a sleeping pill that inhibits public consciousness and notice of the system’s mismanagement. It’s easier to work when your employer doesn’t understand the agenda, doesn’t know the goals, and isn’t aware of the rules.
This status quo gives rise to another problem: Talented, ambitious people choose to pursue careers in the private sector to realize their potential in business, rather than “getting their hands dirty” in the public/political sectors.
If we want to show that we care about Israel and feel good about ourselves, we can attend demonstrations in city squares. If we really want to make a difference and change our lives for the better, we must become more involved in politics, get to know the parties and platforms, vote in the primaries, learn about capital-media-government relations, investigate the impact of lobbyists and pressure groups, understand politicians’ voting patterns, and push our youth to become more involved than us.
It’s time for a grassroots educational initiative that will promote the updating of civic studies and disseminate political education content on social media. Such an initiative will connect people to politics and give them the critical knowledge necessary to better understand, make knowledgeable choices, and influence our reality in Israel.
Maybe after we engage the political playground, decision-making processes, and the election and control of Knesset members by stake-holding party members, we will finally feel the collective urgency to take responsibility over our lives, to know more, and to choose politics and public service over the private sector.
The writer is an Israeli educator and social activist, interested in the connection between the multicultural society, public consciousness and politics in Israel.