We are in the middle of a historic hurricane. This hurricane does not arouse in us anger or hatred, but fear. We’re anxious, we don’t sleep at night, we’re just plain terrified. And this is very good. There are moments in history when fear is the most sensible reaction. There are moments in history when fear is necessary to drive us to action.
Today we have an excellent reason to be afraid and we have an excellent reason to act. Let no one be fooled: what this government is carrying out is not judicial reform. It is an undemocratic coup. This is exactly what a coup looks like.
Coups are not always carried out with tanks on the streets. Many coups in history were carried out behind closed doors with pens and papers, and by the time people understood the meaning of what was written on those papers, it was too late to resist.
History abounds with dictatorships established by people who first came to power through legal means. It is the oldest trick in the manual: first the law is used to access power and then the power is used to distort the law. Taken together, the laws this government is enacting have a simple meaning (and it doesn’t take a law doctorate to understand it): if these laws are passed, the government will have the power to completely destroy our freedom.
61 members of the Knesset [el parlamento israelí, que tiene 120 miembros] they could pass any racist, oppressive and undemocratic law they can think of. 61 members of the Knesset could also change the electoral system, thus preventing us from replacing the regime. When we ask the leaders of this coup what will keep government power in check during the new regime and what will protect basic human rights, they have only one answer: “trust us.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu; Justice Minister Levin; Rep. Rothman, Chairman of the Constitutional Committee: We don’t trust you! They are tearing up the contract that has somehow held our society together for 75 years. And you expect us to trust you?
We do not trust you because we know very well what you want. They want unlimited power. They want to silence us and tell us how to live, what to eat, what to wear, what to think and even who to love.
But they don’t understand who they are up against. Israelis are not a good raw material to make slaves [La esclavitud de los antiguos hebreos es una parte esencial de los textos sagrados judíos, recordada especialmente en la festividad de Pascua]. We Israelis are stubborn, free-spirited, and no one has been able to silence us. We will not allow them to turn Israel into a dictatorship.
So what will happen in the next few weeks?
They will continue to try to pass their dictatorial laws. They will also continue to call us “anarchists” and “traitors” and exploit or even initiate extreme events to suppress resistance. For our part, we will continue to protest and ensure that the Supreme Court justices have both the popular support and the determination to repeal these dictatorial laws.
And if the Government refuses to accept the judgment of the Supreme Court? Then we will enter a constitutional crisis. A constitutional crisis in unknown territory, devoid of clear norms and laws. From whom will the police take orders? From the Government or from the Court? Who will the Shin Bet and Mossad take their orders from? Who will the Israel Defense Forces obey? And the most important question of all: what will the citizens do?
Opinion polls are clear: the vast majority of Israelis oppose what this government is doing. But polls do not stop dictatorships. History teaches us that the last and most important line of defense of any democracy is you, the citizens.
Democracy is a pact, according to which citizens must respect the decisions of the Government, provided that the Government respects the basic freedoms of citizens. When one party breaks the deal, the other does not have to continue to fulfill its part. When a government tries to install a dictatorship, the citizens are allowed to resist.
This is a historic test for the citizens of Israel, and if we fail, we will not be given a second chance. We must raise our heads now or keep it down for the rest of our lives. We must speak up now or keep our mouths shut for the rest of our lives. This is the moment to protest, to shout… and also to remain still.
For example, as a university professor, I hope that while this anti-democratic coup lasts, all academic centers in Israel will go on strike. Of course we must continue to support our students in these difficult times, but now is the time to stop all regular courses and teach only about democracy, human rights and freedom.
If some of us find it difficult to go on an official strike, I am convinced that as Israelis we will find creative ways to drag our feet and ignore orders. Each one of us can throw a little monkey wrench into the gears of the anti-democratic coup.
Finally, as a typical Israeli that I am, since I have been given the microphone, I would like to take this opportunity to send some personal messages. To Esther Hayut, Chief Justice, and Gali Baharav-Miara, Attorney General: You have been entrusted with one of the most difficult and important missions in Israel’s history. It is a great responsibility, but also a great privilege. This is your time to make history. Do not hesitate and do not back down: protect our freedom.
To President Herzog and the leaders of the opposition parties: safeguard our freedom and do not compromise with it. When a tiger comes to devour us, we cannot negotiate that the tiger agrees to eat only half of our body. To the reserve soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces who are evaluating what they can do: do not serve dictators! Their contract is with Israeli democracy, not with their gravediggers.
To the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet, the Mossad and the Israeli police: if the moment of reckoning comes, make the right decision. Go down in history as protectors of citizens, not as servants of despots.
To all the protesters who have come here tonight and dozens of other protests across Israel, I just want to say I love you.
And last but not least, I want to convey a clear message from all of us to Netanyahu, Levin, Rothman and their colleagues: It is true that you have 64 fingers in the Knesset, but that does not mean that you are allowed to stick those fingers wherever they want. Keep your hands off our freedom.
Stop the coup or we will stop the country.
*Yuval Noah Harari is a historian and author of Sapiens, Homo Deus e unstoppable.
Translation by Julian Cnochaert.