The author contends that the Israeli protests against Benjamin Netanyahu's government, while framed as a defense of democracy, are primarily aimed at preserving a system that has historically disadvantaged Palestinians. The movement, according to the article, is not about achieving equal rights for all, but rather about maintaining the status quo which benefits Jewish Israelis.
The article criticizes the limited Palestinian participation in the protests, highlighting statements by Palestinian politicians who view the demonstrations as unrelated to the core issues of justice and equality for all residents of the region. The author argues that the focus on preserving a “Jewish and democratic state” is inherently contradictory, implying that a true democracy cannot exist where one group holds disproportionate power.
The article points to the absence of Palestinian concerns in statements by leading figures in the protests, such as Yair Lapid's lengthy essay which notably omitted the word "Palestinian." This illustrates the limited scope of the protest movement, primarily concerned with the preservation of power structures beneficial to Jewish Israelis.
The piece concludes that the struggle against Netanyahu is not a universal fight for democracy but a specific effort to save the existing political order that hasn't addressed the issues of Palestinian rights and equality. The author suggests that the concept of a "Jewish and democratic state" is fundamentally contradictory in a region where Jews make up only half of the population.