Lasting peace in the Middle East will require the right kind of leadership on both sides of the conflict, and the right kind of support from the international community, says Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon.
In a speech prepared for delivery to journalists in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Leon said one of the things South Africa and Israel had in common was their political systems, which, while democratic on paper and in principle, ”struggle with democracy in practice”.
”The findings of the most recent Democracy Index study by the Israel Democracy Institute were cause for some alarm in Israel,” he said.
They suggested Israel had not yet acquired the characteristics of a substantive democracy, and suffered from great instability in comparison with other democratic countries.
The study noted Israel outperformed other democracies regarding representative institutions and the system of checks and balances.
But the study also warned it fared poorly in the areas of human rights and political stability.
The Democracy Index also included South Africa in its sample of democratic countries.
”We performed well in the areas of human rights and public participation in voting. But we did poorly when it came to party domination; in fact, our system of government was considered the least representative among all the countries studied,” Leon said.
South Africa, had ”creeping one-partyism”.
In Israel, by contrast, there seemed to be a kind of ”no-partyism” — a stalemate in which no political party could secure a majority by itself.
Governments had to be cobbled together in coalitions, between parties that often had radical differences with one another.
”In addition, when it comes to the peace process, the minority of violent extremists among both Palestinians and Israelis seem to have the power of veto over even the most progressive and constructive policies.
”What Israel and Palestine both need is a way to override that veto, to cancel out the power of the extremists.
”There is no easy solution. Success will require the right kind of leadership on both sides. It will require the right kind of support from the international community.
”But above all else, peace will require the faith, trust and effort of millions of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians,” Leon said. — Sapa