Capitol riot underscores the shared values of Americans and Israelis
Neither the US nor Israel has experienced a direct threat to the basic functioning of their democracies quite like the unspeakable act of Trump supporters storming the Capitol
By JAY RUDERMANJacob Anthony Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, of Arizona, stands with other supporters of US President Donald Trump as they demonstrate on the second floor of the US Capitol near the entrance to the Senate after breaching security defenses, in Washington, US, January 6, 2021.(photo credit: MIKE THEILER/REUTERS)
When they weighed in on the heinous and instantly infamous events of January 6 in Washington, Israeli leaders invoked the theme of values.“Lawlessness and violence are the opposite of the values we know Americans and Israelis cherish,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi called the US “a beacon for democracy and for values of freedom, justice and independence.”These comments merit a deeper examination because the assault on the US Capitol dangerously distracted the world from American moral values, and Israelis – who are just as shocked as anyone by what they witnessed – not only share those values but understand the need to remind a global audience what the US and Israel both stand for.Peaceful transfer of powerThroughout their existence, the US and Israel have practiced and vigorously protected representative democracy, the system in which the people choose their elected representatives who establish laws and govern the nation. Although there are key differences in the intricacies of the American and Israeli representative democracies, a common linchpin is the commitment to a peaceful transfer of power.There is hardly unanimity in how Americans view the Electoral College and how Israelis view the coalition-building process that follows the Knesset elections. In fact, it is easy for the average Israeli to be frustrated that the country is now going into its fourth election in two years. Yet when election results are in hand, the losing candidates typically concede with dignity, and their supporters learn accept the outcome, even if that acceptance is bitter.Neither the US nor Israel has experienced a direct threat to the basic functioning of their democracies quite like the unspeakable act of Trump supporters storming the Capitol. Not even the American Civil War, as deadly as it was, started with a violent coup; it was set into motion by South Carolina issuing a declaration of secession.The limits of free speechWhile they protect the fundamental right of free speech, America and Israel also understand that free speech has its limits.In the 1969 US Supreme Court decision Brandenburg v. Ohio, the court set a precedent by articulating that the right to free speech does “not permit a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.”Those dismayed at the 2020 election result have the right to express their opinion and peacefully protest, but not to incite and commit the appalling violence of the Capitol riot. The severe danger of the January 6 assault lies not only in that day’s events, but in how it will inevitably inspire countless copycats, particularly with the January 20 inauguration right around the corner.Valuing human lifeAmericans and Israelis place an enormously high value on human life – in Israel, so much so that the government exchanged 1,027 Palestinian and Arab prisoners for the freedom of a single Israeli soldier, Gilad Schalit, from Hamas captivity.The Capitol riot in which four people were killed and more than 50 police officers were injured is an unprecedented event that the US cannot afford to repeat. The loss of life in wars is tragic, but not unexpected; it is unfathomable for Americans to die in the process of certifying the country’s election result.EducationAmericans and Israelis are among the world’s most educated people, and with education comes the common sense to reject hate and violence. When white supremacists and neo-Nazis steal the national spotlight, one would think the overwhelming majority of Americans would oppose them. Yet there will also be those who consider the Capitol riot and its associated extremism as the “new normal,” both in the realm of the transfer of power and what constitutes acceptable speech. And when hate spreads, the first targets are inevitably racial, ethnic and religious minority populations, including American Jews.This grave risk is amplified when a member of Congress quotes Adolf Hitler, as did Rep. Mary Miller (R-Illinois) when she told the protesters in Washington, “Hitler was right on one thing; he said, ‘Whoever has the youth has the future.’” Americans must expect and demand better from their elected representatives, whose words substantially influence the views of their constituents.Despite the severe short- and long-term dangers posed by the Capitol riot, the American and Israeli people possess an opportunity to condemn the assault on their shared values in the strongest possible terms and to affirm the following reality: This was the outlier. It is not the true America, and moral values will rise above the fray.The writer is president of the Ruderman Family Foundation.
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