One person, 100 votes

“Ohana’s misunderstanding (July 26) correctly defends the right of Israelis to protest – as is the right of the citizens of all democracies. The editorial also strongly and correctly criticizes the actions of Public Security Minister Amir Ohana, who has apparently tried to influence the police to ban further demonstrations opposite the Prime Minister’s Residence on Balfour St.

There is, however, another equally important side to democracy, which is the “one-person-one vote” maxim. One gets the impression from the demonstrators who demand that Netanyahu’s resignation that they believe they represent the majority of the Israeli voting public, but this may be far from the truth. The duly elected current government represents the “will of the people” including, at least for the time being, Prime Minister Netanyahu. The majority of the people also have the democratic right to be wrong.

Let’s suppose that Netanyahu, in a fit of demonstration-induced despondency and weakness did, indeed, resign. The implication would be that several thousand highly motivated and vocal demonstrators had overturned the votes of a couple of million citizens. The demonstrators, by achieving their successful demands, would have actually buried the one-personone-vote basis of democracy. Their vote would be 100 times more effective than the votes of the rest of us.

The great irony might be that in the following elections (which would very quickly follow Netanyahu’s resignation) the Likud would again win a majority and form the next government with Netanyahu at the helm. Which, of course, would lead to another round of demonstrations, and again and again...

YIGAL HOROWITZ

Beersheba