Israel frequently touts itself as “the only democracy in the Middle East” – a refrain echoed by Western leaders, particularly in the US and parts of Europe.

The country presents itself as a liberal, Western-style democracy built on the values of the rule of law, civil liberties and equal rights. Yet, a growing body of evidence challenges this image, pointing instead to a reality of apartheid, military occupation, ethnic displacement and systematic discrimination against Palestinians.

While many of these practices have deep roots, they have become increasingly visible and undeniable in recent years – raising pressing questions about Western complicity and the contradiction between declared values and foreign policy practice. This is not merely a political issue; it is a moral reckoning for those who claim to uphold democratic ideals.

Although this subject has been debated in various forums over time, it remains urgent and unresolved. The West must confront the fallacy of its continued support for Israel’s actions – a stance that is increasingly at odds with its own professed values. To remain silent or inactive is to erode the very principles of democracy it claims to champion. Without accountability, the Western claim to moral and democratic leadership risks becoming a hollow one.

On a personal level, I find this deeply troubling. I embraced Western values and migrated to a country where I believed those values were real and tangible. Today, I feel betrayed – not just by policy decisions, but by the silence that enables injustice to persist.

Democracy for some, dispossession for others

Israel’s founding in 1948 was accompanied by what Palestinians call the Nakba (catastrophe) – the expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their homes and villages. While Israel recognises itself as a “Jewish and democratic state”, this dual identity has long posed a structural contradiction. Democracy, by definition, implies equal rights for all citizens, regardless of ethnicity or religion. Yet Israel’s Basic Laws — which function as its de facto constitution — prioritise the Jewish character of the state above civic equality.

This contradiction was cemented in 2018 with the passage of the Nation-State Law, which declares that “the right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people". The law also downgrades Arabic from an official language and promotes Jewish settlement as a “national value”. Critics — including Israeli human rights groups like B’Tselem — argue that the law institutionalises second-class status for Palestinian citizens, who make up roughly 20% of Israel’s population.

Apartheid: A legal definition, not a metaphor

In 2021 and 2022, two major human rights organisations — Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International — published landmark reports concluding that Israel is perpetrating apartheid against Palestinians. This assessment is not a political slur; it is a legal classification under the 1973 International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, and the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The reports cite a system of domination and oppression that includes:

• The fragmentation of Palestinian territories into disconnected enclaves under different legal systems.
• Restrictions on movement through checkpoints, permits, and the separation wall.
• Confiscation of land and resources for exclusive Jewish use.
• Systematic denial of building permits for Palestinians in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank.
• Mass displacement and demolition of Palestinian homes, including in occupied areas.

This is not merely a de facto inequality but, according to these organisations, a deliberate, codified system of racial domination.

Gaza: Occupation without presence?

The situation in Gaza has drawn even starker condemnation. Although Israel claims it no longer occupies Gaza following its unilateral withdrawal in 2005, it maintains tight control over airspace, territorial waters, borders, population registry and essential supplies – amounting, in the view of international legal scholars, to continued occupation under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Since 2007, Israel has enforced a blockade on Gaza, often described as “the world’s largest open-air prison", which has devastated the economy and basic infrastructure. The UN has repeatedly warned that Gaza would become “unliveable” – a condition that, by many measures, has already been reached.

The most recent assault on Gaza in 2023-25 has killed tens of thousands of civilians, displaced more than 80% of the population, and flattened hospitals, schools and refugee camps. UN experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, have argued that the campaign may meet the legal definition of genocide, due to statements of intent by Israeli officials and the scale of destruction.

Western complicity and double standards

Despite this extensive record, Western support for Israel remains steadfast. The US provides Israel with more than US$3.8 billion in annual military aid and has vetoed more than 45 UN Security Council resolutions critical of Israeli policies. The European Union maintains lucrative trade agreements, even as member states condemn occupation in rhetoric.

This unwavering support raises uncomfortable questions. How can Western democracies, which claim to champion human rights and the rule of law, justify their alliance with a state accused by leading human rights bodies of apartheid and war crimes?

One answer lies in geopolitical interest. Israel serves as a strategic ally in a volatile region, providing intelligence, arms innovation and ideological alignment against perceived “threats” like Iran and political Islam. But this comes at the cost of credibility: the West’s condemnation of Russia’s occupation of Ukraine rings hollow when juxtaposed with its support — or silence — on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands.

Beyond rhetoric: The need for consistent values

If democracy is to mean more than electoral procedures — if it is to encompass equality, justice and adherence to international law — then the West must confront the dissonance in its foreign policy. Upholding a selective standard of rights not only betrays those who suffer under occupation and apartheid, but also erodes the moral legitimacy of the very values Western societies claim to defend.

Israel may hold elections and have independent courts, but if millions of Palestinians live under a regime of domination, dispossession and denial of basic rights, the claim to democracy remains deeply flawed – if not fundamentally hollow.

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.