The 2019 elections in Israel: Evidence of democratic backsliding?

On May, 9, 2019, elections to the Israeli parliament—the Knesset—were once again conducted. By and large, as on all previous occasions, they were competitive, free, and fair. During the campaigns, however, signs suggesting deviation from democratic norms and procedures and perhaps even evidence of democratic backsliding began emerging. In this report, students from a Ben-Gurion University class on democratic backsliding discuss these indications in respect to three factors—the role played by the Arab minority in the election process, the disqualification of parties, and the rhetoric employed.