Israel keeps getting labeled with generalizations and exaggerations and falsehoods. Just sign up for CAMERA or Honest Reporting, and based on the work they do as watchdog organizations, you will see how Israel gets, at minimum a bad rap and often much worse.

But not today!

Let’s label Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, as nothing less than a model of democracy–not only compared to her neighbors but compared to any democracy.

Allow me to pause to note that the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) structure is based on that of England since it was under the British Mandate that Israel became a modern state. Unlike American democracy, it is not a two-party system, but a multi-party system. In each election, each party has a slate of candidates and depending on how many votes a party gets, that percentage of its slate is elected. But that’s not all. Rarely does a party have enough votes to get the majority of the  120 seats in the Knesset and therefore coalitions between parties must be formed.

Today, more than any time in recent memory, Israeli parties from the far right, left, and center are coming together to form a coalition government–with the support of a small Arab Islamist party, no less. So let us celebrate democracy! Let those who spout incendiary and false name-calling such as “apartheid” or “colonialist” read and absorb this headline: “Israel: A Model of Democracy”!