The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is marked by a long history of violence on both sides. As of late, there is one aspect of the conflict the media neglects: the paradoxical nature of Israeli identity. This paradox is centered around Israel’s management of its domestic government and, by extension, its policies. It is widely accepted that Israel considers itself a Jewish state, and by the same token, it also thinks of itself as a democratic state. The problem is that these two identities do not and cannot coexist currently in Israel.

While the state projects itself as a supporter of democracy, the amount of people able to participate in democracy does not match the demographic makeup of Israel. Palestinians who occupy Israel’s West Bank and Gaza territories are not permitted to vote, as they are not officially Israeli citizens. Based on Israeli voting and citizenship laws and population estimations from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, the legal voting population is approximately 7,659,000, leaving 3,820,372 unable to vote.

This gap between those who can and cannot participate is on the rise. Studies conducted by the United Nations and Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics predict that the population of the West Bank and Gaza will grow exponentially. If current conditions persist, Israel cannot be called a “democracy.” It is undemocratic to deny such a large percentage of the population the right to participate in government. The voting gap could be easily rectified by passing laws that would give suffrage to those who currently cannot engage politically within Israel. But, these sweeping changes would undermine Israel’s nationalist identity as a united Jewish state.

One of Israel’s unifying principles is that its government acts in the the best interest of the Jewish people within the state, on its borders and elsewhere. If Israel were to become a full democracy by expanding voting rights, the identity of a Jewish state would become compromised. The religious demographic of Israel and its territories is almost split in half among Jews and Muslims. If everyone were permitted to vote, regardless of religious affiliation, Israel could not credibly follow through on its guarantee to act in the Jewish people’s best interest. After being denied the right to vote for such a long duration, the newly included Muslim population would vote for policies and officials to support its unique religious and political interests.

A truly Jewish state cannot exist if it contains parties willing to vote against the interest of the Jewish community, and a democratic state cannot exist if a significant portion of its population cannot participate in its government. This paradox of identity will continue as long as Israel attempts to tread the fine line between these two conflicting ideologies. In order to solve this paradox, Israel needs to fully invest in one identity: either a democracy or a Jewish state.