Greta Thunberg may have contributed at least one immortal sentence to modern culture: “How dare you?”

Whatever you think of her politics, the phrase was brilliant. Short, dramatic and endlessly reusable.

So today, I am borrowing it.

How dare people sitting safely thousands of kilometers away from Israel behave as though Israeli democracy requires their approval?

Open social media during an Israeli election season and suddenly everybody becomes an expert on Israeli politics. Americans who have never lived in Israel explain which Israeli leader is acceptable. Europeans lecture Israelis about which coalition they should elect. Activists who could barely identify Ashkelon, Metula or Sderot on a map confidently explain what Israel must do to achieve peace.

Some have visited Israel. Some have relatives there. Some genuinely love Israel. Others have apparently completed their Middle Eastern political education by watching three TikTok videos and reading an angry thread on X.

And suddenly they know what is best for Israel.

Having an opinion is your right. Pretending that your opinion should carry the same weight as the decision of an Israeli voter is something entirely different.

Israel is a democracy. Every Israeli citizen aged 18 or older has the right to vote in Knesset elections. Jewish citizens vote. Muslim citizens vote. Christian citizens vote. Druze citizens vote. Men and women vote. Their votes have equal weight. Israel uses nationwide, direct, secret and proportional elections.

Notice which qualification is missing.

American social media commentator.

The people making the decision are the people who actually have to live with it.

They are the parents who bring their sons and daughters to begin military service and then somehow drive home........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)