Suzie Navot, "Fighting Terrorism in the Political Arena: The Banning of Political Parties," Party Politics, 14 (November, 2008), 745-762.

First paragraph:
Limitations on a citizen's right to be elected violate the very essence of the democratic regime. Democracies, by their nature, open their gates to debate and political activity. In democracies, these freedoms are seen as the moral basis for the legitimacy of the regime. Restrictions of political freedoms - particularly those suppressing the ideology, the platform or the political verride the principles of representation and equality.

Figures and Tables:

None.

Next to Last Paragraph:
According to the Israeli Supreme Court, the damage liable to ensue from the silencing of political views and the exclusion of a party from the political game may well exceed the benefit gained. The very essence of representative democracy lies in the chance given to each and every opinion - including extreme minority opinions - to struggle over the right to mould the state in its own shape and image, even if the majority is convinced of the absolute value of its own ideology. Or, in the words of the Supreme Court: 'It is preferable that non-democratic pressures find their expression within the legitimate frameworks of democracy and not outside it.'31 The conclusion is that Israeli democracy is perhaps a 'defensive democracy', but primarily 'on paper'.