Candidates always say it, but this time it’s true. When Israel goes to the polls(举行投票、参加选举) on 27 October, it really will be the most important election in the country’s history – and not just for Israelis. I saw that for myself this last week, in a visit that served as a sharp reminder of both what is at stake(处于危险中、利害攸关) – and the role of those watching from afar(在远处旁观).
候选人总是这么说，但这一次是真的。当以色列于10月27日举行投票时，这确实将是该国历史上最重要的一次选举——而且不只对以色列人而言。上周我亲身感受到了这一点，那次走访尖锐地提醒了我：赌注究竟是什么，以及那些远在海外旁观的人又能扮演什么角色。
More than one voter I spoke to voiced(表达、说出（担忧等）) the fear that, if the coalition headed by Benjamin Netanyahu is returned to power(重新掌权、再度执政) next month, 27 October will not merely be Israel’s most important election: it will be its last. They were not referring to the absence of democracy in the occupied territory of the West Bank – which we’ll come to – but rather to Israel’s internationally recognised, pre-1967 borders: what you might call Israel-proper. There, the last four years have seen a sustained(持续的、不间断的) assault on the machinery of liberal democracy(自由民主的制度机器) by the most rightwing government since Israel’s establishment in 1948 – a committed, focused attempt to remove the checks and restraints(制衡与约束) on its own power, installing instead a kind of elective dictatorship(选举式独裁).
不止一位与我交谈的选民表达了这样的担忧：如果内塔尼亚胡领导的联盟下个月重新掌权，10月27日就不仅仅是以色列最重要的一次选举，而会是它的最后一次。他们指的不是被占领的约旦河西岸缺乏民主——这一点我们稍后再谈——而是以色列获得国际承认的1967年边界之内，也就是你可以称之为“以色列本土”的地方。在那里，过去四年里，自1948年建国以来最右翼的政府持续对自由民主的制度机器发起攻击——这是一场坚定而专注的行动，目的是清除对自身权力的制衡与约束，转而建立一种选举式独裁。
Democratic norms are breaking down(崩溃、瓦解) all the time. While I was there, Netanyahu joined calls to strip two Israeli film-makers of their citizenship, as a livid(暴怒的、气得发青的) mob surrounded the home of the parents of one of the two directors. The film in question is NAZA, produced by the Guardian, which features interviews with two dozen Israeli military insiders(内部人士、知情者), their identities disguised, and which is named for the acronym euphemistically(委婉地、用委婉语) used by the Israeli military when calculating the number of civilians it expects to die in an airstrike. Unlike everyone protesting against it, I have actually seen the film: I have some misgivings(疑虑、担忧) about specific choices it makes, but that is irrelevant. A country true to its self-designation as the only democracy in the Middle East would not threaten with expulsion or violence those who say what its rulers do not want to hear.(一个真正配得上“中东唯一民主国家”这一自我定位的国家，不会用驱逐或暴力去威胁那些说出统治者不愿听的话的人。)
民主规范时时刻刻都在崩塌。我在当地期间，内塔尼亚胡加入了剥夺两名以色列电影人国籍的呼声，与此同时一群愤怒的暴民围住了其中一位导演父母的住所。这部影片就是《NAZA》，由《卫报》制作，片中采访了二十多名以色列军方内部人士，他们的身份均被隐藏；影片的名字来自以军计算空袭中预计平民死亡人数时委婉使用的缩写。与所有抗议这部影片的人不同，我确实看过它：我对片中某些具体处理有所保留，但这无关紧要。一个真正配得上“中东唯一民主国家”这一自我定位的国家，不会用驱逐或暴力去威胁那些说出统治者不愿听的话的人。