Originally Posted by Tippster
No, they're not. They don't even claim to be, as they are a JEWISH state, and thus limit non-jews in their government to a few seats. In a true Democracy the Arab Israelis would have roughly 40% of the seats in the Knesset. They would probably also have the single largest political party (since the Jews are so fractured between Likud, Labor, and the real kooks) that the Arabs would either 1) run the country since it's a parliamentary government with an appointed leader, not an elected one - or 2) force the jews into a coalition so fractuaous that nothing would get done.
Israel operates under a de-facto Apartheid system. Zionists globally don't like the comparison, but it is what it is.