2025 Theses Master's

In Defense of Democracy: An Oral History Archive of the Israeli Democracy Protest Movement

Gayer, Maya

This thesis project documents and explores the Israeli Democracy Protest Movement through an oral history archive, containing over 20 interviews with its leading organizers. The movement emerged following the Israeli government's attempt to reform the judicial system in early 2023, effectively canceling checks and balances and posing a dramatic threat to democracy. It soon became the largest grassroots protest movement in the country's history, with a significant faction of Israeli society demonstrating against the government’s actions for 40 consecutive weeks, culminating in the tragic Hamas attack on October 7th.

Through these interviews, the project captures personal histories and insights into the movement’s formation, organization, challenges, and impact. Offering a critical case study, the archive aims to contribute to the discourse on global democratic backsliding and civil resistance. The accompanying essay introduces the archive, describing its components, including the narrators and topics addressed. It also explains the methodology, provides background on global democratic erosion and the Israeli case, and discusses potential themes for further investigation.