In this week’s column at Souciant you can see the second entry in my series on the causes and effects of the 1967 war and beginning of the occupation, as we near the 45th anniversary of those events. In this piece, I look as well at the recent race riots in south Tel Aviv and how the xenophobia of the rioters and, perhaps more importantly, the political leaders who inspire that hate, is connected to a culture of occupation.
Archive for the ‘Democracy’ Category
Delegitimizing Israeli Democracy
Posted in Democracy, human rights, tagged al-haq, B'Tselem, Bashar al-Assad, Benjamin Netanyahu, East Jerusalem, Flytilla, Gaza Strip, Gisha, Hamas, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Six Day War, Syria, West Bank, Yom Kippur War, Zionism on April 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
In this week’s entry at Souciant, I examine the implications of Israel’s heavy-handed, stupid and clumsy response to the intention of hundreds of activists to fly into Israel in order to join a Palestinian protest. The ironic thing is that Netanyahu trots out the standard “Israel is the region’s only democracy” argument to defend actions that both show how deeply flawed that democracy is and how seriously that democracy is threatened.
J14 and American Jewry: Removing the veil of silence
Posted in Democracy, Israel, tagged democracy, Gaza, human rights, Israel, J14, Jewish State, Justice, Middle east, Netanyahu, Occupation, pro-Israel, Settlements, Two-state solution, West Bank on August 17, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
In my latest piece for Babylon Times, hosted by Souciant, I explore the reactions and potential impact of the massive Israeli economic protests, for Israel, the occupation and American Jews.
New Knesset Bill Magnifies the Attack on Democracy in Israel
Posted in Democracy, Israel, Knesset, tagged democracy, Elkin, human rights, Israel, Jewish State, Justice, Knesset, rule of law on August 4, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Here in the United States, we have become only too familiar with the paranoid rantings of those who warn of “creeping sharia.” Sharia, of course, is the body of religious Muslim law. Neo-conservatives and their fellow travelers have had a good deal of impact scaring Americans about this non-existent threat.
Thankfully, numerous analysts and reporters, such as Matt Duss at Think Progress, have done outstanding work exposing this fear-mongering propaganda for what it is.
From Meretz USA's web site
Maybe, though, it’s time we American Jews, and our Israeli counterparts, woke up to the real threat in Israel of “creeping halakha.”
The Knesset is considering a bill now that would change Israel’s Basic Law defining Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state,” to promote Israel’s “Jewish character” as superior to its democratic nature.
In other words, as Likud MK Ze’ev Elkin, a leading figure in the anti-democracy movement in Israel, explains, the new law would frame “the state as the Jewish nation state in (court) ruling(s) in situations in which the Jewish character of the state clashes with its democratic character.”
Can we be any more blatantly anti-democratic than that? Actually, yes.
Because the bill contains another provision, one which would provide that “If the court sees a legal question requiring a ruling, and finds no solution in legislation, custom or clear analogy, it will rule in light of the principles of freedom, justice, integrity and peace in Jewish heritage.” In other words, as Ha’aretz puts it, the “…clause states that Jewish law will be a source of inspiration to the legislature and the courts.”
It may well be that this clause will not be part of the law that will be passed. It does have the whiff of a clause that was put in to stir up controversy so it can be removed and the rest of the legislation will be less targeted.
But even if that is the case, and one hopes that it is, the inclusion of this clause is a warning to us all of the increasing religious influence in the Knesset. This is a cause for grave concern for a number of reasons.
As Jews, we must all be concerned that the world’s only Jewish state would represent not a national state, but a religious one. We, better than any other people, know the dangers of religious states. Contrary to the dissembling on the right, most progressive Jews are very concerned about human rights abuses in theocratic countries, including, though not limited to, Muslim countries (we just don’t like it when those concerns are cynically used to shield Israel, or other countries, from legitimate criticism of their own human rights violations). (more…)
Obama’s Speech: Not Cairo 2009
Posted in Barack Obama, Democracy, Peace Plans, tagged AIPAC, Arab Spring, democracy, Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Jerusalem, Jewish State, Jordan Valley, Middle east, Netanyahu, Obama, Occupation, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Settlements, Tunisia, Two-state solution on May 19, 2011 | 10 Comments »
Barack Obama’s much-anticipated speech has now come and gone, and those of us who had very low expectations for it were not disappointed.
There was nothing new, and much that was tired, familiar and demonstrably ineffective regarding Israel and the Palestinians, and a decidedly tepid response to the Arab
Spring.
Obama presented a distressingly familiar, neo-liberal plan for economic assistance for Egypt and Tunisia, complete with a request for an International Monetary Fund plan, which generally includes strict austerity measures, for strengthening the local economies. Debt forgiveness and loan guarantees for Egypt, totaling $2 billion, as well as private sector stimulation initiatives were promised, but it seems likely that the agenda here is to re-establish American influence through economic controls.
Still, one shouldn’t entirely dismiss these measures—Tunisia and especially Egypt do indeed need economic help, and the measures announced will help, both in terms of debt reduction and in terms of stimulating the private sector.
But what was most important regarding the Arab Spring was what was not said.
While Obama criticized Bahrain and Yemen for their violent responses to protests, no action will be taken. And there was no mention at all of Saudi Arabia, an extremely repressive government that has squashed any hint of protest in its own country and helped Bahrain in their crackdown as well. (more…)
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