We should be pleased that the New York Times has published an editorial titled, “Israel’s Embattled Democracy” that describes many worrisome trends in Israeli political life. The Times is doing its part to change American perceptions of the celebrated paradigm, the only democracy in the Middle East.
The editorial is occasioned by the defection of Kadima from the governing coalition. But Kadima is very weak, as Paul Mutter observed here the other day, and since when has it been a “moderating” force? Kadima unleashed the Lebanon war and Cast Lead and was in power for years during which the West Bank settlement project went full tilt.
And the editorial has very little to say about Palestinian human rights. It observes that “Many [Israeli Palestinians] feel like second-class citizens and are deeply conflicted about their place in Israeli society,” then says: “The Palestinian population is also expanding, hastening a day when Jews could be a minority.” Well that’s not very democratic. From the Times:
Mr. Netanyahu’s past dependence on hard-line parties has manifested itself in aggressive settlement building and resistance to serious peace talks with the Palestinians — who themselves have not shown enough commitment to a solution. Without Kadima’s moderating force, these trends will continue.
There are other worrisome developments. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has expressed concern over “intensifying infringements on democratic freedoms.” In the past two years, activists say, more than 25 bills have been proposed or passed by the Parliament to limit freedom of speech and of the press; penalize, defund or investigate nongovernmental groups; restrict judicial independence; and trample minority rights.
One of Israel’s greatest strengths is its origins as a democratic state committed to liberal values and human rights. Those basic truths are in danger of being lost.
The NYT tells part of the news that’s fit to print.
But only part.
What if they told the whole truth? It might be like this..
One of Israel’s greatest strengths is its origins as a democratic state [a democratic state for Jews, but only for Jews; undemocratic for Palestinians] committed to liberal values [for Jews, but not for Palestinians] and human rights [for Jews and only for them. Palestinians only have those rights that Jews are willing to give them, and that's not much. Checkpoints for Palestinians but not for Jews, for example]. Those basic truths are in danger of being lost. [Palestinians are now starting to get THESE basic truths out to the world.]
Unsigned editorial, of course, but I guess that means they’re taking a kind of collective responsibility for it. And the usual ‘moderate’ lies. But another step in the right direction for the ‘paper of record.’
P.S. Today there’s one last chance to download the original version of my book, with full text and color pictures, in Kindle form, for free. Ramadan mubarak! link to amazon.com
( If you’re curious why it’s the last giveaway, here’s the happy news: link to fasttimesinpalestine.wordpress.com )
ramadan mubarak and super congrats pamela… no doubt the silver screen is right around the corner!
Ditto…….congrats Pamela
Thank you and congrats!
Congrats Pamela from another who has lived in both Oklahoma (with deep Baptist roots) and Palo Alto (enlightenment). I’ve never been to Palestine, but my wife’s parents were born in Ramallah. I greatly enjoyed your first(!) book.
Wow. Congrats Pamela. Mysterious ways, indeed. Glad you got to (or are on the way to…) where you wanted to be with this book, and future books.
Kudos to the NYT for at least taking this baby step.
Rome wasn’t built in one day.
“Rome wasn’t built in one day.”
No but burned down in one day.
Amen. The lies are definitely on fire, smoldering and defensive, and the writing is on the wall. Just wish it would hurry up, dammit. There are only so many centuries-old olive trees in the Holy Land, only so many unmolested Biblical hills, and Israel seems determined to destroy them all as quickly as possible. This aside from the even more devastating human cost, of course.
NYT: democratic state committed to liberal values and human rights?
Democracy in compromitted state with rights’ values and being liberal with humans.
I nearly choked when I read “One of Israel’s greatest strengths is its origins as a democratic state committed to liberal values and human rights.” Is the NY Times ignorant of all the damning reports issued by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and Al-Haq? Alas, there was no means to comment.
Damn Roosim, Aravim, Dosim and Mitnahablim.* Without them, Israel would be a [Jewish and] democratic paradise. Anyone for a 5-state (at least) solution?
* Common pejoratives for immigrants from the FSU, Palestinians, ultra-orthodox and settlers respectively.
Shmuel, In Israel “Damn” is a first name? I did not know that. Probably just a co-icidence.
No he’s saying damn the following groups, if not for them (ie a very large portion of Israel), Israel would be a great place. (Sarcasm)
“To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace.”
-Tacitus
NYT is trying to save Israel from itself.Its to be commended. But given the nature of financial relationship of Israel to US who is going down the tube itself,it is doubtful that anything will work to save this nation.Israeli will start migrating not out of fear of Iran’nukes,or demographic changes within Isarel but they will for same reason thier ancestors have done in the remote past,i.e looking for greener pastures. The oneway parasitic relationship of Israel on the West will come to abrupt end with the economic downfall of the hsot nations.
The Times may be better than WaPo(whose editorial page is controlled by a dedicated neocon and pro-Greater Israel fanatic), but it is nonetheless little else than a passive stenographer of past events. The Times will just meekly note ‘democratic dangers’ and then silently watch Israel do away with itself while offering a few muted comments on the importance of democracy and human rights — while maintaining the need to blame the Palestinians in equal manner in order to keep the ‘centrist credentials’(in other words, blame Palestinians equally, or sometimes more, than Israel just to cover your back from the lobby).
If you actually read the Op-Eds in the Times from the 1960s, they were ferocious! The Gray Lady was more like a young firebrand, with flaming red hair standing on the barricades. It was definintely leading the way and the wording was pretty extreme(for it’s time).
It denounced in no uncertain terms the ‘disgusting racism’ and the ‘scourge of the sclerotic support that the mainstream establishment provides to keep calm ahead of justice’.
But perhaps it was eaiser to issue such bombastic editorials against the WASP establishment, who at the time ran pretty much everything, other than to focus on the Jewish state. After all, as Sarah Schulman noted, many outsiders fail to see the ‘Jewish politics’ involved with the Times.
I’ve often said: the Gentiles will push this to where it belongs.
I was shocked to read the Forward article the other day where Abe Foxman was quoted saying that the Levy report is ‘not an obstacle to peace’, he was completely sanguine about it, even seemed calmly supportive. I knew he was bad, but I didn’t know he was essentially running to the right of Alan Dershowitz. And this guy is heading the largest Jewish ‘civil rights organization’?
And where are the Times on this issue? We need those bombastic editorials it didn’t have any problem issuing in the 60s.
It’s because of people like my parents, as well as a large portion of wealthy or upper middle class white collar liberal Jews in the North East, who subscribe to the Times. In their eyes, this is proof of the NYT showing their “Pro Palestinian” side.
@Krauss,
I’ve noticed that over the years (about WaPo). Who runs their op-ed page?
MLE:
Yes, I think that’s right. It was easier for the Times to be morally clairvoyant in the 60s, because Jews did not have a stake in this fight. We were outsiders and could act as the harsh critics of the system(and we were right!).
Now it’s much harder, as we’ve become entangled with the top. The Times’ readers of today are, as you note, heavily Jewish, urban, educated and very much an elite crowd in proportion to the general population.
Attacking the establishment today is in some ways attacking their own readers in a much more concrete way than it was in the 1960s.
And even beyond readership, the Times still have many Jews at the masthead who interact with organized Jewry in their social circles and who get the heat right away in their private life.
In the 1960s, the WASP/Jewish divide was much more severe so you didn’t get the personal/social consequences either.
chinese box:
Fred Hiatt. He is, as I said, a pro-Greater Israel fanatic and a dedicated warmongerer. He’s the kinda guy who never apologized for the Iraq war support when most neocons did(even if many were never really truly sorry, they nonetheless still saw the need from a PR perspective). That he refused to do even this tells you quite something about his fanaticism.
Thanks. Now I know why the WaPo oped page sucks.
Interesting move by the NYT. Over at haaretz they say bibi is the problem but it’s actually the whole system known as Zionism.
Israel strangled the 2ss but hasn’t come up with an alternative. As long as the peace process was strung along they could always give the impression they were working on something. But the lies are catching up with them. and people are waking up to the racism. Plus hasbara is broken.
Bibi is hardly the problem facing Israel, he is the manifestation of the worst of Israel, but getting rid of him is not going to save Israel. They need to do some serious soul searching as a society and figure this shit out.
@MLE the problem is that there is no external force with the political will and ability to apply the brakes and make them do the soul searching, as with South Africa or Germany. The way things are going I don’t think Israel has another 20 or 30 years for group consciousness raising. It’s like everyone in that country needs to go to a 28 day “truth and reconciliation” rehab ASAP.
Agreed.
And this is the part that worries me, because you won’t see pressure from the inside. The left is more or less dead in Israel. You can only be a leftist if you want to attack the rich. But step into any deeper social/cultural issue and you’re immediatedly attacked as a 5th column, self-hating Jew etc.
Within the diaspora, I think we can safely say that no, there is no free debate and anyone who tries gets the Beinart treatment(even if he was a centrist).
And this means that it will be up the Gentiles. But part of the counter-reaction will be a pretty traumatized Israeli/Jewish psyche invoking the Holocaust and the progroms. The whole meme of ‘the world is after us’, coupled with a nuclear-armed state is not a healthy combination.
“… It’s like everyone in that country needs to go to a 28 day “truth and reconciliation” rehab ASAP…”
They could just skip that part and get onto the plane for the US, which is where it all leads anyway.
@Colin I’ve thought about that possibility before. I’ve heard that most Israelis have a second passport. Kind of makes a mockery of the “Israel as insurance policy” argument.
RE: “the New York Times has published an editorial titled, “Israel’s Embattled Democracy” that describes many worrisome trends in Israeli political life.” ~ Weiss
ALSO SEE: “Confessions of an Optimist”, by Uri Avnery, zope.gush-shalom.org, 4/26/12
ENTIRE COMMENTARY – link to zope.gush-shalom.org
P.S. ALSO SEE: “The Iron Man”, by Uri Avnery, Counterpunch, 4/19/12
ENTIRE COMMENTARY – link to counterpunch.org
P.P.S. ALSO WORTHWHILE:
• “Weimar Revisited”, by Uri Avnery, Antiwar.com, 11/21/11
LINK – link to original.antiwar.com
• “Avnery on McCarthyism Israeli-style: ‘Hi, Joe!’”, by Uri Avnery, mwcnews.net, 1/08/11
LINK – link to mwcnews.net
• “Anti-Democratic Knesset Bills”, by Stephen Lendman, OpEdNews.com, 10/25/12
LINK – link to opednews.com
• “Anti-African Hysteria Sweeps Israel”, by Uri Avnery, Counterpunch, 6/15/12
LINK – link to counterpunch.org
On May 28, 1993 Ariel Sharon explained: “The terms ‘democracy’ or ‘democratic’ are totally absent from the Declaration of Independence. This is not an accident. The intention of Zionism was not to bring democracy, needless to say. It was solely motivated by the creation in Eretz-Isrel of a Jewish state belonging to all the Jewish people and to the Jewish people alone. This is why any Jew of the Diaspora has the right to immigrate to Israel and to become a citizen of Israel.”
On page 74 of “An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel” Jeff Halper, American Israeli and co-founder and coordinator of Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and Professor of Anthropology, explained:
“An ethnocracy is the opposite of a democracy, although it might incorporate some elements of democracy such as universal citizenship and elections. It arises when one particular group-the Jews in Israel, the Russians in Russia, the Protestants in pre-1972 Northern Ireland, the whites in apartheid South Africa, the Shi’ite Muslims in Iran, the Malay in Malaysia and, if they had their way, the white Christian fundamentalists in the US-seize control of the government and armed forces in order to enforce a regime of exclusive privilege over other groups in what is in fact a multi-ethnic or multi-religious society. Ethnocracy, or ethno-nationalism, privileges ethnos over demos, whereby one’s ethnic affiliation, be it defined by race, descent, religion, language or national origin, takes precedence over citizenship in determining to whom a county actually ‘belongs.’”
“Israel is only a democracy if you are a Jew.”-Mordechai Vanunu, Israel’s Nuclear Whistle Blower who is still waiting for his RIGHT to leave Israel.
I am Eileen Fleming for US HOUSE, D. 5, Fl. and I approve of all of my messages.
What a great set of enlightening quotes!
Zionism and Americanism are radically incompatible belief systems. Ethnic and religious nationalism are radically at odds with Enlightenment and modern Western democratic values.
Good lord — did Ariel Sharon really say that? This is why Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt, Yuri Slezkine and other leading Jewish intellectuals have always noticed the close resemblances between Zionism and European fascism.
YES they all said it!
Ariel Sharon was quoted on May 28, 1993 in Yedioth Ahronoth.
Vanunu said it to me a few weeks after his FREEDOM OF SPEECH Trial began in 2006 and you can hear him say it and LOTS more @
“30 MINUTES WITH VANUNU”
link to video.google.com
also @ YT
link to youtube.com
link to youtube.com