DOODAD
Anti-Israeli forces have been having a field-day with the suggestion that Israel's democracy is falling apart. Even normally Pro-Israeli forces from the left have been swept up in this accusation (although it is surely due to their hatred of the right wing rather than any anti-Israel sentiment.) Here, Barry Rubin questions the reality of the accusation.
"It is truly amazing how anti-Israel forces generate so many false stories every day. At a time when revolutionary Islamists are taking over most Middle Eastern countries and the democracy dream in the region is collapsing, one would think that the main threat and evil force in the region is Israel. After all, we live in a time when Thomas Friedman, court jester for Middle East issues, can openly write antisemitic canards in the New York Times (the Israel lobby bought a standing ovation for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Congress!).
What is even more remarkable is how new anti-Israel themes are generated without any evidence whatsoever.
The new one is the idea that Israel, and its democracy, are in danger (moderate version) due to internal extremism or are (radical version) falling apart altogether. At least two new commercially published books make this claim, as do scores of articles and even a speech by the secretary of state. The New York Times publishes an op-ed saying that gays are persecuted in Israel while, of course, they aren’t but are murdered in every other county in the region.
Yet what actual evidence can be accumulated for all of this campaign?
The Knesset had a bill to supervise foreign money received by non-government organizations, a law not so dissimilar from those in Western democracies. And? And? What else happened? Well, nothing at all.
Oh yes, a bus driver took it upon himself to tell a woman to sit in the back of a bus because her sitting elsewhere might disturb Haredi men. She took it to court and, of course, won. A Haredi man in a town spit at an eight-year-old girl, apparently he belongs to some extreme sect or is somewhat disturbed. Even the strictest reading of Jewish law does not justify such an action.
There were huge demonstrations against the actions of this one person or tiny sect. President Shimon Peres publicly called for protests and Jerusalem’s police chief asked rabbis to condemn such behavior. The state and the public is clearly against any violation of democratic norms......."
The Day of the Dhimmi is Done - Michael Lumish, PhD, proprietor. (mike.lumish@gmail.com)
A good companion piece is this expose by Sultan Knish of the Soros/Leftist hand behind these events.
ReplyDeletehttp://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2011/12/soros-latest-israel-project.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FromNyToIsraelSultanRevealsTheStoriesBehindTheNews+%28from+NY+to+Israel+Sultan+Reveals+The+Stories+Behind+the+News%29
What it leads to? Disgusting comments like this at dKos:
ReplyDelete"How awful! (30+ / 0-)
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What a bunch of losers these men are--they think the lowest among
them is higher than the highest woman. Because they're so powerless
themselves, the only way to assert what little power they have is to
make women's lives a misery.
I wish all Afghan, Yemeni, and Jewish women could just leave and go to a country of their own.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
by Diana in NoVa on Tue Dec 27, 2011 at 05:49:41 PM PST"http://www.dailykos.com/comments/1049223/44390707
This ignoramus suggests Jewish women have it as rough as those in Afghanistan and 30 other headcases agree.
ReplyDelete'Women's exclusion threatens Israel'
Arab media
takes keen interest in fight against women's exclusion from Israel's
public sphere; ventures society's religious radicalization 'poses
strategic threat to Israel'....
The fight against radical religious elements' demand
to exclude women from the public sphere in Israel
has captured the attention of the Arab media, as major media outlets in the Arab world have begun covering it extensively......The paper paints a
portrait of a radical religious society, which is controlled by a
hierarchy of rabbis seeking to impose the strictest form of Torah laws
on the country.
Religious fanaticism, the paper explained, "Poses a strategic
threat to Israel, as it destabilizes its relationship with the West."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4168434,00.html
Freaking hypocrites.
Thanks for this, Doodad,
ReplyDeleteWell meaning Jewish liberals almost always point the finger at Israelis, rather than at Israel's enemies.
As far as I am concerned the Israelis can deal with their own domestic issues, but one thing is certain, Israeli democracy is healthy. It may have problems, but those problems are small compared to the fact that it is surrounded by enemies, including the deluded western progressive-left apologists for terrorism.
I tell ya, tho, cracking their ideological shells is going to be no mean feat.
In any case, I gotta tell ya, Tel Aviv fucking rocks!
Laurie and I went to the Carmel Market, yesterday, and that place is entirely out of control. So many people and so much clammer.
A true Middle Eastern bazaar.
So glad you are having a good time!
ReplyDelete