Levy: Palestinian Citizens of Israel “Misbehaving”

By Jesse Bacon

In a tongue in cheek article, Gideon Levy accuses the Palestinian Citizens of Israel of such “misbehaviors” as stating they do not feel they belong in Israel (Ajami director Tony Copti) or asking if Israeli Jews who killed civilians were terrorists (Member of the Israeli Parliament Ahmed Tibi, who is one of the reasons Israel can brag about its Palestinian legislators.) He then fakes outrage over these affronts before getting down to the point, of what will be truly required to build democracy inside Israel.

If the so-called demographic problem can’t be solved by driving Arabs out, we’ll try to get rid of them another way: destroy their identity, cloud their national memory and turn them into Israelis, not to mention Zionists. It won’t work. We are not only talking about economic discrimination, but about trampling on national heritage. This won’t work either. The third generation after the Nakba is informed. It’s true that some of them are being Israel-ized, the way we like to see, but Arabs lacking identity will also pose a pressing social problem. The Jews’ situation in the world is much better than theirs.

The solution does not just lie in budgets, as we like to believe (but don’t act on). Until we recognize equal rights, including the right to say things we don’t want to hear, they will remain a demographic problem without a solution. Until we understand that we didn’t give them anything, that in a democracy rights are natural and taken for granted, and until we accept – not only the fabulous Futna but the less pleasant Scandar and Ahmed – there will be no democracy here. They aren’t loyal to the state? The state is much less loyal to them.”

Here’s a video from Al Jazeera of the “real Ajami” the arrest and beating of Copti and his brother by Israeli Police.