The Only Democracy? » Entries tagged with "democracy"
Ms. and Mr. Israeli New Right
By Eitan Isaacson After the alarming poll among high school students, where 56% of Jewish students said Arabs should be denied the right to run for office in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, it is only fitting to highlight some of the figureheads of this popular racism, and get a small peek into their way of thought. Anastacia Michaeli is a Knesset member who belongs to the Yisrael Beitenu party. Her … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
Secular, Religious Israeli Students Hold Different Views on Equal Rights and Military Service
Last month we posted an article about Israel’s increasing rejection of democracy as a preferred form of government. On the question of equal rights for Arab citizens, about half of those surveyed opposed such equality. A new poll of Israeli high-school students reveals that nearly half of them also do not believe that Arabs citizens are entitled to the same rights as Jews in Israel. That view was held by 82 percent of religious students, and 39 percent of secular students. Some 91 percent of secular high school students said they want to enlist in the IDF, versus 77 percent of religious students. Eighty-one percent of the religious students said they would refuse orders to evacuate outposts and settlements in the West Bank, versus 36 percent of secular students. Nearly a third of the students said they … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination, Featured
Fear makes us hypocrites: Israel’s new conversion law
By Jesse Bacon Israel’s new proposed conversion law provides a nice insight into the state of Israeli politics, 2010. It has drawn outrage, even among my right wing friends who would not ordinarily criticize the Israeli government, or support others right to do so. “The bill proposes that the Law of Return only be applicable to Jews or their offspring, and not to non-Jews who opted to convert – even if the conversion follows Orthodox … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
Jamal Juma Calls on Obama to Support Palestinian Struggle for “A Life Free From Racial Discrimination”
Jamal Juma is the coordinator of the Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Stop the Wall) since 2002. He was arrested in December 2009 by the Israeli military following a series of protests against the construction of the Wall in the West Bank. He was one of 89 Palestinian human rights activists arrested in 2009; scores more have been arrested this year. With the intervention of Amnesty International, and campaigns by peace and justice organizations around the world, including Jewish … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Muli Peleg on Israeli Democracy
By Jesse Bacon. I attended a talk by Muli Peleg on “Israeli Democracy” at LimmudPhilly, the Jewish “Learningfest”. This is an event that is quite open to broad participation but certainly attracts many people from the organized “mainstream” Jewish community. This represented one of the few classes taught by an Israeli, or on the conflict at all.Peleg, a professor at Netanya College who is doing a visiting gig at Rutgers, laid out a shockingly honest critique … Read entire article »
Filed under: Victories for Democracy
Proposed Legislation Targets Israeli Human Rights NGOs
Jeremiah Haber of the Magnes Zionist reports on proposed legislation endorsed by the Israeli government that would place onerous reporting burdens on human rights non-governmental organizations within Israel, and strip them of their status as public institutions. If passed, Haber warns, “it will be a black day for what is left of Israeli democracy.” Indeed, if anything it makes “the only democracy” in the Middle East fit in with other governments in the region: civil society NGOS are subjected to similar reporting requirements in Iran, and are harassed in Egypt. Why Bomb Iran When You Can Be Iran? That seems to be the thinking behind the Israeli government’s endorsement of legislation that will require human rights NGOs in Israel (e.g., B’Tselem, Machsomwatch, Breaking the Silence, Adalah, etc.) to publicize contributions from foreign governments, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Ha’aretz calls protest crackdown “unacceptable,” will US Media follow suit?
Ha’aretz’s editorial gives a good summary of the recent Israeli crackdown on dissent, citing many examples covered on this blog. “According to data provided by the activists, since December, Israeli forces have undertaken more than 20 nighttime raids on the villages of Na’alin and Bil’in and have arrested more than 30 people. They are all suspected of taking part in protests against the separation fence, which invades these villages and very severely harms the inhabitants’ welfare. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Survey: Israel Increasingly Rejects Democracy
A survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute reveals that over half the Jewish population of Israel is opposed to full equal rights for Arab citizens and that Israel increasingly rejects democracy as the preferred form of government. The general conclusion of the survey, which is dubbed the “Israeli Democracy Survey” and will be conducted every year, is that Israel is basically a democracy in form more than in substance, and that it has yet to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
Interactive Video
“You have a choice! Israeli Anti-Militarists Speak”
Four Israelis—Dorothy Naor, Sergeiy Sander and Eli Fabrikant, and Ofer Golani—talking about their personal histories, political views and activism in 132 short films.