Israel/Palestine

R. Daneel Olivaw

(12,606 posts) Mon Dec 8, 2014, 10:13 PM Dec 2014

Racism laid bare in Israel

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/15716-racism-laid-bare-in-israel

If is a big word in Middle East politics and is often used with the benefit of hindsight or wishful thinking. My "if" focuses on the departure of Israeli ministers Yair Lapid and Tzipi Livni from the Israeli cabinet; both refused to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Jewish State Bill. In his own words Netanyahu said that the bill would provide "national rights only for the Jewish people."

Breaking ranks, Livni and Lapid and their supporters claimed that the bill was racist and now so-called liberals and less fanatical supporters of the Zionist state agree. If passed into law it would certainly end the hollow boast of Israel's claim to be the only democracy in the Middle East.

By consolidating a sectarian Jewish identity, it is clear that Netanyahu is pandering to right-wing voters who, at the moment, are in the majority. These are the voters who are opposed vehemently to a State of Palestine and overwhelmingly supported Israel's latest brutal summer onslaught against Palestinians in neighbouring Gaza.

And here comes my "if": if Livni and co are right about racism then this will lay wide open the inherent racism of Israel (and its founding ideology of Zionism) and the flawed activities, for example, of the Jewish National Fund, an organisation which will only sell land to Jews.

5 replies

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Racism laid bare in Israel (Original Post) R. Daneel Olivaw Dec 2014 OP

You know the coalition broke up right? Lugano Dec 2014 #1

It'd be nice, but I wouldn't advise any breath-holding Scootaloo Dec 2014 #2

even george galloway distanced himself from ridley Mosby Dec 2014 #3

Much of this is untrue Shaktimaan Dec 2014 #4

The bill is indeed racist, but Yvonne Ridley is not a person to take seriously LeftishBrit Dec 2014 #5

Lugano

(52 posts)

1. You know the coalition broke up right?

Reply to R. Daneel Olivaw (Original post)

Mon Dec 8, 2014, 10:21 PM

Dec 2014

The elections will determine where Israelis want to go.

Hopefully they'll dump Likudniks like a hot potato and go Labor coalition (take a few right-wing fruitcakes to make it, but don't give them a voice)

Hopefully the leaders of the Labor Party will give Israelis and Israeli Arabs hope that there'll be a peaceful solution for the issues against Hamas and PLO.

I agree it's time... Nuttyahoo has been PM a little too long... time for a fresh blood.... a new car smell, if you will.

Scootaloo

(25,699 posts)

2. It'd be nice, but I wouldn't advise any breath-holding

Reply to Lugano (Reply #1)

Mon Dec 8, 2014, 10:50 PM

Dec 2014

Mosby

(16,299 posts)

3. even george galloway distanced himself from ridley

Reply to R. Daneel Olivaw (Original post)

Tue Dec 9, 2014, 12:47 AM

Dec 2014

She was fired by aljazeera and worked for presstv. She's a religious nut.

Shaktimaan

(5,397 posts)

4. Much of this is untrue

Reply to R. Daneel Olivaw (Original post)

Fri Dec 12, 2014, 02:19 AM

Dec 2014

And here comes my "if": if Livni and co are right about racism then this will lay wide open the inherent racism of Israel (and its founding ideology of Zionism) and the flawed activities, for example, of the Jewish National Fund, an organisation which will only sell land to Jews.

The JNF does sell land to non Jews. It's required to do so by law.

Despite the Bedouin community's complete rejection of the plan and an outcry from the international community and human rights groups, the Prawer Plan is happening right now.

The Prawer Plan was shelved a year ago specifically because of Bedouin opposition.

In 1940, a director of the JNF, Joseph Weitz, stated: "It must be clear that there is no room for both peoples in this country... there is no way besides transferring the Arabs from here to the neighbouring countries, to transfer them all; except maybe for Bethlehem, Nazareth and Old Jerusalem, we must not leave a single village, not a single tribe."

Israel's declaration of independence stated the opposite though. And since this cherry picked quote never actually came to fruition it seems pretty disingenuous to try and use it as a representative example of Zionism as a whole.

LeftishBrit

(41,205 posts)

5. The bill is indeed racist, but Yvonne Ridley is not a person to take seriously

Reply to R. Daneel Olivaw (Original post)

Fri Dec 12, 2014, 05:35 PM

Dec 2014

She was kidnapped by the Taliban in 2001, and apparently developed a form of Stockholm Syndrome. She is very bizarre in her attitudes, and for example described Shamil Basayev, the Chechen leader who organized a terrorist attack on a school where many children were killed, as a 'martyr'.

She has accused all other British parties of being controlled by 'Zionists'.

In other words, even when she gets something right, it's by accident.

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