Arab Parties Banned in Israel
For decades, the Israeli government has boasted of being an oasis of democracy and pluralism in a region noted for authoritarian regimes. On the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs website you will find this description:
In several Arab countries and Iran, minorities are suppressed. In stark contrast, minorities in Israel are entitled to equal rights under the law and have judicial recourse to addressing their grievances when problems arise. These same minorities are represented in the Israeli Knesset.
The Associated Press is reporting that today Israel's Central Elections Committee decided to ban "Arab political parties from running in next month's parliamentary elections." From the article:
Knesset spokesman Giora Pordes said the election committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of the motion, accusing the country's Arab parties of incitement, supporting terrorist groups and refusing to recognize Israel's right to exist. Arab lawmakers have traveled to countries listed among Israel's staunchest enemies, including Lebanon and Syria.
Roughly one-fifth of Israel's 7 million citizens are Arab. The decision does not affect Arab lawmakers in predominantly Jewish parties or in the nation's communist party. The decision will be challenged before Israel's Supreme Court.
UPDATE: The generally right-leaning Jerusalem Post has more details on the rhetorical fisticuffs that lead to Monday's decision. A leader of Balad, one of the Arab parties, is reported to have said, "All we demand is democracy! What are you afraid of when we ask for equality? We are the sons of this country, we were born here and we are willing to treat you with equality, so why don't you? We offer to live together." A leader of the other banned Arab party, UAL, explained himself this way:
"We say, any vote given to Kadima is a bullet in the chest of a Palestinian child in Gaza," [Ahmed] Tibi told the committee prior to the vote. "Israel's problem is not Balad, not UAL, but the Kadima Party and [Defense Minister and Labor chairman Ehud] Barak. These people started a war as an election campaign. The State of Israel is democratic for Jews and Jewish for its Arab citizens. We never said that we don't recognize the State of Israel. We are part of it, but we will never accept Zionism, which is an ideology that aspires to banish us from our homes."
At roughly the same time, a leader of Kadima called the Balad official an unemployed bum and told him to "go back to Syria." The Jerusalem Post also notes that "in 2003, the committee approved a similar request to disqualify [the Arab party] Balad from Knesset elections, a decision that the High Court of Justice later reversed."
MORE: In the comments, jresponds adds more context, noting the other parties that have been banned in the past and the fact that few expect the courts to uphold the ban. Another Israel watcher suggests that the real concern for Israel is the increasing divisions in the Knesset, which if continued could lead to Arab parties voluntarily pulling out in opposition to the government, an outcome that would not help efforts for a solution to the regional conflict.
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1
What's next: the Arabs have to wear Crescents on their clothing?
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As a Jew I am outraged by this. -
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So...racial purity laws next?
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Well, that's two out of three. The Arabs are largely (though not completely) confined to ghettos in Gaza and the West Bank. Now they're banned from forming political parties. As Andy notes above, only the Golden Crescent on all clothing is missing.
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Hey dude, thanks for reporting on this, I mean it.
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Thank you Mike. -
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MS -- You are taught in Hebrew school to "never forget" the holocaust and the terror of the Nazis. It looks like a bunch Jews in Israel forgot. If any of the neo-cons call you out for being anti semetic they'll have to deal with me.
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6
I love these guys. I'm so glad we send them $3 billion a year. What a great investment. What do we get for our investment?
Why, right now we're permenantly reclaiming large portions of Gaza! Money well spent.
Oh, also we get lots of respect for our investment. Today, Olmert publically stated that he "shamed" Condi Rice, and then pretty much called the President of the U.S. his b*tch.
Awesome. Our unconditional support for these guys is completely defensible. Now I hope they load up their American-made planes and tanks and go kill some more kids! We Americans know how to pick winners! Hurray for us!!!
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7
Waddles like a Nazi, quacks like a Nazi, flies like a Nazi, poops like a Nazi . . . yep, it's a Nazi. Somebody call Auntie Broder!
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8
Wow! "Nazi" doesn't put you in moderation purgatory but "p00p" does.
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Waddles like a Nazi, quacks like a Nazi, flies like a Nazi, p00ps like a Nazi . . . yep, it's a Nazi. Somebody call Auntie Broder!
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10
"They're supposed to bring the news to you unbiased. They're supposed to actually report it and then let you make your opinion...not giving it any kind of slants. That's how news is supposed to be reported. Somewhere along the line they forgot that. As opposed to a commentary from them. "
- Joe the War Correspondent(formerly Joe the Welfare Recipient, formerly Joe the Plumber)
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JOE: The story here is people are being killed and the media's slanting it and trying to make it Hamas is, uh, as far as, that Israel's being bad. Do you believe Israel is bad?REPORTER: Do I believe it?
JOE: Yeah, do you?!
REPORTER: I'm Israeli, so…
JOE: So answer the question!
REPORTER: No, I don't think Israel is bad.
JOE: Do you think Israel has every right to protect itself?
REPORTER: Yeah.
[pause]
JOE: You do?!
REPORTER: Yeah.
JOE: Have you said that on air?
REPORTER: I'm just a reporter.
http://firedoglake.com/2009/01/12/joe-the-plumber-exposes-blatantly-pro-hamas-israeli-reporter/
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I'm just glad we don't live in a culture w/ a media that fetishizes the idea of the inherent real world intelligence of 'the regular guy'. Oh wait! -
11
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With this post, I figure that proving Godwin's Law was inevitable.
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Andy from MA: It looks like a bunch of Jews in Israel forgot.
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People remember easily enough, but learning? Not so much.
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"US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was left shame-faced after President George W. Bush ordered her to abstain in a key UN vote on the Gaza war, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday.
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"She was left shamed. A resolution that she prepared and arranged, and in the end she did not vote in favour," Olmert said in a speech in the southern town of Ashkelon.
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"I said 'get me President Bush on the phone'. They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn't care. 'I need to talk to him now'. He got off the podium and spoke to me.
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"I told him the United States could not vote in favour. It cannot vote in favour of such a resolution. He immediately called the secretary of state and told her not to vote in favour."
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gD-QcI_C-CrcqfSZBh6A5_e514Zw -
13
In spite of the earlier go-round on related topics, I can't support this, and it's not in keeping with the Israel I'd read about.
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Are we sure this is the _entire_ story? Is the MSM leaving out something intentionally to provoke a negative response? Wouldn't be the first time... -
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"Are we sure this is the _entire_ story?"
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Mr. Nice Guy: "It CAN'T be true, because Israel is beyond reproach! Must be the MSM!" -
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They really don;'t care about world opinion, do they? To do this in the middle what's going on in Gaza is almost too much.
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bbpdx: "It _has_ to be true, because it's Israel doing it!"
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Oh, and you might want to grab a napkin to wipe the slobber off your chin...
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18
In spite of the earlier go-round on related topics, I can't support this, and it's not in keeping with the Israel I'd read about.
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What Israel did you read about? The one that effectively bars Arabs from owning property or even access to certain public beaches?
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This current situation that had upset yourself is actually nothing new either. There's long been laws banning political parties in Israel should they "deny the existence of the State of Israel". This verbiage, of course, is also used to ban parties that simply want equal rights for all of Israel's citizens. -
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Mr. Nice Guy reads about the Israel he wants to read about.
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20
When does our investment in blood and treasure to bring democracy to the middle east start to pay dividends?
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Mr Nice Guy is engaging and we should answer his questions with information, not put downs. It is not difficult to support Israel's aspirations and those of the Palestinians. It is not difficult to ask pointed questions of each party. If we want to get some consensus then let's hold the leaders at the other end of the Mediterranean accountable. And our own, too. If Olmert's put down of Condi is correct (and the reporting points that way) then I hope Olmert heads of to prison once he leaves office. On the face of it he looks two faced. His public posture is one thing, his private concession that Palestine has a right to co-exist is a source of confusion.
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22
Just so yall know, Mr Nice Guy is a racist so there is no use in engaging him on this topic.
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"Are we sure this is the _entire_ story? Is the MSM leaving out something intentionally to provoke a negative response? Wouldn't be the first time..."
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Well, I will complement you, MNG, for at least considering this possibility.
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However, the Israel you read about?
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It doesn't exist.
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I've stated many times in my posts relating to how Arab Israelis are treated, and well, it's up to you to believe it or not. However, the single biggest caveat:
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Racism is not a rare phenomona in Israel! -
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sevenoaks07
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You might want to go back a few threads and see where MJG said if given a chance every single Arab would kill a Jew. No use in engaging that kind of jack ass. -
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I'll also remind you, MNG, of your comments yesterday referring to all Palestinians as 'pigs' and 'animals'.
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Of course, I'm gonna bet that the individuals who passed this law feel the same way:
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Pigs and other animals don't have poltical rights.
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The sweet irony...
- michaelscherer Speaking of Mars, these may be the best lyrics of any non-Dylan song: http://bit.ly/4nfnz5 - 1 hour ago
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