Pluralism not an Israeli Value
I don't want to make this a blog about Israel, however, others often mention the US has "shared values" with Israel, which forces one to actually look whether Israel does share values with the US. A lot of what I read says no, but I am not an expert.
Nehamia Stasler gives us another data point to consider. He (she?) tells us in Haaretz that Ariel (the "bulldozer") Sharon has disclosed what no prime minister before has dared to say:
A pluralistic society is something Israel is working very hard to avoid.
Link
Nehamia Stasler gives us another data point to consider. He (she?) tells us in Haaretz that Ariel (the "bulldozer") Sharon has disclosed what no prime minister before has dared to say:
For the first time, we heard the reason for the shift in his position: demography. It is demography that forced the evacuation of Gaza on anyone wishing to live in a state with a Jewish majority and who is not prepared to rely on the messiah. The approximately 1.3 million Arabs now living in the Gaza Strip are what changed Sharon's mind. "We will not be able to hold onto Gaza forever. Over a million Palestinians live there, and they are doubling in number every generation."
Indeed, on the eve of the disengagement, Jews became a minority between the Mediterranean and the Jordan. [I guess this is something very bad in the eyes of Sharon] The percentage of Jews living in territories controlled by Israel is now 49 percent; after the withdrawal from Gaza, they will once again be in the majority.
A pluralistic society is something Israel is working very hard to avoid.
Link
posted by Brian at 8:03 PM
2 Comments:
There are so many insults to one's intelligence these days...apples are oranges, black is white, a Jewish state is a democracy...
Sometimes you think either you are crazy or the entire world has zombied out...how do you have a democracy in a state that declares it's basis is a religious majority of one religion? Not to mention the other things like land ownership and citizenship requirements. Nuts. It's not even worth discussing democracy with idiots who don't get the obvious.
Like sticking the term "American" onto every one of the lobbying organizations,"A"IPAC... they stick the term democracy on themselves...it is nothing but false advertising.
Of course Israel is a pluralistic society. It is approximately 20% non Jewish. Even within the Jewish and Arab communties, there is a remarkable diversity.
Of course, Israel does not want to take on millions of Palestinians. The Palestinians have tried to kill them for quite some time, and pluralism does not mean accepting national suicide. Interestingly, none of the surrounding Arab states want to take Palestinians on as citizens either.
America is also a pluralistic society, but no one is saying to drop the border with Mexico and let everyone become a citizen. Even pluralistic democracies want to maintain their borders.
What is ironic about Brian's entry is that he also runs a remarkably xenophobic site on immigration. He even had a post supporting the arch-racist Tom Tancredo. And he has the gall to criticize others for not being pluralistic!
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