Mainstream Extremism

Some Israelis are not happy about the first Muslim cabinet minister.

ISRAEL'S first Muslim cabinet minister received a baptism of fire yesterday as an extremist Jewish coalition partner termed him a "plague" and hard-line Arab nationalists denounced him as a "fig leaf" for apartheid.

Esterina Tartman, an MP from the Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) party said that the appointment of Ghaleb Majadale to the post of science, culture and sport minister harms Israel's character as a Jewish state.

"We need to burn this plague out of our midst and god willing, the lord will help us with that," she told Israel Radio.

Well, the leader of this "extremist" party is Avigdor Lieberman. Avigdor Lieberman is the current Minister for Strategic Affairs in Israel. He is a member of the current government.

Avigdor Lieberman was also "proudly" hosted by the Brookings Institute in Washington DC.

So, apparently the "extremist" group is rather mainstream in certain circles.

The bottom line is that we continue to see the conflict between a "religious" state and modern western values. A conlict that should receive far more discussion. There is no other country like Israel in our western world, with its inherent conflict between humanism and pluralism vs sectarianism and, yes, some government sanctioned racism.

Scotsman
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