A new Israel in the making

[TomClash]

One day not long from now we will wake up to a different kind of country, the country that's now in the making. It won't look like the country we know, which already has its share of flaws, distortions and ills. And when we become aware of this, it will be too late. At that point, the old Israel will be described in glowing terms, a model of democracy and justice, compared to the new version that is taking shape as we close our eyes to it, day after day, new law after law.

The way of life in the new Israel where we will live and die won't remind us in the least of the country we're used to. Even this article won't be publishable. Only proper opinions will be put into print, the ones approved by the new government-sponsored journalists' association, whose people will sit in every newsroom so there is no divergence from the accepted chorus of opinion.


. . .

The West Bank will be annexed, but the Palestinians living there will not be. Left-wing organizations will be made illegal and their leaders arrested. The government will publish a blacklist of those with offensive views who will not be allowed to leave the country or speak to the foreign media. Only someone who murders Jews will be deemed a real murderer, and the statute books will be divided into two parts, one for Jews and one for non-Jews. The death penalty will only apply to Arabs.

Special legislation will give settlers the right to take control of any land in the West Bank, and military censorship will ban any news item that could "harm the strength of the Israel Defense Forces." The Supreme Court will only serve as a court of appeals and will not consider direct petitions on civil rights violations. Supreme Court justices will be selected by the Knesset and slots on the bench will be reserved for West Bank settlers, rabbis and members of the party in power. Only religious justices will be able to serve as chief justice. Rabbis will have legal immunity similar to what MKs have. Any declaration of war or a peace agreement will need the approval of the Council of Torah Sages.

Actually, you don't need much imagination to come up with all this. The future is now. The revolution is in progress; just wait for what's to come.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/a-new-israel-in-the-making-1.395241

[connecticut yankee]

1. Is anyone surprised?

I'm not.

[teddy51]

2. Seriously, it's not very different in the US now either. The question

is, can this all be stopped before it is to late? The other question for Israel, will Netanyahu take one step to many with either Iran or another country in the region?

[Violet_Crumble]

3. Let's hope Israel doesn't end up like that...

He's right. It's not too difficult to see that future when it comes to some of the things he's described and the path the government is taking Israel on right now. I really hope Nutty will become a thing of the past at the next elections and someone like Livni will become leader and take Israel on a different path...

[peacebird]

4. Israel at this point no longer deserves international protection - it has become the enemy

It's behavior has been SO over the top in reaction to the aid ships last year and the Palestinians through time. I used to support Israel, now I believe it is time that a country that wants Israel cough up land for that country to live on. Perhaps we can give them South Carolina?

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[oberliner]

9. It is actually pretty common

That is to say, the observation in your second paragraph.

I cannot tell you how often I have seen posts where people are saying how sick and/or disgusted they are with DU for one reason or another.

[Violet_Crumble]

10. True. I've seen it around a fair bit...

I like the ones where they go post elsewhere complaining about how disgusted they are with DU and announce they're heading back to DU to tell everyone how disgusted they are. They flame out, get tombstoned, go back to where they were initially complaining about DU from and complain there about how disgusted they are with DU for tombstoning them and it's such a terrible place there's no way they'd have anything to do with it anyway. Then a few days or weeks later they start threads elsewhere keeping a tally of how many sockpuppets they've created so they can go back and tell DU how disgusted they are with the place.

[holdencaufield]

11. I'm not sure...

... how you equate disagreement with your groupspeak Israel baiting as a dislike of DU.

It's a discussion group -- I merely point out that "discussion" consist mainly of castigating Israel for things her enemies take to another order of magnitude.

[Violet_Crumble]

12. You don't remember what you said in the post I replied to?

I merely point out that "discussion" consist mainly of castigating Israel for things her enemies take to another order of magnitude.

That's not what you pointed out at all. What you said was: 'Of course -- we know it is NEVER DU policy to by critical of any state other than Israel.'

What's 'groupspeak Israel baiting'? Yr attributing it to me but I've got no idea what you mean by it...

[LeftishBrit]

8. Not so

There are certainly some DU-ers who unjustly consider Israel as worse than anywhere else, and I object when I see such statements - but you claim that 'it is NEVER DU policy to be critical of any state other than Israel'?

Plenty of criticism of the USA; UK; Russia; China. Even if you just mean Middle Eastern states, there are plenty of criticisms of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, etc.

Indeed, in this very thread there is a post that claims that it is 'not so very different' (from the dystopia described) 'in the US'. I would disagree with that claim, at least as regards the present time; but it goes againat the argument that *only* Israel comes in for this sort of criticism.

[LeftishBrit]

7. Levy has never exactly been a glass-half-full type

There really are genuine problems with right-wingers trying to limit free speech and association and democracy in Israel; and they need to be combated. But this sort of hyperbole does not help the cause.

E.g.

'The death penalty will only apply to Arabs.'

Israel has only used the death penalty twice. The first was in 1948 and involved a Jew who was unjustly convicted of treason in a military court; the other was in 1962 and involved Eichmann, who was neither a Jew nor an Arab.

'Only religious justices will be able to serve as chief justice. Rabbis will have legal immunity similar to what MKs have. Any declaration of war or a peace agreement will need the approval of the Council of Torah Sages.'

Even with the disproportionate influence of religious-right parties, this is most unlikely to happen.

It is important IMO for Israelis to work to oppose right-wing policies which go against justice and democracy; but there is no point in confusing dystopia with reality, any more than confusing utopia with reality.

[holdencaufield]

13. Israel is...

...as fine as example of a liberal state that exists East of Rhone. But, when liberal Israelis find themselves vilified by people who claim to be liberals themselves, how do you expect them to respond? Israel isn't perfect. No country is. But, name another country that has kept its liberal society after nearly 70 years of real and existential threat. Israel is such a country, under siege both literal and rhetorical from the people who should be supporting it. The longer that siege continues, the harder it will be for Israel to maintain the liberal values she was founded on.