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Yehuda Ben-Meir / Lieberman is no racist
By Yehuda Ben-Meir
Tags: Avigdor Lieberman 

I did not vote for Avigdor Lieberman and never will. I do not agree with some of his political positions and do not accept his framing of certain issues. But I am appalled by the left's delegitimizing of Lieberman and anyone connected with him. I do not believe that Israel's Arab citizens must be required to declare their loyalty to the Jewish state. What must be demanded of them and of all Israeli citizens, whether Jewish, Druze or other, is unflinching loyalty to the State of Israel and its laws. But even if one can, and sometimes should, disagree with Lieberman on his approach and statements on this sensitive issue, he's still not a racist. Lieberman is neither a racist nor a fascist, and depicting him as such does an injustice to his voters and harm to Israel.

What's racist is denying the Jewish people a state of their own. Certain Arab Knesset members talk incessantly about the Palestinian people's rights, including their own state. But in the same breath they refuse to acknowledge Israel as the state of the Jewish people and deny the very existence of a Jewish people as a nation with national rights. The person who deserves the racist epithet is MK Jamal Zahalka, who attended the conference of hate in Geneva and called himself "a victim of Israel's racist apartheid" while serving as a member of the Israeli parliament.

The left's tendency to delegitimize and demonize people with whom they disagree is no less reprehensible than similar tactics by the right. Just as we must condemn right wingers' attempts to cast doubt over the patriotism of Yossi Beilin and his fellow subscribers to the Geneva Initiative - provocative as this plan might be to most Israelis - we must condemn the left's lamentable habit of denigrating Lieberman.
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The idea to change the state's borders in a peace agreement may not be practical or implementable in our circumstances, but we cannot deny its legitimacy and sense. And in any case, it has nothing to do with racism. Lieberman has said publicly that he supports the principle of establishing a Palestinian state. The media attacked Lieberman for his comments on Annapolis, but his statement on Israel's commitment to the road map is of infinitely greater importance. It's a fact that the Annapolis process did not mature into an agreement, and the road map enjoys widespread international recognition. Incidentally, it's interesting to note that no such assurances of Israel's commitment to the road map have come from Benjamin Netanyahu.

It's time that both the left and right learn to engage in debates over issues, not individuals, and stop delegitimizing and demonizing once and for all.

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      1.   Lieberman hates only those who hates him before he was born ! 02:37  |  Akram Zekaria 26/04/09
      2.   Depicting Lieberman as he really is 03:13  |  Steve 26/04/09
      3.   It"s come this far 03:32  |  Navy Vet 26/04/09
      4.   racism 03:51  |  Waldo 26/04/09
      5.   Lieberman 04:32  |  Ant 26/04/09
      6.   #1 Steve - you have no clue what racism is, do you? 04:54  |  Jon 26/04/09
      7.   Ben-Meir Doesn`t Get It 05:07  |  Rainbow Warrior 26/04/09
      8.   # 2 and #3 The commnents by Ben Meir are 05:34  |  Israeli Observer 26/04/09
      9.   Liberman 07:03  |  Otto Rand 26/04/09
      10.   #4 Israeli Observer 07:08  |  PCR 26/04/09
      11.   I love Liberman 08:23  |  Normal Jew 26/04/09
      12.   To Steve In Mineapolis 08:28  |  non-racist 26/04/09
      13.   Waldo thank u, U r right 08:38  |  yonatan 26/04/09
      14.   #8 - PCR 08:41  |  Michael D. 26/04/09
      15.   Lieberman and the Left 08:44  |  MPK 26/04/09
      16.   Lieberman may be a good father to his daughter... 08:47  |  Esther 26/04/09
      17.   #8 PCR 08:51  |  yonatan 26/04/09
      18.   A breath of fresh air blows through HaArez 08:57  |  redbourn 26/04/09
      19.   I second tthe Israeli Observer! 09:19  |  Zev Davis 26/04/09
      20.   they asked the fox, who is your witness. My tail, he said 09:27  |  KMS 26/04/09
      21.   Lieberman calls for ethnic cleansing. Of course he`s a racist 10:21  |  Jacob 26/04/09
      22.   #5 Rainbow Warrior 10:35  |  Russian Jew 26/04/09
      23.   #11 &14 10:59  |  PCR 26/04/09
      24.   LIEBERMAN IS OK FOR RUSSIAN JEWS 11:51  |  Alka Seltzer 26/04/09
      25.   Re Liberman 12:36  |  Ruby 26/04/09
      26.   4~Rainbow Warrior: "Israel`s law of return made sense 13:08  |  Akram Zekaria 26/04/09
      27.   no. 6--Israeli Observer 13:18  |  Steve 26/04/09
      28.   v hardman,just this once you err,and idf reliable 13:56  |  penny frumkin 26/04/09
      29.   I agree with Russian Jew, Rainbow Warrior 14:06  |  Argentinian 26/04/09
      30.   Rainbow Warrior 14:32  |  17 26/04/09
      31.   #14 Esther; natanyahu appointed Lieberman as FM 14:49  |  Israeli observer 26/04/09
      32.   If it walks like a duck, . . . . . . . . . . . 15:53  |  Chuck 26/04/09
      33.   Israeli #25 15:55  |  Esther 26/04/09
      34.   25~Argentinian. May I add just a brief word ? 17:15  |  Akram Zekaria 26/04/09
      35.   If he walks like a wolf and talks like a wolf 17:29  |  jim the mechanic 26/04/09
      36.   Lieberman is not a racist , he is a realist 17:58  |  TOMY 26/04/09
      37.   Words lose their meanings 20:29  |  R`faelMoshe 26/04/09
      38.   Yehuda Ben-Meir 21:37  |  Kim 26/04/09
      39.   Michael D/"one sided"? 21:56  |  Deacon2 26/04/09
      40.   I will grant this much 00:14  |  Colin Wright 27/04/09
      41.   truth 01:37  |  Honest John 27/04/09
      42.   Deacon2, At least the Jews had a "homeland" to go to 02:10  |  Bruce 27/04/09
      43.   #33, Lieberman is a man of peace 02:15  |  Bruce 27/04/09
      44.   PCR Lieberman talks of land exchange not population transfer 06:00  |  Margie in `Tel Aviv 27/04/09
      45.   Alka Selzer 06:06  |  Margie in Tel a 27/04/09
      46.   Jim the mechanic Ben Mair has listened to what Lieberman says 06:10  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 27/04/09
      47.   Lieberman was a member of the Kach movement 07:56  |  Guido 27/04/09
      48.   #42 - about 30 years ago. I was a communist when I was 20 08:39  |  redbourn 27/04/09
      49.   Pledge unflinching loyalty to the state of Israel 14:22  |  Erastus CoupeDeVille 27/04/09
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