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Democracy for Jews only
By Yitzhak Laor

Looking back, it is strange how many years it has taken the liberals among us to understand that Israeli democracy needs safeguards - not against organizations trying to bring it down, or a political structure that can undermine it, or a too-powerful internal force that draws strength from the lack of a constitution (the Shin Bet security service, for example). Those who thought there was no problem with Israeli democracy, or the Arab minority in its midst, were strangely innocent.

True, there is an occupation. But in the Israeli mind, the occupation is temporary. The suspension of all human and civil rights is an extraordinary situation, an emergency situation, and thus it may be worse than a military dictatorship - after all, the army can do anything in the occupied territories. Millions of people are subject to this regime, and our democracy does not see them. Rather, it lives with the occupation as the exception, not the rule.

In contrast, Israeli democracy is careful not to talk about the constitutional status of the Arabs within its borders. It has established a devious system of laws and regulations to expropriate from them rights reserved only for Jewish citizens, and even for Jewish non-citizens. The real estate laws are an example of this, as are the actions of the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Agency, which behave as if the state were only for Jews.
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Public discourse - which perhaps arises because we understand we must seek international legitimacy - was always restrained, not to say duplicitous. The Koenig report, named for the Interior Ministry official who in 1976 recommended ways the government could discriminate against Arabs, caused a storm. However, no one protected Koenig, because official Israel upheld the rules of the game, maintaining a unified liberal tongue. It left non-democratic policy to the "security establishment."

In recent years, for the first time, the Shin Bet has dragged the debate about the Israeli Arabs into racist expressions by the center, not the margins. Some equated the politicians' statements and the PR against the constitution proposed by the Arab advocacy group Adalah with Kahane's speeches in the Knesset. Supporters of Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin and his centrist friends have turned the graffiti "Kahane was right" into their open political platform.

On May 20, the attorney general handed the Association of Civil Rights in Israel a letter from Diskin. The letter involved a complaint of harassment against the journal of the Arab party Balad. First, Diskin quotes the law: "The service is in charge of protecting the security of the state, and the processes of the democratic regime and its institutions from terror threats, sabotage, subversion, espionage and the revelation of state secrets. The service will therefore work to protect and advance other interests essential to the security of the state, as determined by the government and in keeping with any and all laws." He then informs the attorney general that "the service believes that subversion may also include working toward changing the basic values of the state by obviating its democratic or Jewish character, as a form of subversion against the processes of the democratic regime and its institutions." Israeli law defines the state as Jewish and democratic. The Shin Bet is now trying to turn the "and" into an "or."

Israeli democracy, in Diskin's terms, is protecting itself against the undermining of its nature as a democracy for Jews. This would not be so pathetic if a letter from the attorney general had not been appended to Diskin's letter saying: "The letter of the Shin Bet director was written in coordination with the attorney general and with his agreement, and the stance detailed in it is acceptable to the attorney general."

This is the fruit of the ongoing racist debate. The attorney general's seal of approval on the Shin Bet's interpretation of the law.
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  1.   WHEN democracy IS IN A CONFLICT VS. SAFETY, THE latter HAS A.... 10:15  |  VITTORIO 30/05/07
  2.   too subtle a criticism, too early 11:03  |  Ernst 30/05/07
  3.   The Shin Bet Is 100% Correct. 11:29  |  Terry 30/05/07
  4.   Now they shout..... 11:49  |  Ilan 30/05/07
  5.   Ideology held in contempt 11:55  |  Hannah 30/05/07
  6.   Same Story 12:10  |  Walid 30/05/07
  7.   Ilan`s response 12:15  |  Claire 30/05/07
  8.   #3 Democracy has an obligation to defend itself, you say... 12:28  |  Maureen Ann 30/05/07
  9.   Good Job Shin Bet , Vote for Shin Bet work 12:46  |  Joseph E . 30/05/07
  10.   democracy 12:47  |  j10 30/05/07
  11.   Jewish state 12:56  |  Ralph 30/05/07
  12.   To Terry #3: This is not about security 12:58  |  Spider 30/05/07
  13.   Yitzhak Laor ,an unconsoled widower of Bishara 13:32  |  Absolute Sweden 30/05/07
  14.   Prophecy: topic has to be discussed very soon... 13:35  |  Karl 30/05/07
  15.   Democracy within the One-State Solution 13:48  |  Thomas Jackson 30/05/07
  16.   Democracy or Apartheid 14:03  |  Jerry 30/05/07
  17.   Every society has it`s far right wing 14:16  |  Edith 30/05/07
  18.   Terry # 3 14:30  |  mirror images 30/05/07
  19.   #8 MAUREEN ANN TELLS US ABOUT THE ABOS 14:59  |  paul harris 30/05/07
  20.   Apartheid 15:06  |  Mitch Cohen 30/05/07
  21.   Jerry #16 15:29  |  Efraim 30/05/07
  22.   To all Israel-haters 15:38  |  Hastaroth 30/05/07
  23.   Takles, the bottom line here 15:52  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/05/07
  24.   #22 Hastaroth 15:56  |  Sam 30/05/07
  25.   The Solution: Secular Democracy 16:05  |  PB Secular 30/05/07
  26.   Is Zionism worth the cost--in the endless suffering? 16:08  |  Can`t help wondering 30/05/07
  27.   19# Paul Rather Ask her about Cronulla beach in Sydney 16:11  |  zebulonguy 30/05/07
  28.   18#Moronic Images 16:13  |  zebulonguy 30/05/07
  29.   20# Mitch Cohen 16:18  |  zebulonguy 30/05/07
  30.   Laor & his ilk 16:19  |  marcus cicero 30/05/07
  31.   Terry #3 is right................................................ 16:20  |  Vittorio 30/05/07
  32.   democracy? 16:24  |  person 30/05/07
  33.   re: 1 16:29  |  person 30/05/07
  34.   #22 Well obviously you don`t 16:32  |  T A Sheppard 30/05/07
  35.   Re: 26 16:43  |  person 30/05/07
  36.   Trying to change Israel thru democratic means is subversion? 16:50  |  newageblues 30/05/07
  37.   Democracy for Jews only? 17:04  |  Catholic Israeli 30/05/07
  38.   #35 person 17:06  |  T A Sheppard 30/05/07
  39.   Catholic israeli: who was your late bishop? 17:17  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/05/07
  40.   Democracy`s must defend its citizens Jews AND Arabs 17:26  |  Man 30/05/07
  41.   Isreal is NOT a Constitutional Democracy like all western countri 17:29  |  Peace 30/05/07
  42.   #39 | @Yaakov Sullivan 17:41  |  Catholic Israeli 30/05/07
  43.   Democracy for Christians only in Europe andAmerica 17:47  |  Manny 30/05/07
  44.   But you state that you are Catholic #42 17:54  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/05/07
  45.   Not only Shin Bet, but also the judiciary... 18:01  |  Pssd Off American 30/05/07
  46.   40# HEZBOLLAHS ROCKETS LANDED ON ARAB VILLAGES 18:06  |  zebulonguy 30/05/07
  47.   Yaakov Sullivan - HA! YOU GOT HIM! 18:11  |  Laughing New Yorker 30/05/07
  48.   #44 | @Yaakov Sullivan 18:12  |  Catholic Israeli 30/05/07
  49.   Again, It Cannot Be Made Clear Enough 18:17  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/05/07
  50.   What is he talking about? 18:19  |  Chick Corea 30/05/07
  51.   #48 | @Sick clown laughing 18:21  |  Catholic Israeli 30/05/07
  52.   #47 | @Sick clown laughing 18:21  |  Catholic Israeli 30/05/07
  53.   Catholic Israeli, that is fine #48 18:22  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/05/07
  54.   Chick Corea, this is just nonsense! #50 18:36  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/05/07
  55.   #50 Chick Corea 18:36  |  T A Sheppard 30/05/07
  56.   #53 | @Yaakov Sullivan 18:38  |  Catholic Israeli 30/05/07
  57.   Catholic Israeli, so I thought #56 18:54  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/05/07
  58.   jews for jews 19:04  |  Igor D. 30/05/07
  59.   22 poor Sam does not know that Iran is NOT ARAB 19:05  |  The Equalizer 30/05/07
  60.   If Pals do not like Israel... 19:06  |  Kevin 30/05/07
  61.   Igor D. 19:18  |  Dracula 30/05/07
  62.   #57 | @wrongly concerned Yaakov Sullivan 19:21  |  Catholic Israeli 30/05/07
  63.   Catholic Israeli - So are you Catholic? 19:38  |  Catholic 30/05/07
  64.   Catholic Israeli, No your are wrong #62 19:39  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/05/07
  65.   #64 | @poor Yaakov Sullivan 19:52  |  Catholic Israeli 30/05/07
  66.   T.A. Sheppard, I like your attitude 20:04  |  newageblues 30/05/07
  67.   Sounds like Yaakov knows his way around Israel much better than 20:26  |  Catholic 30/05/07
  68.   #59 The Equalizer 20:28  |  Sam 30/05/07
  69.   If Jews had democracy, "Disengagement" wouldn`t have happened 20:33  |  Chaim 30/05/07
  70.   to Western European Catholic 20:37  |  abd 30/05/07
  71.   To: Yaakov Sullivan 20:37  |  catholic 30/05/07
  72.   Mr Troll Sullivan 20:54  |  Prof Dr Israel Cohen 30/05/07
  73.   To Ralph 21:00  |  christa 30/05/07
  74.   catholic #71 21:06  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/05/07
  75.   Duh! 21:07  |  W 30/05/07
  76.   Sorry, Sir,nice to read but a democracy has to......#32 person 21:10  |  Karl 30/05/07
  77.   Herr Doktor Professor Cohen:From Troll #72 21:16  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/05/07
  78.   #69, Chaim, not the full story 21:27  |  newageblues 30/05/07
  79.   #43 Manny 22:03  |  TOBIA 30/05/07
  80.   WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT 22:15  |  TOBIA 30/05/07
  81.   Yaakov, what is a Jew????? #49 22:32  |  Karl 30/05/07
  82.   TOBIA 22:48  |  Sammy