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Last update - 10:30 31/07/2007
Violating the norms of democracy
By Moshe Arens

People born in this country before the state was established, whether Jews or Arabs, had experienced the British colonial administration in Palestine, hardly a model of democracy. As a matter of fact, it was only the small community of "Anglo-Saxons," those that arrived in Israel from the English-speaking world, who had had experience living in a democracy and brought that tradition with them to Israel.

So it's been "one man, one vote," whether Jew or Arab, since 1948 in Israel. Certainly not Apartheid, as is so frequently charged by Israel's enemies, and even some of its friends. After all, the fight against Apartheid in South Africa focused on that simple demand - one man, one vote - that was denied to the black population there.

But equality in the polling booth is not the only element of democratic government. It may be the most important one, but it is not the only one. Equality of rights and obligations for all citizens is also required. And don't forget equality of opportunity. It is surprising how easy it seems to be to forget or neglect to apply these "equalities" to all of Israel's citizens.
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Let's start with universal military service - the obligation to defend our country. By all accepted standards of democratic government, that should most certainly be applied to all. As if we needed a reminder, the latest Israel Defense Forces statistics show that a very large number of ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth do not fulfill this obligation. This has been true ever since 1948, and the number seems to be growing exponentially. Now along come our Knesset members, and instead of rectifying this matter, they renew the infamous Tal Law, which legitimizes this injustice, for another five years.

The ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth are not the only ones to benefit from this inequality. If you are an Israeli citizen of the Islamic or Christian persuasion, you also are not required to defend your country. That is unless you are a Circassian, who even though Muslim, is subject to compulsory military service. Poor Circassians!

Last week the Knesset passed in preliminary reading a law that would require the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to allocate land that it owns only to Jews. Presumably this means that Jews who are not citizens of Israel would qualify, but Israel's Arab citizens would be barred from access to land owned by the JNF. A blatant violation of the norms of democracy.

But wait a minute, you might say, was not the Jewish National Fund founded in 1901 so the Land of Israel could be redeemed and come under Jewish ownership? Yes, of course, but something else happened in the meantime. In May 1948, the State of Israel was established, guaranteeing equality to all its citizens. The ultimate purpose of the Zionist Congress that decided on the establishment of the JNF - the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine - has been achieved. In a democratic state one cannot condone laws that discriminate between citizens on ethnic grounds. That was certainly not part of Herzl's vision of the Jewish State.

So what about the Law of Return? Does it not provide a special privilege - the right to immigrate to Israel - for Jews only? Yes, but that is the foundation stone of the State of Israel - to provide a haven for any Jew in the world in need of a haven; so that what happened in the years before the Holocaust and during the Holocaust would never happen again. That is the mission of the State of Israel. A most humane mission by any reckoning. In fulfillment of this mission the Holocaust survivors from Europe, the Jewish communities from the Arab world and Iran, Soviet Jewry and the Ethiopian Jews were absorbed in Israel. Maybe even some of Israel's non-Jewish citizens can identify with this mission, and those who cannot must recognize that this is the reason the State of Israel was established.

The proposed JNF law has nothing to do with this mission. Hopefully, it will not go beyond the preliminary reading in the Knesset.
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  1.   Being Jewish is about VALUES and not BLOOD!!! 10:49  |  Ben Uziel 31/07/07
  2.   Anglo-Saxon racism... 11:22  |  Paul Henzen 31/07/07
  3.   Discrimination 11:57  |  Albert Seligman 31/07/07
  4.   Jewish attitude and Jewish blood 11:58  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 31/07/07
  5.   A Reprehensible Law 12:12  |  ERSB 31/07/07
  6.   Where do the other inhabitants of Palestine fit in? 12:19  |  Ren 31/07/07
  7.   Where do the other inhabitants of Palestine fit in? 12:21  |  Ren 31/07/07
  8.   Silly article, not worthy of Moshe Arens 12:21  |  mg 31/07/07
  9.   To Ren...youre wrong 12:35  |  SLAVO 31/07/07
  10.   Kol Hakavod Arens 12:46  |  Israeli 31/07/07
  11.   aboriginal rights 12:57  |  mel 31/07/07
  12.   Present-Absent Laws 13:20  |  IsraeliArab 31/07/07
  13.   oxymoron 13:28  |  Sami 31/07/07
  14.   # 1 what values are you talking about 13:35  |  refugee 31/07/07
  15.   Let`s see the Wakf sell some of their land to Jews... 13:50  |  Nannette 31/07/07
  16.   silly answer to an honest article#8 13:54  |  A.M. 31/07/07
  17.   12 What about the 900,000 Jewish refugees from Arab lands??? 13:55  |  Nannette 31/07/07
  18.   #11 14:00  |  A.M. 31/07/07
  19.   Good Moshe But You Should Go Beyond This 14:12  |  Yosemite 31/07/07
  20.   Israel is a JEWISH state, not a model democracy 14:22  |  Robert 31/07/07
  21.   To 16 14:27  |  mg 31/07/07
  22.   Most JNF land is Palestinian land stolen during the Nakba 14:49  |  Apartheid 31/07/07
  23.   JNF-is Jewish Nationa Fund,simple enough 15:14  |  Issy HASS 31/07/07
  24.   But Following on the Argument LoR 15:18  |  Yaakov Sullivan 31/07/07
  25.   JNF lands 15:31  |  jerry 31/07/07
  26.   All JNF land was stolen by Greeks, Romans, Arabs &Turks from Jews 15:46  |  Genuine Tosefta 31/07/07
  27.   To 15 and 20: The JNF might be a private organization... 15:47  |  Israeli 31/07/07
  28.   religion and democracy incompatible 15:56  |  tuairimiocht 31/07/07
  29.   Keren Kayamet L`Yisrael 16:08  |  Johnny Weintraub 31/07/07
  30.   Huge tracts of land stolen by the churches 16:09  |  Hannah 31/07/07
  31.   A Man of Integrity 16:10  |  Eldar 31/07/07
  32.   Jewocracy 16:12  |  Shachar 31/07/07
  33.   Hostility Greatly Increasing Against Jews Worldwide 16:12  |  Linda Rivera 31/07/07
  34.   Apartheid (Post 22) 16:14  |  Johnny Weintraub 31/07/07
  35.   jewish land bought with jewish money and blood 16:30  |  mike 31/07/07
  36.   Nannette is being silly again.... 16:35  |  Ibrahim 31/07/07
  37.   #22i have in post after post asked for proof of these libels 16:39  |  victor hardman 31/07/07
  38.   JNF given special consideration? 16:40  |  Mark 31/07/07
  39.   The Jewish People Are Unique With a History Unlike Anyone 16:44  |  Chick 31/07/07
  40.   Hannah on Church Land in Israel #28 16:46  |  Yaakov Sullivan 31/07/07
  41.   JNF should switch lands and change its mission 16:47  |  Tosefta 31/07/07
  42.   MAKE JNF PRIVATE AS WAS IN1901,IF STATE NO LONGER OWNED BY JEWS)) 17:00  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 31/07/07
  43.   Respect to Moshe Arens 17:03  |  Shlomo from Tel-Aviv 31/07/07
  44.   Arens - THE Man 17:23  |  Fish 31/07/07
  45.   #6 Ren 17:32  |  Terry 31/07/07
  46.   #8 17:40  |  Terry 31/07/07
  47.   Arabs rights in Israel 17:42  |  Lolita Cohen-Zamir 31/07/07
  48.   Don`t kill the bill. 17:48  |  Seth Halpern 31/07/07
  49.   Jewish land for 3200 years!!!!!!! 17:53  |  Ben Uziel 31/07/07
  50.   Terry - Not So 17:56  |  Fish 31/07/07
  51.   All Due Respect 18:06  |  Ron 31/07/07
  52.   Sullivan 18:08  |  Hannah 31/07/07
  53.   Blue boxes 18:14  |  Granny 31/07/07
  54.   #6 Ren - first, let`s get history right 18:19  |  Chick 31/07/07
  55.   Land and the Nakba - apartheid`s igorance 18:39  |  CommonSense 31/07/07
  56.   Land for the church 19:09  |  Palestinian Brit 31/07/07
  57.   #56 Palestinian Brit, this Hannah has no idea 19:40  |  Yaakov Sullivan 31/07/07
  58.   Arens points out issues then lets them hang 19:44  |  peter 31/07/07
  59.   To Chick, re. 54 19:53  |  Jack Garbuz 31/07/07
  60.   #54: Basic U.S. History 20:08  |  Ben Franklin 31/07/07
  61.   #21 20:11  |  A.M 31/07/07
  62.   mike in ny, isnt that the argument that?? 20:12  |  Yaakov Sullivan 31/07/07
  63.   Let`s get real-facts on the ground 20:30  |  Stanley 31/07/07
  64.   Difficult to beat Moshe Arens on values 20:50  |  Mandela 31/07/07
  65.   Seizing Paid For Land From Jews Would Be Socialism Not Democracy 21:10  |  Efox 31/07/07
  66.   re: Ren Refugees from a Place they Have Never Seen Don`t Fit In 21:15  |  Efox 31/07/07
  67.   re: Sami 21:17  |  Efox 31/07/07
  68.   re: Tosefta 21:22  |  Efox 31/07/07
  69.   re: Mandela 21:24  |  Efox 31/07/07
  70.   re: Yaakov Sullivan 21:29  |  Efox 31/07/07
  71.   What About JNF in 2007 (5767)! 21:30  |  Ben 31/07/07
  72.   JEWISH National Fund a charity for Jews 21:46  |  NEchama 31/07/07
  73.   #45 Terry: "no other Jew country in the world" 21:56  |  hala 31/07/07
  74.   No one has mentioned... 22:01  |  Inigo Montoya 31/07/07
  75.   No charity is restricted to rules of democracy 22:07  |  Nechama 31/07/07
  76.   What is wrong with the Montreal air? (Lolita 47, Peter Rabbit 58) 22:14  |  Zookeeper 31/07/07
  77.   It`s name is the Jewish (not Democratic) Land fund 22:41  |  Dovid Yehuda 31/07/07
  78.   Efox JNF land has nothing to do with security #68 22:44  |  Yaakov Sullivan 31/07/07
  79.   JNF 22:52  |  Jerry Goodman 31/07/07
  80.   #7 Ren - Australia 22:52  |  * BEN JABO 31/07/07
  81.   #7-2 Ren 22:56  |  * BEN JABO 31/07/07
  82.   #66 Refugees from a place they have never seen don`t fit in 23:03  |  hala 31/07/07
  83.   #63 Stanley - Monterey 23:21  |  * BEN JABO 31/07/07
  84.   Good article and good arguments by Moshe Arens 23:27  |  Smadar 31/07/07
  85.   #73 Hala 23:28  |  * BEN JABO 31/07/07
  86.   #73 BUT THEY ALL SPEAK YIDDISH 23:45  |  paul harris 31/07/07
  87.   BEN JABBO on Jordan and fitting in #80 23:50  |  Yaakov Sullivan 31/07/07
  88.   As Far As I Know In Mexico 23:50  |  Yosemite 31/07/07
  89.   So many mistakes (Efox #68) 00:01  |  Tosefta 01/08/07
  90.   Good article by Moshe Arens, except "one man, one vote" nonsense 00:27  |  Mandela 01/08/07
  91.   #86 Yosemite 00:36  |  * BEN JABO 01/08/07
  92.   # 24 To the farshtopter Shmollivan.... 00:44  |  Misha 01/08/07
  93.   #82 hala 00:51  |  * BEN JABO 01/08/07
  94.   # 30 Hey, Hannah, what is needed is for Israel is to get smart. 00:58  |  Misha 01/08/07
  95.   Dovid - here we go again 01:10  |  Josh Goldman 01/08/07
  96.   Israel is aJewish Democracy;jew$ bought JNF land 01:26  |  sam 01/08/07
  97.   Democracy vs. Judaism 01:31  |  VICTIMSof ARABTERROR 01/08/07
  98.   #86 Turncoat Sullivan 01:40  |  * BEN JABO 01/08/07
  99.   #6REN, Amen to your sensible post. 02:08  |  Solomon 01/08/07
  100.   #9 SLOVO, UR wrong, needs to brush up on your history. 02:13  |  Al Walid 01/08/07
  101.   Bla Bla Bla continues and coment about Mexico lease of land 02:16  |  Fernando 01/08/07
  102.   #76 Zookeeper 02:23  |  KT 01/08/07
  103.   #73 Those 5000 poor survivors of Stalin`s largesse 02:31  |  Terry 01/08/07
  104.   Gracias Fernando Para Sus Servicios A Nos 03:00  |  Yosemite 01/08/07
  105.   One Million JEWISH Refugees&Their Descendants Must be COMPENSATED 03:00  |  Linda Rivera 01/08/07
  106.   Give Back the Land STOLEN from Jews in 1948 Islamic Invasion! 03:04  |  Linda Rivera 01/08/07
  107.   ben jabo # 83 a non-answer 03:29  |  Stanley 01/08/07
  108.   re: Tosefta 04:00  |  Efox 01/08/07
  109.   re: Yaakov Sullivan 04:04  |  Efox 01/08/07
  110.   It`s a REFUGEE HOME FOR JEWS. So the land is for Jews 05:17  |  John Ryan 01/08/07
  111.   Your position is so well rounded 06:00  |  Eliezer 01/08/07
  112.   More lies 06:20  |  Nechama 01/08/07
  113.   Occupied territories 06:24  |  Nechama 01/08/07
  114.   Critics, Go Demand The Dome of the Rock Lease You a Synagogue! 06:25  |  Efox 01/08/07
  115.   #107 Stanley - Monterey 06:31  |  * BEN JABO 01/08/07
  116.   #115 - Stanley - Monterey 07:06  |  * BEN JABO 01/08/07
  117.   #100 Walid 07:12  |  * BEN JABO 01/08/07
  118.   #114, Efox, no chance... 07:49  |  Silvienne 01/08/07
  119.   Why cant we have Christian only lands in Europe? 07:50  |  Ricky 01/08/07
  120.   Jewish land 08:03  |  Mark 01/08/07
  121.   Better Work On My Spanish 08:11  |  Yosemite 01/08/07
  122.   Zookeepers stick to your zoos 08:14  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 01/08/07
  123.   put up; or shut up... 08:50  |  eric 01/08/07
  124.   Misha 08:54  |  This Hannah 01/08/07
  125.   Misha 08:54  |  This Hannah 01/08/07
  126.   Not so simple!!! 09:40  |  Nico de Lange 01/08/07
  127.   Nico de Lange, howsit? 09:58  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 01/08/07
  128.   No One here knows How much JNF Jewish land is built upon by PALs 11:45  |  Lev 01/08/07
  129.   #7 Grand mufti 14:34  |  Rab Burns 01/08/07
  130.   I agree 100% with Moshe Arens, I wish he 15:06  |  Rami 01/08/07
  131.   #123 Eric - name just ONE Arab democracy 17:13  |  * BEN JABO 01/08/07
  132.   #7 Ren - Australia 17:17  |  * BEN JABO 01/08/07
  133.   #130 Rami - Nazareth 17:19  |  * BEN JABO 01/08/07
  134.   Moishe Arens 18:30  |  Israel Letzter 01/08/07
  135.   partiality 23:05  |  mendy 01/08/07
  136.   #131, Ben Jabo 23:56  |  Silvienne 01/08/07
  137.   #134, to Israel Letzter 23:59  |  Silvienne 01/08/07
  138.   #135 Silvienne 03:46  |  * BEN JABO 02/08/07
  139.   Arens still confused (2nd try) 16:07  |  David Teich 02/08/07
  140.   David Teich 22:51  |  Silvienne 02/08/07
  141.   Silvienne: Note they finally did 15:20  |  David Teich 03/08/07
  142.   Although Arens holds very hawkish positions 12:30  |  ARTH 26/07/08
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