Comments on: The erosion of Israeli democracy continues

By: Ketmus

Ketmus — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:06:41 +0000

Israeli democracy?!? What is this???

Israel and democracy are two things that can never be mentioned in the same sentence!

By: Madzionist

Madzionist — Mon, 04 May 2009 12:50:08 +0000

I don’t think forcibly removing anti-Israel activists in downtown Tel Aviv an be compared to forcibly removing innocent Jewish citizens from homes built legally in Eretz Yisroel.

Fixed.

By: Avram

Avram — Mon, 04 May 2009 04:37:45 +0000

I still don’t get what it’s an ‘erosion of democracy’ though – does that mean England’s democracy is on the way down b/c of the recent problems with police abuse (where people actually died)? How about the great ole US of A?

As LB says, Israel’s police force is ‘eh’ at best. They do a lot of things most of us don’t like (though most left wingers, and honest ‘anti-Zionists’ like Gert will ignore some of the infractions for obvious reasons) …

By: LB

LB — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:22:00 +0000

I am not happy with nearly anything the Israeli Police does – it’s a corrupt, ineffective organization full of people whose actions show they have very little respect for anything but their government pensions.

No excuse, but as bad as this is – as Avram said, the police did far worse in 2005.

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Sun, 03 May 2009 19:03:02 +0000

The behaviour of the police was definitely going over the line. This would be true of any peaceful protest in Israel.

By: Gert

Gert — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:20:20 +0000

I can’t understand what’s being said of course but for a very small and totally peaceful demo that was certainly rather heavy-handed behaviour by the Police.

But for a far more comprehensive critiquing of Israel’s ‘democracy and ethnocracy’ Aloni’s Ha’aretz piece goes much further.

I responded over at mine to your comment.

By: Avram

Avram — Sun, 03 May 2009 11:03:30 +0000

So we agree … and yet, bar the example the ynet reporter gave in your last new profile entry (I forgot his name), there wasn’t a peep from the left wing because they were so in favor of the Disengagement (whether the withdrawal from Gaza was right/wrong, that is irrelevant I feel to the discussion). Sad how democracy only is eroded when ‘your’ (not you in particular obviously, but the left as a movement) rallies are dispersed …

By: Alex Stein

Alex Stein — Sun, 03 May 2009 09:19:49 +0000

Forcibly removing people from peaceful rallies is wrong whatever the circumstances, so if the rallies you are referring to were peaceful, it would have been wrong to disperse them.

By: Avram

Avram — Sun, 03 May 2009 08:53:37 +0000

But you think forcibly removing people from rallies across the country, often times with extreme violence, is? That’s what I’m getting at – because that clip is nothing compared to what was happening to anti-disengagement rally protesters …

By: Alex Stein

Alex Stein — Sun, 03 May 2009 05:57:33 +0000

I don’t think forcibly removing people from homes built illegally in occupied territory can be compared to forcibly removing a protest in downtown Tel Aviv.