Israel @ 60: A Jewish & Democratic State?

In preparation for the upcoming 60th anniversary of the State of Israel, I was asked to participate in a written debate surrounding the character of the State of Israel.

I was given 300 words to comment on the section of Israel's Declaration of Independence
appearing below. (I will have another 200 words to respond to what one of the other participants in this exercise writes, which I will also post here).

THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

Having suffered in Exile like no other nation, the Jewish people are sensitive to the suffering of others and expect the Jewish State of Israel to serve as a model in how a nation-state can treat its minorities fairly.

It is for this reason that the founding fathers of the State of Israel took pains, in the very paragraph within Israel’s Declaration of Independence stating that the State of Israel will be open to every Jew in the world, to balance that with the assurance that despite being a Jewish state, “complete equality” will be assured to all.

However, does this accurately reflect the vision of the prophets of Israel?

In this paragraph, two distinct values are expressed. First, that Israel should be a Jewish State, and second, that there should be “complete equality” for everyone living in the State of Israel.

Did the Jewish people, for millennia, yearn for a return to Zion merely to create “the only democracy in the Middle East”? Did they dream of granting “complete equality” to strangers, enabling them to turn the Jewish State into a state of its citizens, or decide on issues such as “Who is a Jew?” or “Land for Peace?”

No.

Throughout the long Exile, the Jewish people were sustained by the “vision of the prophets” – of the eventual ingathering of the Exiles. Upon returning to their ancient Homeland the Jewish people would live as proud, strong and sovereign Jews," creating an “exemplary society” and serving as a "light unto the nations," thus sanctifying G-d’s name throughout the world.

Any non-Jew willing to accept Israel as a Jewish State without seeking to undermine that premise would be guaranteed full individual rights. Issues concerning the national character and policy of the Jewish State would be left exclusively to the Jewish people residing in Israel.

Treat the stranger kindly? Certainly, but the Bible didn’t intend this to be taken to the extreme of giving the stranger the keys to our national home.

Israel Media Round-Up: Israeli Arab Edition

Consider the following recent headlines about Israel's (loyal?) Arab citizens:

MK Sarsour calls Muslims to free J'lem

MK Ibrahim Sarsour (UAL-TA'AL), Speaking at the "Jerusalem First" conference in Ramallah, the lawmaker emphasized the importance of Jerusalem to Islam, and called on participants to "act together to become a torrent on the road to liberation."

"Just as the Muslims once liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders, so must we today believe that we can liberate Jerusalem. It is not an impossible dream," he said.

Poll: Over 25% of Israeli Arabs say Holocaust never happened

In its most dramatic finding, the poll showed that 28 percent of Israeli Arabs did not believe the Holocaust happened, and that among high school and college graduates the figure was even higher - 33 percent...

While 89 percent said they view Israel's bombing of Lebanon as a war crime, only 44 percent said they see Hezbollah's attacks on Israel as such. Hezbollah pelted northern Israel with nearly 4,000 rockets.

Half of Israeli Arab respondents said Hezbollah's capture of Israel Defense Forces reserves soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev in a cross-border raid was justified.

Majadele refuses to sing national anthem

Israel's first Arab minister said in newspaper interview he would not sing anthem, because song was written 'only for Jews'...

In the interview, Majadele said, "Of course I would not sing the anthem in its current form. But before we talk about symbols, I want to talk about equal education for my children. It's more important that my son would be able to buy a house, live with dignity… the Arabs are not in a mood to sing right now."

MK a-Sanaa calls to boycott Israel

United Arab List MK Taleb a-Sanaa on Tuesday called on the international community to boycott Israel, after a large group of yeshiva students moved into a Hebron home formerly owned by a Palestinian who claimed not to have sold them the house.

The articles speak for themselves - and no, the solution is not to promote Jewish / Arab co-existence programming!)

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Israel's "Palestinian Arabs": What, me worry?

It appears that not only do 70% of Israel's Jewish population view the Arabs of Israel as a threat to the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish State, but even Israel's General Security Service (GSS) - AKA the Shabak - have come to a similarly frightening conclusion.

GSS: Israeli-Arabs are Existential Danger to Israel

An internal General Security Service document says that Israel's Arab population is a "genuine long-range danger to the Jewish character and very existence of the State of Israel."

A recent meeting in the Prime Minister's office presented Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with worrisome data in various spheres, including increasing Israeli-Arab solidarity and identification with terrorist elements, Hizbullah and the Hamas government in the Palestinian Authority.

And yet, the country's leadership continue to turn a blind eye - including some otherwise well-educated and well-intentioned people, like former Defense Minister, Moshe Arens:

Equality of obligations

...The fact that the authors of these proposals insist on referring to Israel's Arab citizens as "Arab Palestinians" serves as a reminder that they see themselves as Palestinians who, by force of circumstance - in their parlance, as a result of the "disaster" of 1948 - are now citizens of Israel in "their own land..."

Are we destined to live with a large minority in our midst that feels dissatisfied with its lot and identifies with Israel's enemies rather than with Israel itself, whose citizenship they share with the country's Jewish citizens?

There is little reason to expect that even if and when an agreement to establish a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria and Gaza is signed, such an agreement would spell the end of the difficulties that characterize the relations between Israel and its Arab citizens. On the contrary, it may very well exacerbate them.

Arens asks the question that poses perhaps the greatest threat to the Jewish State of Israel today, namely, what to do with the large (and growing) percentage of non-Jewish citizens of Israel who are openly against Israel existing as a Jewish State.

Or, in other words, which takes precedence, Israel - the Jewish State, or Israel - the democratic state? And, do the Arabs of Israel have the right to full equality, including the right to become a majority and democratically vote to turn Israel into Palestine?

Let's see what Arens' solution to this vexing quandary is...

During my second tenure as defense minister I encouraged the formation of an infantry battalion made up largely of Bedouin youngsters who had volunteered for a three-year service in the IDF..., which I had hoped would lead in time to obligatory military service for all Arab youth...

In fact, it is difficult to foresee the integration of Israel's Arab citizens into society without them sharing equally in the obligations of citizenship. Without it, divisions will remain, and possibly widen, between those Israelis who are prepared to defend Israel and those who are not.

Is the reason for the lack of allegiance to the State of Israel on the part of Israel's Arab citizens a result of their not being invited to enlist in the IDF (where they would have the opportunity to fight against their Muslim brothers)?

Or, could it be that so long as Israel continues to exist as a Jewish State - thus eliminating the possibility of any true equality - these (Israeli) "Arab Palestinians" will, at best, remain coldly neutral, and at worst, act in an openly hostile manner against the interests of the Jewish State?

Have a little respect for the Arabs of Israel - they don't hate us because we haven't given them an M-16 or paratrooper wings, but because they believe that we have stolen their Homeland from them, and until this "disaster" is rectified we will have no peace!

Arens' question of what to do with Israel's Arabs still stands, any other suggestions?

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On Being an Extremist: Revisited

About a year-and-a-half ago, in response to feedback I had received to a number of posts I had written, I decided to layout many of my core beliefs as they related to Israel and the Jewish People, under the heading: On Being an Extremist, leaving it up to my readers to decide, if my beliefs, were, in fact, extreme.

Well, Bradley Burston of Ha'aretz, whose lone claim to fame is his now defunct "Talkback Policy" of forbidding the use of the phrase: "There are no Palestinians," has decided to pen a list of his own, which he entitles: Far-right and wrong, or how to ruin Judaism.

Burston lists 13 principles, to my 10, of which, 5 +/- made Burston's list. I am ashamed to note that #'s 12 & 13 on Burston's list, which relate to the Jewish People's yearning for the Temple Mount and the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, do not appear on my list, as I have only begun to fully appreciate the notion of "Temple Consciousness" over the last year+, and which I would include on my list today, in one variation or another.

Lastly, before re-revealing my list of beliefs, I found it rather ironic that when it comes to opposing Jews ascending to the Temple Mount (#12), Burston becomes an ardent follower of Rav Kook - who, in regards to many of the other points listed, would likely be viewed as an extremist by Burston and his ilk.

Without further ado...

The Top 10 Reasons... as to why people believe I am an extremist: (Nov. 30, 2005)

1) I believe that the borders of the Jewish State of Israel should encompass the entire area west of the Jordan River (I am not relinquishing the right of the Jewish People to other parts of its Homeland, namely: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon & the Sinai - I just do not believe that we should press our claim to them right now - so long as our neighbors behave).

2) I am against the creation of a "Palestinian State" anywhere west of the Jordan River, as I do not believe that anyone aside from the Jewish People has any right to sovereignty in the Land of Israel.

3) I am opposed to the "Peace Process" (as it is understood today - although I am very much in favor of peace), as I recognize that peace will not come through releasing terrorists from prison, arming these very terrorists, and making other "goodwill gestures" that all lead to the murder of innocent Jews.

4) I believe that Israel must come to the (painful) recognition that she is at war with the Arab world, and she must be committed to taking the required steps necessary to win that war (and not to suffice with defensive half-measures like the security fence and shelling open fields).

5) I believe that all Jews should live in the Land of Israel , as this is the only place that the Jew, both on an individual and national level, can live a complete Jewish life and it is the only place where the destiny and mission of the Jewish People can be actualized.

6) I believe that the State of Israel should be a Jewish State and not a State of the Jews (simply having a Jewish majority). I believe that the State of Israel should not strive to "fit-in" with the nations of the world and be a nation like all others, but should act to create a society that will be strongly rooted in Jewish tradition, history, identity and culture.

7) I believe that every Jewish child in Israel (and in the world) should receive a intensive Jewish education that will instill within them a sense of pride in their knowing what it means to be a Jew, where they have come from and where they are going, the reason for having a Jewish State in the Land of Israel, and a commitment to taking an active role in helping to fulfill the collective destiny of the Jewish People.

8) I believe that the ultimate values in the Jewish State of Israel should not be liberalism, pluralism and democracy (although each may have it's place within the Jewish State, under certain situations / conditions), rather values that are consistent with authentic Jewish tradition and beliefs should be given primacy above all others.

9) I believe that the Jewish State of Israel can create an exemplary society, one that is moral and just in all areas of private and public life, all while staying true to Jewish teachings and tradition, and not selling our birthright for a bowl of western, secular values.

10) I believe that if the Jewish State of Israel does all of the above, then Israel and her neighbors will be blessed with true and lasting peace, and the Jewish People and the Jewish State of Israel will earn the respect and admiration of the nations of the world, by serving as a true "Light unto the Nations" and on that day the world will recognize the Oneness of the G-d of Israel and His dominion over all.

So, you tell me... Does all that make me an extremist?

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Teach 'Em Who's Boss...

Of late, two Israeli, non-profit organizations, Mossawa: The Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel, along with Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel openly, and unabashedly called for the destruction of Israel as a Jewish State.

To make matters worse, it seems that these organizations receive plenty of Jewish support (read: $$$).

Mossawa was actively involved in the recently released "The Future Vision of Palestinian Arabs in Israel", and Adalah just released a proposal, entitled "The Democratic Constitution."

For a brief overview of what exactly these two organizations are calling for, click here.

It should therefore come as no surprise to discover that not only is the leadership of Israel unwilling to emphatically make clear, in word and deed, that Israel is in fact a Jewish State, but Israel Ministry of Education is aiding and abetting those who wish to destroy the Jewish State.

Arab students will no longer be tested on Zionism, Arab heritage

As for the Zionism section, the official said: "The concepts that were selected aren't suited for the needs of Arab students. Not only did the Arab students not learn about their own heritage, but the section on Zionism generated a great deal of criticism. It was therefore decided to reinforce the shared basis - that is, the section on democracy - and cut down on what separates the sectors."

Instead of demanding that all school children (Jewish, Muslim, Christian...) in Israel learn about the State of Israel being a Jewish State, and the right of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel - we instead choose to place the emphasis on teaching democracy, and thereby encourage every non-Jewish student to believe that it's only a matter of time before Israel ceases to exist as a Jewish State, and instead becomes a truly democratic state of its citizens (as Mossowa and Adalah call for).

Israeli Arabs to get greater school funding, settlements less

"The new budget formula will change the political-education map from A to Z," a senior ministry officials said, "and transfer money to the most disadvantaged communities, most of which are Arab."

Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that it is racist for the Jewish State of Israel to allocate greater resources towards the educational needs of Jews in Israel. Instead, the Supreme Court and Ministry of Education advocate for the exact opposite - whereby funding will be removed for Jewish communities and given to the very same "Palestinian Israelis" who call for the destruction of Israel as a Jewish State.

Go figure.

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