I want to say to the anti- “occupation”
campaigners who tried to hijack last night’s united front rally in Jerusalem against regime change-in-the-guise-of-judicial-reform —“you do not speak in my name.”
You tried to chant over the speakers.
You marched showily, banging drums through the audience, making it hard to hear
speakers like Tzipi Livni and Matti
Friedman.
You are the flip side
of the Hardal extremists like Ben-Gvir -- Mindless
fanatics who believe that your ideology or theology is more important than the
Zionist enterprise and a united front.
You are out of touch
with reality. It is easy to oppose the “occupation,” but what is your plan B? Hamastan
in the West Bank? Gaza in Jenin? Or do you prefer rule by the next generation
of corrupt PLO warlords? Jibril Rajoub and Hamas are already coordinating for the
day after Abu Mazen passes from the scene.
Has the PLO yet
recognized the rights of the Jewish people to a national homeland? Anywhere in
Palestine?
So spare me your
sanctimonious dribble about democracy in the West Bank.
And to the anti-"occupation" gentleman holding the anti-"apartheid" sign, I say:
“Sir, have you no shame?” If "apartheid" means anything you want it to mean, then it means nothing.
Yudith Oppenheimer,
Executive Director of Ir Amim, you spoke with feeling about house demolitions in
Jerusalem. You forgot to mention that if 40 percent of the city’s population
that is Arab voted – which is their right – they could influence rules and
regulations over construction in their neighborhoods. It is hard to help people
who won’t help themselves.
And to the coordinators
of הבית המשותף I have also been thinking about the worth of demonstrating at the private homes of government ministers. Just
because the Netanyahu/Regev camp did this to the previous government does not make it
right or good politics. Our side does not get points for potentially
traumatizing the children of ministers or inconveniencing their innocent neighbors – especially erev Shabbat.
I get the attraction of blocking highways. But it seems to me that Bibi wants these scenes of chaos so that the population demands “law and order.”
What then? What we need is a
general strike.
And to the Bibists & Hardal extremists
of the Ben-Gvir ilk, I say: I opposed Oslo, which was railroaded through using
every corrupt trick in the book.
Now you are trying to cram power permanently in your hands using Oslo rules -
without consensus and against the principles of representative
democracy and the Declaration of Independence.
Worse of all are your
goals: Consolidation of power in the hands of the few. You want to control the
courts, the police, the bureaucracy, the central bank, and eventually the press.
Your vision for
Israel is that of an intolerant, chauvinistic, and halachic state.
I pray that you fail.
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WHAT'S WORTH KNOWING
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A mass protest for the good of Israel needs to be led by moderates who want to unite, not radicals who refuse to compromise
Anatomy of a power vacuum: How sewage and import rules stoke West Bank conflict
Part of the story of escalating violence is as boring as it is devastating: Bureaucratic ineptitude driven by the lack of democracy in areas under its control