|
|
| up a level post search archive articles admin main |
 Posted by Aron on November 25 2002 (Monday) : 12:53 AMIn the weekend magazine of Ha'aretz, they profiled "extreme" right wing MK Michael Kleiner. It is well worth a read. The difference between Kleiner and many others on the Israeli right is that he is willing to say out loud and publicly what most of these other politicians believe, but don't say because it is impolitic. I already discussed the fact that the "extreme" right and "extreme" left often share similar analyses. Just because someone is a moral monster doesn't necessarily mean they are stupid or illogical. Sadly, sometimes, the opposite is the case. Highly intelligent people can be evil. One of the most intelligent and insightful speakers I ever heard was Meir Kahane. But in my eyes he is a Nazi. One can say an analysis is faulty, or illogical. An analysis, however, can't be good or evil. Good and evil are part of the realm of actions and values, not political perspicuity. Aviv Lavie' mocks Kleiner in the article, as if to say this man is an idiot. But many of the things he mocks are in fact part and parcel of mainstream Israeli society. To blame Kleiner for these views or to paint him as an "extremist" or an "outsider" in Israeli politics, is to ignore the reality of Israel today. Before giving examples, one must understand why Kleiner is "impolitic". The key point to remember is that for Israel, more than most other countries, being a liberal democracy is a key to its legitimacy. Israeli and diaspora Jews, know that the legitimacy of Israel's existence as a Jewish state is based on the fact that Jews were victims of racism. So the idea that Israel can be un-democratic or racist undermines the very legitimacy of its existence. (Hence the vehement opposition to the infamous UN resolution). Another important factor is the U.S.-Israel relationship. Israel's major strategic asset is its relationship with the United States. Israel could not exist for very long without the financial, military and political support of the U.S. We have earlier discussed why the U.S. government supports Israel. But selling Israel to the American public as America's caporegime doesn't hack it. For these reasons American and Israeli politicians are constantly stressing the tired slogan "Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East." Moreover, Israeli governments bend over backwards to at least give the appearance to the world of being democratic and non-racist. Kleiner doesn't go for this charade. He believes in calling a spade a spade. In fact, he is a true heir of Jabotinsky (more on that another time). For him, the key to Israel's legitimacy is being a Jewish state. And he understands, and has no problem saying it as well, that being an ethnically pure Jewish state cannot go hand in hand with being a liberal, democratic state. Let's start with Kleiner befriending of the Kahanists and his raising the banner of the Kahanist legacy. He is 100% correct in saying that most of the other right-wing politicians support Kahane and the Kahanists as well. Those on the right who condemned Kahane while he was alive, usually did so with a wink and a nudge. Arik Sharon in particiular, was brilliant at both embracing Kahane and his buddies without being seen as a Kahanist himself. Kleiner's bill calling for economic incentives to help Arab's emmigrate, comes right out of Ghandi's Moledet party's platform. Let us not forget that Ghandi was a minister in Sharon's government, and this same government dedicated a day in school, on the anniversary of Ghandi's assassination, to "commemorate his legacy." As for Kleiner's attempts to restrict the right of Arab's to vote, this has long been openly discussed in Israeli society. Rabin's government was castigated because he relied on the Arab parties for his majority in Parliament. The right vehemently argued that this made his government illegitimate. Many more mainstream right-wing politicians have called for excluding either Arab citizens or Arab MKs from having the right to vote on issues dealing with Israeli security. In fact, probably the majority of Jewish Israelis would support this (without understanding why others might view this as racist). I wonder why Kleiner wants to introduce a law not allowing an Arab to be a Prime Minister? He can sleep soundly on this point. An Arab has about as much chance of becoming the Prime Minister of Israel, as I do of becoming an Olympic gold medalist. No Arab has a real leadership position in any of the mainstream Israeli parties (including the "left-wing" Meretz). The only party that tries to be bi-national is Hadash. When we lived in Kokhav Yair, one election Hadash received 2 votes in town (out of several thousand voters). Kokhav Yair in general tended to be on the left side of the political spectrum in terms of its voting patterns. Nonetheless, those 2 votes were the subject of enormous gossip. In the end someone concluded that one of the Arab workers must have been registered in the towns voting roles. The idea that Jews could vote for Hadash seemed inconceivable, even in this "liberal" community. Kleiner's call for a ministry of demographic affairs is only the next logical step from the committee of the same name the present government has established. Lavie saves his greatest mockery for Kleiner's solution to the current conflict: "Kleiner has no intention of bringing about the quiet he talks about by means of negotiations. He will simply - so simply! - ask the IDF to win. This victory will be achieved by sending the army into the Gaza Strip and occupying it completely along with the reoccupation of the entire West Bank, including the refugee camps and the city centers; and, the icing on the cake, by sending in the Air Force to bomb Palestinian cities where terrorist activity exists..." I'ld like Lavie to explain to me how this policy which he so heartily mocks, substantially differs from the policies the Sharon government and the Israeli Army has actually executed over the past 18 months? All Kleiner is saying is he wants more of the same slightly escalated. Well the current Chief of Staff, "Bogie" Yalon, says the same thing. It is not just Kleiner who believes "dropping tons of explosives on densely populated cities will solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Need we be reminded that Sharon himself said the dropping of a one-ton bomb on a densely populated refugee camp was "one of our major success"? "If we are to believe Kleiner, the Palestinians, having been beaten into submission, will sit quietly until the end of time and watch as Israel flourishes between the sea and the river." Again, how does this differ from Sharon who said that first we must cause the Palestians enormous casualites and only then will there be quiet and we can reach a settlement? And so for Yalon, and Mofaz and all the rest of the "mainstream" Israeli politicians and generals. Finally, Jordan being occupied Israeli territory comes straight from the original Herut, which is the main component of the Likud. So if Lavie meant to portray Kleiner as extreme, in the sense of being marginal, he failed. Kleiner does in fact speak for many, perhaps most Israeli Jews. And that is very sad, indeed. < | >
|
|
  Cost of the War in Iraq
|
"Entre los individuos, como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz -- Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace" -Benito Juárez
"It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." -Eleanor Roosevelt "Let them call me a rebel and welcome. I feel no concern from it. But should I suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul" -Thomas Paine | |
| Copyrights for all postings on this page are owned by Aron Trauring, except where otherwise noted ©2002-2008 Aron Trauring. |
||
Feature: Moving right along
