Israel as a 'Jewish democracy' is a contradiction in terms


By ibrows
January 21, 2010
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Benjamin Netanyahu's has recently spoken out about 'migrant workers' gaining access to Israel through the Egyptian border and forcing wages within Israel 'down to third world levels'. However, more revealing was Netanyahu's claim that such migrants pose a direct threat to Israel's 'Jewish and Democratic nature'. Surely, this stance is at the root of many of the discriminatory practices of the Israeli state within Israel and the Occupied Territories. How can Israel be both a Jewish state, and a democratic state? Surely, a democratic state will treat all its citizens and inhabitants in a equal manner.

Clearly it is not achieving this in reality, as the treatment of 'Arab Israelis' and the Bedouin within Israel is not the same as the benefits that Jewish Israeli's receive. Before 1948 and the creation of Israel 70,000 Bedouins lived in the Negev area, many were expelled from their lands, others stayed on and protested against Ben-Gurion's policy of transferring them for 'security reasons'. Subsequently, the state of Israel created seven state planned towns in the Negev and tried to force the Bedouin to resettle here. Today, half of the Bedouins live in these seven towns, the other half now numbering around 60,000 people remain scattered in tribes across the Negev. The state refuses to recognise the rights and existence of these latter Bedouin as such it refuses to provide them with electricity, water and sewage facilities. Furthermore, these unrecognised Bedouin unlike other Israeli citizens are unable to vote in elections for local authorities. In 2000, the Bedouins average annual income was 4,925 NIS, compared to an average Israeli income of 10,988 NIS.

The Bedouins life expectancy, due to difficulties in accessing health care, and failure of the state to provide basic sanitation services is like that of a 'third world' country. So while, Netanyahu is worrying about migrants forcing labour wages down to 'third world levels', he is ignoring the fact that 60,000 Bedouin that live permanently within Israel, and have done so since before Israel's existence, are already living in third world conditions, due to the state's complete denial of their existence. Perhaps thats what Netanyahu meant by 'Jewish democracy'?

COMMENTS

moshetzarfati2

21 January, 2010 - 15:42

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Sorry, ibrows, but while I believe your sentiments are correct, I think your premise is wrong. Israel can be a Jewish democracy if it is also a state for all its citizens -- a clarification made plain by the leader of the Reform movement, Rabbi Tony Bayfield.


ibrows

21 January, 2010 - 20:19

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In theory yes i agree, i am merely detailing that in practice so far, its a myth that Israel is a 'Jewish democracy' it is suffering from many of the problems that religious states face. Many Islamic states, and to an extent India, which is trying to forge a Hindu state, like Israel have marginalised and discriminated against minorities. I believe Israel can only be a democractic state, if it drops the 'Jewish' label, it can still have a Jewish majority, but only as a secular state that focuses upon the needs of all its citizens regardless of religion, will it function as a non-violent and stable democratic state, where equal treatment of all groups will enable Israel to overcome religious and ethinc divisions that currently plague it


richmillett

23 January, 2010 - 01:23

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Every country discriminates against its citizens in some way, shape or form. It is unavoidable if you want to create a uniform society where many of the interests of a nation are taken into account. Unfortunately, you cannot take every single interest into account. Jews are indirectly discriminated against in countries they also live in but that doesn't make that country any less democratic. And I would say that nearly every state in the world has a religious aspect to it, just like Israel. For some reason you both seem to be totally obsessed with Israel losing its religious nature but don't complain about other countries that way inclined. I agree that Israel can do better but then so can every other nation so instead of being so Israel-centric maybe try picking some other countries apart for a change.


Jonathan Hoffman

23 January, 2010 - 07:38

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"The state refuses to recognise the rights and existence of these latter Bedouin as such it refuses to provide them with electricity, water and sewage facilities."

What utter drivel. Whilst there do exist many difficulties with Israel’s attempts to reconcile the existence of a modern, democratic welfare state with the traditional nomadic practices of the Bedouin in southern Israel, it is certainly not correct to say that Israel "refuses" to recognise their rights and "refuses" to provide them with services. See these CiFWatch articles:

http://cifwatch.com/2010/01/17/freedman-tries-pavlov/

“The Jahalin have been making claims about the land of Ma’ale Adumim, and squatting on state land assigned to the community, since the 1980’s. They have been warned many times by successive Israeli governments that eventually they would have to move. Most of the Jahalin eventually agreed that they did not have rights to the land. For example, according to a January 29th, 1994 Los Angeles Times article, “no one, not even Hairsh (Mohammed Hairsh, a Jahalin leader) claims that his tribe has a legal right” to the land they have been occupying.”

http://cifwatch.com/2009/12/04/the-tooth-fairy-visits-qasr-al-ser/

The well known Israel hatemonger Neve Gordon propagates these myths from his tenured position at Beersheba University, and you have swallowed them hook, line and sinker.


gordon bennett

23 January, 2010 - 12:56

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Ibrows is correct, Jonathan and Rich. Israel does discriminate against the Bedouin because they are Arabs. It's nothing to do with reconciling a "modern democratic welfare state" with the the traditional nomadic practices on the Bedou. Also, I really don't think Cifwatch is much of a source because of its Orwellian motives.
And Neve Gordon at least lives in Israel, in the Negev, something which cannot be said about the ZF members here.


richmillett

23 January, 2010 - 13:07

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Neve Gordon who calls for an international boycott of Israel? Isn't the left supposed to be caring of the rights of the worker? Or are Israeli workers exempt from that care?

The left forgets that Marx cried: "Workers of the world unite", not "Workers of the world unite against Israeli workers".

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