![The rabbi who led the discussion, Joshua Rose, asked very provocative questions, and at one point, late in our conversation (after Bennet and Polis had departed the panel) I mentioned that I thought that certain politicians on the Israeli right have been drifting toward fascism. I thought this was safe thing to say in Boulder, which is to the left of Havana on many issues, but after the talk, a couple of people came up to me and said I was wrong to even mention the word “fascism” in association with Israel. One of my interlocutors also told me I shouldn’t use the word “occupation” to describe the occupation. I asked if I should refer to it instead as a “Renaissance Fair,” or “picnic” but that didn’t go over well. (via International - Jeffrey Goldberg - Israel and ‘Fascism’ - The Atlantic)
In any case, “fascist” is a strong word, and obviously, Israel’s democracy is still vibrant — an independent judiciary, a free press, fair elections, and so on. But there are figures on the right who strike me as intolerant of these concepts.
And then there was this, which happened earlier this week:Knesset members engaged in a stormy debate on Monday, following comments by Interior Minister Eli Yishai that Israel should not let African asylum seekers work and that the United Nations is responsible for what happens in Eritrea and Sudan.MK Danny Danon (Likud) and the committee’s chairman, Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) confronted one another on the matter. “They are all infiltrators,” said Danon. “We must drive them all out.”
I understand that the issue of illegal immigration is a serious challenge for Israel, as it is for many prosperous countries, and I readily understand that these immigrants (the lucky few who make it through the Egyptian gauntlet and the Sinai desert) are a strain on limited resources. But, really? We were strangers once, too, as Jewish tradition teaches.
The Arab world will have reached political maturity only when it is as tolerant of self-criticism and open to [endless :D] debate as the Jewish community has always been. Secondly, fascism has little to do with Jews - it was an invention of Mussolini (or someone else close to him) that combined strong repression with corporatism (nationalism was added only later for mass appeal). It was designed as a response from Italian leadership to the growing menace of Communism. Initially it had little to do with the Nazi (and perhaps European) fixation on antisemitism. From this perspective, it’s not a stretch to say that most Western regimes are in fact fascist. For some reason, most people today prefer the term “corporatist” even though the two are synonyms.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4lguuVbBs1qzh8lfo1_100.jpg)
The rabbi who led the discussion, Joshua Rose, asked very provocative questions, and at one point, late in our conversation (after Bennet and Polis had departed the panel) I mentioned that I thought that certain politicians on the Israeli right have been drifting toward fascism. I thought this was safe thing to say in Boulder, which is to the left of Havana on many issues, but after the talk, a couple of people came up to me and said I was wrong to even mention the word “fascism” in association with Israel. One of my interlocutors also told me I shouldn’t use the word “occupation” to describe the occupation. I asked if I should refer to it instead as a “Renaissance Fair,” or “picnic” but that didn’t go over well. (via International - Jeffrey Goldberg - Israel and ‘Fascism’ - The Atlantic)
- In any case, “fascist” is a strong word, and obviously, Israel’s democracy is still vibrant — an independent judiciary, a free press, fair elections, and so on. But there are figures on the right who strike me as intolerant of these concepts.
- And then there was this, which happened earlier this week:
Knesset members engaged in a stormy debate on Monday, following comments by Interior Minister Eli Yishai that Israel should not let African asylum seekers work and that the United Nations is responsible for what happens in Eritrea and Sudan.
MK Danny Danon (Likud) and the committee’s chairman, Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) confronted one another on the matter. “They are all infiltrators,” said Danon. “We must drive them all out.” - I understand that the issue of illegal immigration is a serious challenge for Israel, as it is for many prosperous countries, and I readily understand that these immigrants (the lucky few who make it through the Egyptian gauntlet and the Sinai desert) are a strain on limited resources. But, really? We were strangers once, too, as Jewish tradition teaches.
