This is What Israeli Democracy Looks Like

Shapira identified this policy of selective education at Yad Vashem, saying, “It is being hypocritical. I only tried to expose the visitors to the facts, not to political conclusions. If Yad Vashem chooses to ignore the facts, for example the massacre at Deir Yassin, or the Nakba, it means that it’s afraid of something and that its historic approach is flawed.”

Obviously, ignoring facts is the age-old modus operandi of the Zionist enterprise, as evidenced by the “land without a people for a people without a land” propaganda put forth by Zionism’s very first advocates. The whitewashing of historical truths continues to threaten the validity of the Palestinian cultural narrative as newly proposed legislation put forth by Israel’s far-right, ultranationalist party clearly proves. Yisrael Beitenu, the party of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, is attempting to ban any commemoration of the 1948 Nakba by Israel’s Arab citizens, which make up about 20% of the Israeli population. In its effort to promote ethnosupremacism, the party wishes to punish those that mark the anniversary of Palestinian displacement – when over 700,000 Palestinians were forced from or fled their homes during the Zionist effort to establish a Jewish state on Palestinian land – with jail terms of up to three years.

“The draft law is intended to strengthen unity in the state of Israel and to ban marking Independence Day as a day of mourning,” party spokesman Tal Nahum told Ha’aretz. This type of mandatory unity is deliberately undemocratic and unrepresentative of the whole Israeli population – an unsurprising proposal from a political party that has suggested loyalty oaths for Arab citizens, has specifically denied support for Palestinian self-determination and national sovereignty by not endorsing efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state, and which has been described by many as fascist.

In other undemocratic news, the homes of Israeli peace activists working with the anti-militarist organization New Profile were raided by police, resulting the confiscation of computers and numerous arrests on suspicion of incitement and assisting draft dodgers. Gideon Levy, a stalwart voice for justice and truth in Israel, wrote in Ha’aretz,

The public reacted to the raid with typical indifference; it came just as we were busy enjoying the cheesy Independence Day holiday, complete with songs of self-praise about Israel being the only democracy in the Middle East. But a democracy that raids the homes of political activists is no democracy. Democracies are tested by how they treat the fringes of society.

Locking up three and a half million Palestinians in the occupied territories and denying them basic human rights has already undermined Israel’s pretensions of democracy, but now dangerous cracks are appearing in our Jews-only democracy.

These so-called cracks include not only the attempt to silence any and all dissent from Israeli peaceniks, but also the (sometimes fatal) shooting of Palestinian and international activists who dare protest the illegal Apartheid Wall that serves to annex even more land in the West Bank. Levy exposes the double standard of the Israeli authorities when it comes to the treatment of peace activists versus that of settlers: “Israel Defense Forces has never shot and killed settlers during a protest, even though they are much more violent than anti-fence protesters.”

Reporter Amira Hass’ arrest came right after her publication of a new article describing why the Israeli government is intent not to promote peace and justice – citing the socio-economic benefits of continued Israeli occupation, land theft, and control over natural resources.

According to Ha’aretz, “Hass was arrested and taken in for questioning immediately after crossing the [Gaza] border, for violating a law which forbids residence in an enemy state.” This explanation can only be followed with a question: How long will it be until Avigdor Lieberman, who dwells in the illegal West Bank settlement of Nokdim, will be arrested on similar charges? Once again, the oxymoronic paradox of Israeli democracy is clear. Colonial expansion is encouraged; reporting the truth is criminal.

Fittingly, Hass’ arrest occurred a mere two days after Freedom House, a US-based NGO that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights, downgraded Israel’s press status from “free” to “partly free.” The organization, co-founded in 1941 by Eleanor Roosevelt, justified its reclassification by citing the Israeli government’s actions during the recent Gaza attacks, “including the barring of foreign and local journalists from Gaza, alleged attempt to influence media coverage within Israel and alleged heightened self-censorship by local media outlets.”

Government Press Office head Daniel Seamans, who described Freedom House as a “useless and ridiculous” organization, said that the Israeli government’s decision to prohibit journalists from covering Operation Cast Lead in person was a strategic move. Had the foreign press been allowed into Gaza, he said, “their reports would have had a harsh effect on world public opinion and endangered our ability to meet our goals.” Limiting press freedoms in order to strategically control the message and public opinion? That’s called propaganda.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ own website has this to say:

Israel is still a young, developing democracy. Although some members of the public question the motives of the press in criticizing the state during wartime, in general, Israeli society comprehends that a free, robust press is crucial to the existence of a strong democracy and a value worth fighting for. Instilling recognition of the dangers of trying to place restrictions on the press, and an understanding by the public of the role played by the Israeli media even under trying conditions, are part of Israel’s challenge in meeting its vision to become a true democratic nation.

Clearly, this is a challenge Israel has yet to overcome and, as such, is not even considered a truly democratic nation by its own government.

George Orwell famously wrote, “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” When journalists and human rights activists face imprisonment – or worse – for doing their jobs, but still do it anyway, we know, not only that Orwell was right, but how vital and necessary it is for the truth to be told in order to fight the forces of repression and silence. Yes, the risks of retribution or fear of intimidation and marginalization for opposing injustice may be great, but, in the immortal words of Ishtar’s Rogers and Clark, “being human, we can live with the pain.”