Getting Real On Israel--And Democracy

Jennifer Rubin is among those journalists attending a conference in Israel

Rubin explains why comparisons of Israel to totalitarian regimes fail:

There is, in some quarters in the U.S. and Europe, the notion that Israel is an oppressive state. Israel's foes particularly enjoy Holocaust analogies to add some oomph to their indictments. But let's get real here.


At the Herzliya Conference yesterday I sat through panel after panel of experts, scholars, and former and current Israeli officials. (As a reminder, in the interests of disclosure, I am traveling with a group of journalists whose travel costs are being picked up by the Emergency Committee for Israel.) Tzipi Livni spoke, with her anti-Netanyahu colors flying. On Iran, there were arguments between those who see its nuclear program as an existential threat to Israel (as does the government) and those who indulge in the fantasy that this isn't anything to worry about. Another panel discussed indoctrination by radical Islamists and yet another considered the U.S.-Israel relationship. The panelists argued with each other and with the moderators; the crowd occasionally applauded one view or another. There was nothing in the least peculiar about the day because this is Israel, where dissent is celebrated, not suppressed.

One can get sucked into the quadruple standard at play in this part of the world: one standard for Muslim countries, one standard for democracies, one standard for Israel and one standard for a Netanyahu government. We forget that Israel is unique in the region -- and as a result uniquely stable. There is debate, not fatwas on opponents. There is free press, not media intimidation. There is intellectual freedom without the risk of retaliation by the government. [emphasis added]

Today we see the very term Democracy itself being redefined.

Democracy is a term that pertains to popular vote and majority rule. But these days, there are those who see an opportunity to attack Israel--and define democracy in terms of 'natural rights'. According to them, if the state makes a decision regarding your rights, it is not democratic--regardless of the fact that the government was voted into power by the people.

You may very well make any number of arguments against such a government, but that government is democratic nevertheless.

Hat tip: DF

Technorati Tag: Israel and Democracy.