RAMALLAH, June 19 (JMCC) - The incident of Mavi Marmara Gaza bound aid flotilla , in which nine activists were killed has once again placed Israel ’s policies towards Gaza and the West Bank into question.
Last week the parliamentary committee voted to withdraw the privileges of the Arab member of the Knesset who joined the activists in their sail towards Gaza. The episode has sparked a debate within Israel itself on the policies towards Arabs living within Israel and indeed on the wider question of combining true democracy with continuing to hold onto the Palestinian territories.
Many have long feared that Israel's occupation of the Palestinians territories undermines its democratic credentials. [The Economist] asked Mr Rivlin and two Israeli academics whether they thought this was the case.
The key obstacle has always been and still remains the Palestinians' demand for a “right of return” says Mr Rivlin, which means, in effect, the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state. As long as this philosophy prevails, our security dictates, in practice, that the present situation will have no early, easy resolution.
Israel is a country in conflict. The conflict, with ups and downs, has lasted since Israel's establishment 60 years ago. Half of the country's Jewish population originated in the Muslim Middle East; the other half, mostly in Eastern Europe; the great majority had no previous experience of democracy. It would be difficult to imagine conditions less favourable to the emergence and development of a multi-party parliamentary democracy with a free press, independent judiciary and citizens free enough to express open support for other side in an armed conflict. Israeli democracy is a tremendous achievement.
Read more at The Economist...
