[P2P-F] Fwd: Israel's New Boycott Law: The end of Free Speech and Democracy In Israel?

Wed Jul 20 09:47:24 CEST 2011

on anti-democratic trends in israel,

Michel

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tikkun <magazine at tikkun.org>
Date: Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 10:13 PM
Subject: Israel's New Boycott Law: The end of Free Speech and Democracy In
Israel?
To: Michelsub2004 at gmail.com

    *[Selections from an essay sent to Tikkun this morning from Uri Avnery,
leader of
*

*the Israeli peace movement Gush Shalom. Tikkun's comment: It has long been
*

*argued by the peace and justice movements in the West that you cannot deny
*

*democratic rights to one section of the population without eventually
denying
*

*those rights to everyone. The key to the withering away of democracy in
Israel is
*

*the Occupation, and the restrictions placed on Palestinians is now becoming
the
*

*psychological and ideological foundation for denying democratic rights to
Israelis.**]*

 *THE FUTURE – indeed, the present – of Israeli democracy is shrouded in
doubt.*

 * by Uri Avnery*

  *It is a miracle, because it did not grow slowly over generations,*

  * like Anglo-Saxon democracy. There was no democracy in the*

  * Jewish shtetl. Neither is there anything like it in Jewish religious *

  *tradition. But the Zionist Founding Fathers, mostly West and*

  * Central European Jews, aspired to the highest social ideals of their
time.*

  * *

  *I have always warned that our democracy has very shallow and*

  * tender roots, and needs our constant care. Where did the Jews*

  * who founded Israel, and who came here thereafter, grow up?*

  * Under the dictatorship of the British High Commissioner, the*

  * Russian Czar, the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, the king of *

  *Morocco, Pilsudsky’s Poland and similar regimes. Those of*

  * us who came from democratic countries like Weimar Germany*

  * or the US were a tiny minority.*

  * *

  *Yet the founders of Israel succeeded in establishing a vibrant*

  * democracy that – at least until 1967 – was in no way inferior, *

  *and in some ways superior, to the British or American models.*

  * We were proud of it, and the world admired it. The appellation*

  * “the Only Democracy in the Middle East” was not a hollow propaganda
slogan.*

  * *

  *Some claim that with the occupation of the Palestinian territories,*

  * which have lived since 1967 under a harsh military regime *

  *without the slightest trace of democracy and human rights,*

  * this situation already came to an end. Whatever one thinks*

  * about that, in fact Israel in its pre-1967 borders maintained*

  * a reasonable record until recently. For the ordinary citizen,*

  * democracy was still a fact of life. Even Arab citizens enjoyed *

  *democratic rights far superior to anything in the Arab world.*

  * *

  *This week, all this was put in doubt. Some say that this *

  *doubt has now been dispersed, and that a stark reality*

  * is being exposed.  *

  * *

  * *

  * *

  *American Jews boycotted the cars of the infamous anti-Semite Henry Ford.*

  * Jews in many countries took part in a boycott of German goods
immediately*

  * after the Nazis came to power in 1933. *

  * *

  *The Chinese boycotted Japan after the invasion of their country. *

  *The US boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow. People of *

  *conscience all over the world boycotted the products and the *

  *athletes of Apartheid South Africa and helped to bring it to its knees.*

  * *

  *All these campaigns used a basic democratic right: every person is*

  * entitled to refuse to buy from people he detests. Everyone can refuse*

  * to support with his money causes which contradict his innermost *

  *moral convictions.*

  * *

  *It is this right that has been put to the test in Israel this week.*

  * *

  * *

  *IN 1997, Gush Shalom declared a boycott of the products *

  *of the settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. We believe*

  * that these settlements, which are being set up with the express*

  * purpose of preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, *

  *are endangering the future of Israel.*

  * *

  *The press conference, in which we announced this step, was not *

  *attended by a single Israeli journalist. But the boycott gathered*

  * momentum. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis do not buy settlement*

  * products. The European Union, which has a trade agreement that*

  * practically treats Israel as a member of the union, was induced to *

  *enforce the clause that excludes products of the settlements from *

  *these privileges. *

  * *

  *There are now hundreds of factories in the settlements. They were *

  *literally compelled, or seduced, to go there, because the (stolen)*

  * land there is far cheaper than in Israel proper. They enjoy generous*

  * government subsidies and tax exemptions, and they can exploit *

  *Palestinian workers for ridiculous wages. The Palestinians have *

  *no other way of supporting their families than to toil for their
oppressors.*

  * *

  *Our boycott was designed, among other things, to counter these *

  *advantages. And indeed, several big enterprises have already given*

  * in and moved out, under pressure from foreign investors and buyers. *

  *Alarmed, the settlers instructed their lackeys in the Knesset to draft a*

  * law that would counter this boycott. *

  * *

  *Last Monday, the “Boycott Law” was enacted, setting off an *

  *unprecedented storm in the country. Already Tuesday morning, *

  *Gush Shalom submitted to the Supreme Court a 22 page application *

  *to annul this law.*

  * *

  * *

  *THE “BOYCOTT LAW” is a very clever piece of work.*

  * *

  *First of all, the law is disguised as a means to fight the*

  * de-legitimization of the State of Israel throughout the world. The law
bans*

  * all calls for the boycott of the State of Israel, “including the areas *

  *under Israeli control”. Since there are not a dozen Israelis who *

  *call for the boycott of the state, it is clear that the real and sole*

  * purpose is to outlaw the boycott of the settlements. *

  * *

  *In its initial draft, the law made this a criminal offense. That would *

  *have suited us fine: we were quite willing to go to prison for this *

  *cause. But the law, in its final form, imposes sanctions that are another
thing.*

  * *

  *According to the law, any settler who feels that he has been *

  *harmed by the boycott can demand unlimited compensation *

  *from any person or organization calling for the boycott – without*

  * having to prove any actual damage. This means that each of the *

  *300,000 settlers can claim millions from every single peace*

  * activist associated with the call for boycott, thus destroying*

  * the peace movement altogether.*

  * *

  * *

  *AS WE point out in our application to the Supreme Court, the law *

  *is clearly unconstitutional. True, Israel has no formal constitution, *

  *but several “basic laws” are considered by the Supreme Court to *

  *function effectively as such.*

  * *

  *First, the law clearly contravenes the basic right to freedom of*

  * expression. A call for a boycott is a legitimate political action, *

  *much as a street demonstration, a manifesto or a mass petition.*

  * *

  *Second, the law contravenes the principle of equality. The law *

  *does not apply to any other boycott that is now being implemented *

  *in Israel: from the religious boycott of stores that sell non-kosher *

  *meat (posters calling for this cover the walls of the religious*

  * quarters in Jerusalem and elsewhere), to the recent very successful*

  * call to boycott the producers of cottage cheese because of their *

  *high price. The call of right-wing groups to boycott artists who have*

  * not served in the army will be legal, the declaration by left-wing*

  * artists that they will not appear in the settlements will be illegal. *

  * *

  *Since these and other provisions of the law clearly violate the*

  * Basic Laws, the Legal Advisor of the Knesset, in a highly unusual *

  *step, published his opinion that the law is unconstitutional and*

  * undermines “the core of democracy”. Even the supreme *

  *governmental legal authority, the “legal advisor of the*

  * government”, has published a statement saying that*

  * the law in “on the border” of unconstitutionality. Being *

  *mortally afraid of the settlers, he added that he will defend*

  * it in court nevertheless. The opportunity for this is not far*

  * off: the Supreme Court has given him 60 days to respond*

  * to our petition. *

  * *

  * *

  *A SMALL group of minor parliamentarians is terrorizing*

  * the Knesset majority and can pass any law at all. The power*

  * of the settlers is immense, and moderate right-wing members*

  * are rightly afraid that, if they are not radical enough, they will*

  * not be re-elected by the Likud Central Council, which selects *

  *the candidates for the party list. This creates a dynamic of *

  *competition: who can appear the most radical.*

  * *

  *No wonder that one anti-democratic law follows another: a *

  *law that practically bars Arab citizens from living in*

  * localities of less than 400 families. A law that takes away*

  * the pension rights of former Knesset members who do not *

  *show up for police investigations (like Azmi Bishara--the Israeli Arab
who*

  *was the candidate for Prime Minister and then withdrew at the last*

*minute to help Arabs vote for Ehud Barak; later accused of treason* for

 meeting with Syrian Arabs. He was a regular contributor to Tikkun magazine*.)
*

  *A law that abolishes the citizenship of people convicted of *

  *“assisting terrorism”. A law that obliges NGOs to disclose*

  * donations by foreign governmental institutions. A law that gives *

  *preference for civil service positions to people who have served*

  * in the army (thus automatically excluding almost all Arab citizens).*

  * A law that outlaws any commemoration of the 1948 Naqba*

  * (the expulsion of Arab inhabitants from areas conquered by Israel).*

  * An extension of the law that prohibits (almost exclusively) Arab*

  * citizens, who marry spouses from the Palestinian territories,*

  * to live with them in Israel. *

  * *

  *Soon to be enacted is a bill that forbids NGOs to accept *

  *donations of more than 5000 dollars from abroad, a bill *

  *that will impose an income tax of 45% on any NGO that*

  * is not specifically exempted by the government, a bill *

  *to compel universities to sing the national anthem on*

  * every possible occasion, the appointment of a Parliamentary*

  * Commission of Inquiry to investigate the financial resources *

  *of left-wing [sic] organizations.*

  * *

  *Looming over everything else is the explicit threat of *

  *right-wing factions to attack the hated “liberal” Supreme*

  * Court directly, shear it of its ability to overrule unconstitutional *

  *laws and control the appointment of the Supreme Court judges. *

  * *

  * *

  *FIFTY-ONE YEARS ago, on the eve of the Eichmann trial,*

  * I wrote a book about Nazi Germany. In the last chapter,*

  * I asked: “Can It Happen Here?”*

  * *

*My answer still stands: yes, it can.*

 ********************************************************************************************************

 From Ha'aretz  Friday, July 15, 2011
 4,500 Israelis and Arabs march in Jerusalem to support Palestinian
independence Police intervene to separate marchers and right-wing
counter-protesters, despite organizers' claim march went peacefully. By Nir
Hasson<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=H2ivPmNvD6pUgDxv7vFjlah30zdG9awX>
Tags:
Palestinians<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Vidh4w9lbrr%2B8N95rmqrXKh30zdG9awX>
Palestinian
state<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=lEg2zf3%2BN9WkoZ1pw8ijT6h30zdG9awX>
Middle
East peace<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=f5sdK4AEaJb1P7BnpfM4FKh30zdG9awX>

Over 4500 Palestinians and Israelis took part in the "March for
Independence" Friday, calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Although the organizers of the march issued a statement saying the march was
carried out peacefully, police had to intervene and separate right-wing and
left-wing activists.
  [image: Jerusalem 'March for Independence']

Jerusalem 'March for Independence', July 15, 2011
  Photo by: Daniel Bar On

The event was coordinated with the police, and organizers had pledged to
prevent any violence from breaking out, despite the expected right-wing
counter-protests.

Participants in the march held signs quoting South African leader and
anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela saying "only free men can negotiate",
while others bore slogans calling for support of Palestinian independence.

Several MKs participated in the march, including Zehava Galon of Meretz and
Dov Hanin of Hadash. Other prominent public figures took part as well, such
as former Speaker of the Knesset Avraham Burg and former Attorney General
Michael Ben Yair.

The march took a symbolic route, following the green line that used to
divide East and West Jerusalem before the Six Day War in 1967. It began at
Jaffa Gate and ended at the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, the opposite route
taken by right-wing activists during Jerusalem Day last month.

"After years of Israel speaking about peace and building settlements,
checkpoints, walls and outposts, the young generations from both sides are
starting to understand that they are being duped," said Hillel Ben Sasson
from the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement said on Thursday.

Ben Sasson added that "in Jerusalem of all places, the heart of the
conflict, Israelis and Palestinians will march together calling for
independence and for an end to the running amok of the Netanyahu government,
which is leading us to a political abyss."
 *****************************************************************************************************************************

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