on anti-democratic trends in israel,<br><br>Michel<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Tikkun</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:magazine@tikkun.org">magazine@tikkun.org</a>></span><br>
Date: Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 10:13 PM<br>Subject: Israel's New Boycott Law: The end of Free Speech and Democracy In Israel?<br>To: <a href="mailto:Michelsub2004@gmail.com">Michelsub2004@gmail.com</a><br><br><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b>[<i>Selections from an essay sent to Tikkun this morning from Uri Avnery, leader of <br>
</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i><b>the Israeli peace movement Gush Shalom. Tikkun's comment: It has long been</b><br>
</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i><b>argued by the peace and justice movements in the West that you cannot deny</b><br>
</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i><b>democratic rights to one section of the population without eventually denying</b><br>
</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i><b>those rights to everyone. The key to the withering away of democracy in Israel is</b><br>
</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i><b>the Occupation, and the restrictions placed on Palestinians is now becoming the</b><br>
</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i><b>psychological and ideological foundation for denying democratic rights to Israelis.</b></i></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">]</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">T</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">HE FUTURE � indeed, the present � of Israeli democracy is shrouded in doubt.</span></b></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�<i><span style="font-size: small;">by Uri Avnery</span></i></span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">It is a miracle, because it did not grow slowly over generations,</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> like Anglo-Saxon democracy. There was no democracy in the</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Jewish shtetl. Neither is there anything like it in Jewish religious </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">tradition. But the Zionist Founding Fathers, mostly West and</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Central European Jews, aspired to the highest social ideals of their time.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">I have always warned that our democracy has very shallow and</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> tender roots, and needs our constant care. Where did the Jews</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> who founded Israel, and who came here thereafter, grow up?</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Under the dictatorship of the British High Commissioner, the</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Russian Czar, the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, the king of </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Morocco, Pilsudsky�s Poland and similar regimes. Those of</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> us who came from democratic countries like Weimar Germany</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> or the US were a tiny minority.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Yet the founders of Israel succeeded in establishing a vibrant</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> democracy that � at least until 1967 � was in no way inferior, </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">and in some ways superior, to the British or American models.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> We were proud of it, and the world admired it. The appellation</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> �the Only Democracy in the Middle East� was not a hollow propaganda slogan.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Some claim that with the occupation of the Palestinian territories,</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> which have lived since 1967 under a harsh military regime </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">without the slightest trace of democracy and human rights,</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> this situation already came to an end. Whatever one thinks</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> about that, in fact Israel in its pre-1967 borders maintained</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> a reasonable record until recently. For the ordinary citizen,</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> democracy was still a fact of life. Even Arab citizens enjoyed </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">democratic rights far superior to anything in the Arab world.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">This week, all this was put in doubt. Some say that this </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">doubt has now been dispersed, and that a stark reality</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is being exposed.� </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">American Jews boycotted the cars of the infamous anti-Semite Henry Ford.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Jews in many countries took part in a boycott of German goods immediately</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> after the Nazis came to power in 1933. </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Chinese boycotted Japan after the invasion of their country. </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">The US boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow. People of </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">conscience all over the world boycotted the products and the </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">athletes of Apartheid South Africa and helped to bring it to its knees.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">All these campaigns used a basic democratic right: every person is</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> entitled to refuse to buy from people he detests. Everyone can refuse</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> to support with his money causes which contradict his innermost </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">moral convictions.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">It is this right that has been put to the test in Israel this week.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">IN 1997, Gush Shalom declared a boycott of the products </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">of the settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. We believe</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> that these settlements, which are being set up with the express</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> purpose of preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">are endangering the future of Israel.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">The press conference, in which we announced this step, was not </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">attended by a single Israeli journalist. But the boycott gathered</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> momentum. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis do not buy settlement</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> products. The European Union, which has a trade agreement that</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> practically treats Israel as a member of the union, was induced to </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">enforce the clause that excludes products of the settlements from </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">these privileges. </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">There are now hundreds of factories in the settlements. They were </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">literally compelled, or seduced, to go there, because the (stolen)</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> land there is far cheaper than in Israel proper. They enjoy generous</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> government subsidies and tax exemptions, and they can exploit </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Palestinian workers for ridiculous wages. The Palestinians have </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">no other way of supporting their families than to toil for their oppressors.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Our boycott was designed, among other things, to counter these </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">advantages. And indeed, several big enterprises have already given</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> in and moved out, under pressure from foreign investors and buyers. </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Alarmed, the settlers instructed their lackeys in the Knesset to draft a</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> law that would counter this boycott. </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Last Monday, the �Boycott Law� was enacted, setting off an </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">unprecedented storm in the country. Already Tuesday morning, </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Gush Shalom submitted to the Supreme Court a 22 page application </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">to annul this law.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">THE �BOYCOTT LAW� is a very clever piece of work.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">First of all, the law is disguised as a means to fight the</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> de-legitimization of the State of Israel throughout the world. The law bans</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> all calls for the boycott of the State of Israel, �including the areas </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">under Israeli control�. Since there are not a dozen Israelis who </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">call for the boycott of the state, it is clear that the real and sole</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> purpose is to outlaw the boycott of the settlements. </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">In its initial draft, the law made this a criminal offense. That would </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">have suited us fine: we were quite willing to go to prison for this </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">cause. But the law, in its final form, imposes sanctions that are another thing.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">According to the law, any settler who feels that he has been </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">harmed by the boycott can demand unlimited compensation </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">from any person or organization calling for the boycott � without</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> having to prove any actual damage. This means that each of the </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">300,000 settlers can claim millions from every single peace</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> activist associated with the call for boycott, thus destroying</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> the peace movement altogether.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">AS WE point out in our application to the Supreme Court, the law </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">is clearly unconstitutional. True, Israel has no formal constitution, </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">but several �basic laws� are considered by the Supreme Court to </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">function effectively as such.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">First, the law clearly contravenes the basic right to freedom of</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> expression. A call for a boycott is a legitimate political action, </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">much as a street demonstration, a manifesto or a mass petition.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Second, the law contravenes the principle of equality. The law </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">does not apply to any other boycott that is now being implemented </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">in Israel: from the religious boycott of stores that sell non-kosher </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">meat (posters calling for this cover the walls of the religious</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> quarters in Jerusalem and elsewhere), to the recent very successful</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> call to boycott the producers of cottage cheese because of their </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">high price. The call of right-wing groups to boycott artists who have</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> not served in the army will be legal, the declaration by left-wing</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> artists that they will not appear in the settlements will be illegal. </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Since these and other provisions of the law clearly violate the</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Basic Laws, the Legal Advisor of the Knesset, in a highly unusual </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">step, published his opinion that the law is unconstitutional and</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> undermines �the core of democracy�. Even the supreme </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">governmental legal authority, the �legal advisor of the</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> government�, has published a statement saying that</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> the law in �on the border� of unconstitutionality. Being </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">mortally afraid of the settlers, he added that he will defend</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> it in court nevertheless. The opportunity for this is not far</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> off: the Supreme Court has given him 60 days to respond</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> to our petition. </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">A SMALL group of minor parliamentarians is terrorizing</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> the Knesset majority and can pass any law at all. The power</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> of the settlers is immense, and moderate right-wing members</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> are rightly afraid that, if they are not radical enough, they will</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> not be re-elected by the Likud Central Council, which selects </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">the candidates for the party list. This creates a dynamic of </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">competition: who can appear the most radical.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">No wonder that one anti-democratic law follows another: a </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">law that practically bars Arab citizens from living in</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> localities of less than 400 families. A law that takes away</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> the pension rights of former Knesset members who do not </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">show up for police investigations (like Azmi Bishara--the Israeli Arab who</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">was the candidate for Prime Minister and then withdrew at the last</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">minute to help Arabs vote for Ehud Barak; later accused of treason</span></b> for</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">meeting with Syrian Arabs. He was a regular contributor to Tikkun magazine<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">.) </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">A law that abolishes the citizenship of people convicted of </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�assisting terrorism�. A law that obliges NGOs to disclose</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> donations by foreign governmental institutions. A law that gives </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">preference for civil service positions to people who have served</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> in the army (thus automatically excluding almost all Arab citizens).</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> A law that outlaws any commemoration of the 1948 Naqba</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (the expulsion of Arab inhabitants from areas conquered by Israel).</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> An extension of the law that prohibits (almost exclusively) Arab</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> citizens, who marry spouses from the Palestinian territories,</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> to live with them in Israel. </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Soon to be enacted is a bill that forbids NGOs to accept </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">donations of more than 5000 dollars from abroad, a bill </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">that will impose an income tax of 45% on any NGO that</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is not specifically exempted by the government, a bill </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">to compel universities to sing the national anthem on</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> every possible occasion, the appointment of a Parliamentary</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Commission of Inquiry to investigate the financial resources </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">of left-wing [sic] organizations.</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Looming over everything else is the explicit threat of </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">right-wing factions to attack the hated �liberal� Supreme</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Court directly, shear it of its ability to overrule unconstitutional </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">laws and control the appointment of the Supreme Court judges. </span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">FIFTY-ONE YEARS ago, on the eve of the Eichmann trial,</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I wrote a book about Nazi Germany. In the last chapter,</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I asked: �Can It Happen Here?�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">�</span></b></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">My answer still stands: yes, it can.</span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">�</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">�********************************************************************************************************</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">�From Ha'aretz� Friday, July 15, 2011</p>
<div>
<h1>4,500 Israelis and Arabs march in Jerusalem to support Palestinian independence</h1>
<h2>Police intervene to separate marchers and right-wing counter-protesters, despite organizers' claim march went peacefully.</h2>
<span> By <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=H2ivPmNvD6pUgDxv7vFjlah30zdG9awX" target="_blank"></span><span>Nir Hasson</a> </span> <span>Tags: <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Vidh4w9lbrr%2B8N95rmqrXKh30zdG9awX" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Palestinians</a> <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=lEg2zf3%2BN9WkoZ1pw8ijT6h30zdG9awX" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Palestinian state</a> <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=f5sdK4AEaJb1P7BnpfM4FKh30zdG9awX" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Middle East peace</a> </span></div>
<div></div>
<p>Over 4500 Palestinians and Israelis took part in the "March for Independence" Friday, calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<table width="474" border="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2"><img src="" alt="Jerusalem 'March for Independence' " title="Jerusalem 'March for Independence' "></td>
<td valign="top">
<p>Jerusalem 'March for Independence', July 15, 2011</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom">Photo by: Daniel Bar On</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div name="300x250.adpos=01" style="width: 300px; font-size: 0pt; overflow: auto;"></div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>"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.</p>
<p>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."</p>
<div>�*****************************************************************************************************************************</div>
<div></div>
<div>�</div>
<div>�</div>
<p></p></div>
<hr>
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