Monday will go down in history as the day that the Israeli Knesset voted to suspend democracy in Israel. Monday was the day when the Knesset effectively outlawed peaceful protest against Israeli government policies, including settlements.
The passage of this law is a travesty of democracy.
Pictured: Former Knesset Member Mossi Raz signing Peace Now's petition. Poster on left says "Sue Me, I'm Boycotting Settlement Products".
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I am proud that our Israeli friends and colleagues in the Israeli Peace Now movement are leading a national effort in Israel to challenge this disgraceful new law. As proud Israelis, they know what this law means for their country and their futures. They know that it is not just their own ability to fight for peace, but also the very soul of Israel, that it is at stake.
I am proud that our Israeli friends and colleagues in the Israeli Peace Now movement are leading a national effort in Israel to challenge this disgraceful new law. As proud Israelis, they know what this law means for their country and their futures. They know that it is not just their own ability to fight for peace, but also the very soul of Israel, that it is at stake.
Let's be very clear here: fundamentally this is not about boycotts or even, really, about settlements. It is about trying to stifle dissent, smother activism, and suppress freedom of expression in Israel.
And this flagrant attack on the basic democratic value of freedom of expression is not an isolated case. The boycott law is just the latest in a series of anti-democratic initiatives in the Knesset - some of them already enacted - that seek to suffocate the Israeli civil society organizations that are most critical to preserving Israel's democracy - groups working to promote peace, human rights, and civil rights within Israel.
All of us who love Israel - who love the people of Israel and who are deeply committed to ensuring a future for them in the Jewish and democratic state of Israel - cannot stay silent.
We will not stay silent. We will not be intimidated. We will not back down. Israel and the Israeli people are worth fighting for.
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I think it would be a great service to your subscribers and supporters if you could pull together summary information about the content and status of the "series of anti-democratic initiatives" in the Knesset to which you refer. Thank you.
I second David's observation--summarizing the Knesset's anti-democracy and any cumulative effects the body's actions create...The idea that a klatch of political minorities can get away with such 'decrees-from-above' clearly shows that Israel needs a REAL Constitution and 'Covenants of Rights' which allow and encourage true rectitude and pride in principles
worthy of a devoted and enlightened nation's people...Aaron Allen...
"The Jewish right of settlement in the West Bank is conferred by the SAME PROVISIONS of the Mandate under which Jews settled in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem before the state of Israel was created." -- Eugene Rostow, U.S. Undersecretary of State 1966-1969
In other words, Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria (a.k.a. West Bank) are just as legal under international law as is Tel Aviv and Haifa.
For more info http://tinyurl.com/JewishRights