What the US Jewish left can't understand about Israel
The Jerusalem Post is reporting that the US Jewish left is finally taking an interest in an Israeli issue that is not conversion or giving up land for a piece of paper. They are opposing a bill that was introduced in the Knesset to overrule the 'Supreme Court's decision that the Israel Lands Association, acting on behalf of the Jewish National Fund, cannot refuse to lease land to Arabs.I have discussed many times on this blog how the Supreme Court here is a leftist institution that does not reflect the country's will but only that of its leftist elites. That the bill being opposed by the US leftists passed a first reading in the Knesset by a 64-16 margin a huge and unusual majority, especially for a first reading where most MK's typically would not bother to show up, shows how united Israelis are on this issue. But the American leftists don't get it.
The Reform Movement and other liberal Jewish groups are urging the Knesset not to move forward with legislation that would prohibit Arab Israelis from leasing land owned by the Jewish National Fund.It's not just in Jordan that selling land to Jews is punishable by death. It's the 'Palestinian' and Jordanian law in Israel too.
A preliminary reading of the bill, which was approved by a 64-16 margin last week, would allow the Israel Lands Authority to bar Israeli Arabs from leasing any land that it manages. The JNF owns 13 percent of the land in Israel, much of which was paid for by Diaspora Jews.
In 1962, the JNF reached an agreement with the Israel Lands Authority, established in 1961, that allowed the ILA to manage JNF-owned land.
The current bill is intended to bypass a decision by Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz in support of a preliminary court ruling that said non-Jews could not be barred from leasing JNF lands.
The reasoning behind the bill, according to the JNF, is that "the land purchased by the Jewish people for the Jewish people should remain in the hands of its rightful owners."
"It's important for us who had a covenant with the donors, that we honor that covenant," said Russell Robinson, chief executive officer of JNF.
"For 2000 years, I don't remember that we were praying and dreaming that we can't wait to establish a democratic state in the Middle East, but we did say that we can't wait to reestablish a Jewish homeland."
...
Other Diaspora activists, however, support the bill. ZOA President Morton Klein said he was "very disappointed that Jewish groups would not understand the unique circumstances in Israel."
"Israel is not America. It was created first as a Jewish state, where America was created first as [a] democracy," Klein said.
Klein pointed out other Israeli laws that give Jews privileges not available to non-Jewish Israeli citizens, such as aliya.
"Why don't they publicly complain that Jews can't purchase land anywhere in Jordan, our ally?" said Klein, arguing that in Jordan, selling land to a Jew is an offense punishable by death.
I don't think that anyone who ever collected money for JNF in boxes like the one pictured above ever thought in their wildest dreams that the money would be for reclaiming land for Arabs. In fact, the opposite is true. The land was purchased from Arabs (often at exorbitant prices) to reclaim it for the Jews. Russell Robinson is even more correct on this than Mort Klein. Once you raise money for a specific purpose, you cannot go and change the purpose without the consent of all the donors. Especially when the new purpose is diametrically opposed to the previous one. A change in what's politically correct does not change that reality.
The fact that one fifth of Israel's citizens are Arabs is because Israel did not expel all its Arab citizens like the Arabs did to all of their Jewish citizens. In retrospect, that might have been a mistake.
What is consistent in the positions espoused by the American Jewish left on conversion, giving up land in Israel and allowing Jewish land in Israel to be settled by Arabs is that they are spitting in the face of God choosing the Jewish people. Instead, they try to dilute God's choice by denying the Jewish people's uniqueness. And they wonder why they have to recruit non-Jews to inflate their numbers?
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:09 AM
9 Comments:
Hi
Ive been a regular reader of this blog for some time now.
By reading of your posts, it seems that the Israeli right-of-centre movement has been hijacked by the left-liberal alliance. This has made the enemies of the Jewish state stronger.
I would like to tell you that we here in India face a similar problem. As you may know that Majority of Indians are Hindus and a sizable minority of muslims.
The elite in India are blatant leftists who pander to the muslims and whore themselves for their votes. India is a victim of islamic terrorism exported by Pakistani state.
The current government in New Delhi, which is dominated by communists and other leftists, constantly undermines the feelings of the hindu majority in the name of secularism.
It continues a sham of a peace-talks with pakistan when Indian citizens and soldiers are regularly killed by these islamic rats.
thanks
Vivek
Vivek,
Indeed, it does sound quite similar. I don't know how to combat it. Because of the way our parliamentary system works, we are stuck with the current government, possibly until 2010. I gather your situation is similar since India was also a British colony that inherited some bad parts of the British system, and left some good parts sitting on the table.
hi C in J
same here. stuck with the same government until 09.
As you mention, the same parliamentary system with indirect election of the PM and the cabinet adds to this problem.
I also gather that there is some controversy going on in Israel with regards to certain words to be used in Arabic only schools. In India too the government tries to re-write the history with sole intention of appeasing the muslims by portraying the muslim invaders and tyrants in positive light.
However the problem in India is that, internally the country is so diverse that the emergence of a single right movement is almost impossible. There are just too many fault-lines in the Hindu society waiting to be exploited by the leftists.
thanks,
Vivek
I understand....
Here as well, there are divisions on the right between religious and non-religious (or principled secular) that can be used by the left to divide and conquer.
The Knesset bill prohibits leasing JNF land to non-Jews.
Leasing.
As in the JNF owns the land, charges a fee for its usage for a specific time period, and when the lease is up, still owns the land.
If the bill is implemented, the JNF will be permitted to lease its land to a self-hating Jewish member of the ISM or Neturei Karta, and yet a pro-Israel Arab such as Wafa Sultan could not get a lease.
How come I can understand that - with no legal training - and you can't?
60 years ago the US Supreme Court prohibited enforcement of restrictive covenants that many times prohibited Jews or Blacks from purchasing property in many areas.
Have you been in Israel so long that you forgot this?
The anti-Semites and Arabs will now have full justification in calling Israel an apartheid state. And you know what? They'll be right.
Oh and this really took the cake:
"The fact that one fifth of Israel's citizens are Arabs is because Israel did not expel all its Arab citizens like the Arabs did to all of their Jewish citizens. In retrospect, that might have been a mistake."
I've seen you write rude and inflammatory content before, but that's just downright racist.
Have you no sense of dignity, sir?
Actually Carl is quite right. In retrospect, the concept of not expelling the Arabs has turned out to be wrong, just like the failure to destroy the mosques on the Temple Mount has. The tiny Arab minority grew to 20% of Israel’s population, and became a powerful, hostile 5th column within, and the Al Aqsa mosque was allowed to become a religious and ideological center of the Arab conquest, pushing aside and supplanting in people’s mind that the place is actually the holiest site of Judaism, not Muslim.
All the PC nonsense aside,
Israel is a Jewish homeland and must remain a safe harbor for all of the world's Jews.
There is absolutely nothing wrong in preventing Arabs to reoccupy the land they had occupied and then sold and to prevent them from turning the Jews into a persecuted minority, once again.
The plight of the Jews under Muslim rule was and continues to be one of subjugation, subservience and fear and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. The only reason why the Muslims around the world are opposed to Israel is because they cannot and will not accept 'dhimmis' once ruled over emancipating themselves and creating a country they actually control. This is also the reason why you center your righteous indignation on JNF not leasing land to Arabs instead on Arabs killing anybody who sells land to Jews. Where is your righteous indignation over Muslim restrictions and intolerance?
Actually Carl is quite right. In retrospect, the concept of not expelling the Arabs has turned out to be wrong, just like the failure to destroy the mosques on the Temple Mount has. The tiny Arab minority grew to 20% of Israel’s population, and became a powerful, hostile 5th column within, and the Al Aqsa mosque was allowed to become a religious and ideological center of the Arab conquest, pushing aside and supplanting in people’s mind that the place is actually the holiest site of Judaism, not Islam.
All the PC nonsense aside,
Israel is a Jewish homeland and must remain a safe harbor for all of the world's Jews.
There is absolutely nothing wrong in preventing Arabs to reoccupy the land they had occupied and then sold and to prevent them from turning the Jews into a persecuted minority, once again.
The plight of the Jews under Muslim rule was and continues to be one of subjugation, subservience and fear and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. The only reason why the Muslims around the world are opposed to Israel is because they cannot and will not accept 'dhimmis' once ruled over emancipating themselves and creating a country they actually control. This is also the reason why you center your righteous indignation on JNF not leasing land to Arabs instead on Arabs killing anybody who sells land to Jews. Where is your righteous indignation over Muslim restrictions and intolerance?
Sorry for posting twice.
Had a bit of a problem with posting.
Quoting Toni:
"This is also the reason why you center your righteous indignation on JNF not leasing land to Arabs instead on Arabs killing anybody who sells land to Jews. Where is your righteous indignation over Muslim restrictions and intolerance?"
Toni, apparently you haven't read my blog:
Concerned UCI Student
Meanwhile, this is about LEASING. Not CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP.
You say: "There is absolutely nothing wrong in preventing Arabs to reoccupy the land they had occupied and then sold and to prevent them from turning the Jews into a persecuted minority, once again.
The plight of the Jews under Muslim rule was and continues to be one of subjugation, subservience and fear and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. The only reason why the Muslims around the world are opposed to Israel is because they cannot and will not accept 'dhimmis' once ruled over emancipating themselves and creating a country they actually control."
Since when is Judaism about attacking non-Jewish innocents in response to attacks on Jews?
Toni, you're losing the moral war here. Quit while you're ahead.
Post a Comment
<< Home