Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Jewish and democratic

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3707301,00.html
Jewish and democratic
The notion of a Jewish and democratic State of Israel is not a
contradiction
Gadi Taub
When David Ben-Gurion declared, 61 years ago, that “This right is the
natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate,
like all other nations, in their own sovereign State,” the vast
majority of those who viewed themselves as enlightened, progressive,
peace-seeking, and committed to human rights wholeheartedly agreed
with him.
Yet this seemingly taken-for-granted notion is becoming increasingly
less so. Increasingly, we can hear within Israel’s elites that “Jewish
and democratic” is an inherent contradiction, because if the State is
associated with only some of its citizens and not to others, this
violates the principle of democratic equality.
The feeling that Zionism is illegitimate is spreading even more
quickly abroad. Not only in Europe, but in the United States as well.
Not too long ago, a friend of mine who is a professor at Columbia
University told me that his Jewish students define their identity as
follows: “Jewish, but not Zionist.”
How did we get there within six decades? How did a notion that earlier
appeared to be democratic and progressive turned in the eyes of many
into the exact opposite? Any answer should take into account at least
two dramatic processes in the history of the state, one that came from
the right side of the political map and another that came from the
left: The first one is the increasing identification of Zionism with
the settlement enterprise and the occupation regime, and the second
one is the new usage of the language of civil rights in order to
revoke fundamental democratic rights.
The first of these two is easily understood: The occupation is not,
and cannot be, democratic. Therefore, if Zionism identifies with the
settlements, Zionism isn’t democratic. Keeping millions of Arabs
devoid of rights is a blatant violation of our Declaration of
Independence and of Zionism’s moral basis, the right of “each and
every nation” to self-determination. Practically as well, the
settlement enterprise threatens to eliminate Zionism and integrate it
into a form of bi-nationalism.
Deceptive interpretation
On the Left as well, many have turned their backs on partition. The
longer the occupation stayed in place, the more despaired the Left
became. The contempt to the settlement enterprise turned into aversion
to Israel and to the very Zionist idea. This leftist camp abandoned
the Declaration of Independence and limited itself to a narrow and
deceptive interpretation of the idea of individual rights.
It started dreaming of the “state of all its citizens” which is not
premised on nationality, between the Jordan River and the
Mediterranean Sea, which is seen as the home of individuals only
rather than peoples, and where all individuals identify with the state
equally. Equality would be full and democracy would be perfect. This
is the view used by leftist intellectuals, hand in hand with the
“Durban II” conference, to promote the notion that a Jewish state is a
racist state.
Yet the simple truth is that the radical Left’s view is no more than
self-deception: The State of Israel would stop being Jewish only if it
ceases to be democratic. As long as it is home to a Jewish majority,
this majority will choose the Shabbat as its day of rest, the Jewish
holidays as its calendar, and Hebrew as its language.
This is the meaning of democracy: it is a mechanism for realizing the
right for self-determination. It entrusts in the hands of citizens the
right to shape their lives, and they will do it in line with their
culture. The Palestinians will do the same should they choose
democracy. And to that end, we need partition and we need two states,
because we have two peoples here, not only individuals.
It is therefore appropriate that on Memorial Day and on Independence
Day we return to the Declaration of Independence and remember that the
right of every people for self-determination is the basis of Zionism.
Those who attempt to prevent other people from determining their
nationality – in the name of civil rights or the mitzvah of settling
the land – are blatant enemies both of Zionism and of democracy.

 contradiction
se siete così ossessionati dal problema, a 60 anni dalla nascita dello
stato, evidentemente avete la coda di paglia