[Peace-discuss] The Israeli Lieberman

[David Green]

Re: Abunimah - World silent as fascists join Israel
government 

Posted by: "Carol Herzenberg" carol at herzenberg.net  
cherzenberg 

Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:09 pm (PST) 

Perhaps its time to suggest regime change in Israel?
- Carol

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On Tue, 24 Oct 2006 09:00:04 -0500, <MichaelLevin11@
aol.com> wrote:

> Opinion/Editorial
>
> World silent as fascists join Israel government
>
>
> By Ali Abunimah
>
>
> The Electronic Intifada
>
> 24 October 2006
>
>
> http://electronicin tifada.net/ v2/article5874.
shtml
>
>
> In a frightening but long expected move, Israeli
prime minister Ehud Olmert has brought the Yisrael
Beitenu party into his coalition government. The
party's leader, Avigdor Lieberman, is to be vice prime
minister and, as "Minister for Strategic Threats," a
key member of Israel's "security cabinet" in charge of
the Iran portfolio.
>
>
> Yisrael Beitenu is a dangerous extremist party with
fascist tendencies that has openly advocated the
"transfer" of Palestinians, including the transfer of
Arab towns within Israel to a Bantustan-like future
Palestinian entity. It has made clear that a Jewish
supremacist state is more important than a democratic
one. The party, whose strongest base is among Russian
immigrants brought to Israel in the 1990s, surged at
the Israeli election earlier this year, taking eleven
seats in Israel's 120 seat Knesset.
>
>
> Last summer, Israel launched a disastrous war of
>
> destruction against Lebanon, and continues its siege
and
>
> onslaught against Palestinians in the occupied
territories
>
> which has killed nearly three hundred people in
three
>
> months and left hundreds of thousands without
sufficient
>
> food, water and electricity. Lieberman has advocated
even
>
> more harsh and criminal measures against the
Palestinians
>
> and Israel's neighbors.
>
>
> It is dismaying that the European Union, a key
>
> international actor, seems set to maintain warm,
normal
>
> relations with this extremist government, thus
giving it
>
> encouragement and legitimacy.
>
>
> "You will understand that we cannot interfere with
the
>
> setting up of a foreign government. This is a matter
for
>
> which the concerned State alone is responsible, "
wrote
>
> Cristina Gallach, the official spokesperson for
Javier
>
> Solana, the EU High Representative for foreign
policy, in
>
> an email responding to a query about whether the EU
would
>
> impose sanctions on Israel if Yisrael Beitenu joined
the
>
> government.
>
>
> Gallach added that "We think that both Israel and
the
>
> Palestinians are aware of the responsibility they
have in
>
> creating the favorable conditions for reactivating
the
>
> Peace Process with the ultimate goal of having two
States
>
> living side by side in peace and security." Other
than
>
> such bland and cynical platitudes, Solana's
spokesperson
>
> offered no hint of EU concern about the horrifying
>
> political developments within Israel that are
certain to
>
> bring about further violence, escalation and
needless
>
> suffering.
>
>
> In an interview with an Israeli newspaper in
September,
>
> Yisrael Beitenu leader Lieberman said: "The vision I
would
>
> like to see here is the entrenching of the Jewish
and the
>
> Zionist state...I very much favour democracy, but
when
>
> there is a contradiction between democratic and
Jewish
>
> values, the Jewish and Zionist values are more
important."
>
> (Scotsman, October 23, 2006)
>
>
> In addition to espousing ethnic cleansing, Lieberman
has a
>
> long history of inciting discrimination, hatred and
>
> violence against Palestinians within the Jewish
state and
>
> living under Israeli military occupation in East
>
> Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. When he
served as
>
> minister of transport in a previous government,
Lieberman
>
> called for all Palestinian prisoners held by the
Israeli
>
> occupation authorities to be drowned in the Dead Sea
and
>
> offered to provide the buses ("Lieberman blasted for
>
> suggesting drowning Palestinian prisoners,"
Ha'aretz, July
>
> 11, 2002). He has proposed to strip the citizenship
of,
>
> and expel any Palestinian citizen of Israel who
refuses to
>
> sign a loyalty oath to the Jewish Zionist state ("A
Jewish
>
> demographic state," Ha'aretz, June 28, 2002).
>
>
> In 2002, Lieberman declared, "I would not hesitate
to send
>
> the Israeli army into all of Area A [the area of the
West
>
> Bank ostensibly under Palestinian Authority control]
for
>
> 48 hours. Destroy the foundation of all the
authority's
>
> military infrastructure, all of the police
buildings, the
>
> arsenals, all the posts of the security forces...
not
>
> leave one stone on another. Destroy everything." He
also
>
> suggested to the Israeli cabinet that the air force
>
> systematically bomb all the commercial centers, gas
>
> stations and banks in the occupied territories (The
>
> Independent, March 7, 2002). And, he has proposed
bombing
>
> Egypt's Aswan Dam, despite that country's peace
treaty
>
> with Israel since 1979. What will he propose to do
to
>
> Iran?
>
>
> Hebrew University professor Ze'ev Sternhell, a
leading
>
> Israeli academic specialist on fascism and
>
> totalitarianism, was quoted by the Scotsman
newspaper as
>
> terming Lieberman "perhaps the most dangerous
politician
>
> in the history of the state of Israel."
>
>
> Urgent action is needed to stem the growing threat
to
>
> international peace and security that Israel
presents.
>
> Rather than do anything of the kind, the office of
the EU
>
> High Representative has set a new low standard,
offering
>
> only appeasement and accomodation for Israeli
extremism
>
> and apartheid. The claim that the EU does not
interfere in
>
> the internal affairs of foreign governments is just
a fig
>
> leaf for political cowardice and unwillingness to
stand up
>
> to Israel or its backers; it is not remotely
consistent
>
> with past or present practice in other cases.
>
>
> Most glaringly, since Palestinians under occupation
>
> elected Hamas to lead the Palestinian Authority last
>
> January, in the Arab world's most free election
ever, the
>
> EU has interfered in their affairs in the most
>
> irresponsible manner, imposing a total siege and cut
off
>
> of aid that has directly penalized the Palestinian
>
> population, causing widespread hunger and
deprivation.
>
> This siege is explicitly intended to force the
Hamas-led
>
> authority to abandon the platform on which it was
elected,
>
> or to force it out of office completely. (The EU
claims it
>
> wants Hamas to recognize Israel and end violence,
even
>
> though Hamas has observed a 22-month one-sided
truce,
>
> halting attacks on Israel, and its leaders have
issued
>
> repeated statements in favor of reaching a long-term
>
> agreement with Israel on the basis of equality and
mutual,
>
> not one-sided, recognition. ) The European Union,
under
>
> Solana's personal stewardship, orchestrated this
gross
>
> interference in the development of Palestinian
democracy
>
> and punishment of those who tried to practice it.
>
>
> And in 2000, EU countries took the unprecedented
measure
>
> of imposing diplomatic sanctions on one of their own
>
> member states, Austria, after the far-right Freedom
Party
>
> joined the government following elections. Although
many
>
> voices criticized the EU for meddling in the
internal
>
> affairs of a democratic country, one of the most
vocal
>
> supporters of the sanctions was none other than
Javier
>
> Solana, who on that occasion declared "I think
Europe has
>
> given a very good example of how in important things
--
>
> things that have to go with principles, with values
--
>
> there's no possibility of compromise." ("Sanctions
hit
>
> Austria," Reuters, February 4, 2000).
>
>
> But when it comes to EU member states discharging
their
>
> responsibilities to hold Israel accountable for its
>
> escalating violations of the EU-Israel Association
>
> Agreement, the Fourth Geneva Convention, numerous UN
>
> Security Council Resolutions, and basic human
decency, the
>
> principles that Solana and many powerful others are
so
>
> proud to boast of are nowhere to be found.
>
>
> In this moral and political vacuum, it is ever more
urgent
>
> to heed the call of Palestinian civil society to
join the
>
> growing global campaign of boycott, divestment and
>
> sanctions.
>
>
> Ali Abunimah is co-founder of The Electronic
Intifada and
>
> author of "One Country - A Bold Proposal to End the
>
> Israeli-Palestinian Impasse" (Metropolitan Books,
2006)
>
>
>


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