CSM: Freedom of religion equals lack of democracy

The Christian Science Monitor, never a friend to Israel, is contributing to the delegitimization of Israel by asking whether or not Israel is a democracy. The premise for this article, which is included in the CSM’s year-end list section, uses spurious examples of actions by individuals and one proposed law to present a provably false case that Israel is cracking down on Arab citizens’ rights. Note the scary headline and subhead:

Is Israel a democracy?
Five actions in 2010 that fueled the debate.

The CSM starts with a false premise: That letters and opinions by religious Jews are affecting Arab rights. The article doesn’t actuallly state what rights are being “challenged,” nor does it come up with a single concrete instance of Arabs’ rights being violated, but that didn’t stop them from running a five-part list of how we must question Israel’s value as a democratic state. This is extremely important, because it is another chip in the wall of Israel’s legitimacy by a mainstream media publication.

Recent actions by Israel’s religious and right-wing communities have challenged the rights of the country’s growing Arab minority.

Using this false premise, the CSM presents religious rulings as something that affect Israel’s democratic nature. The tie-in? Well, some religious Jews don’t want their daughters to date Arabs, or their neighbors to rent or sell to Arabs. Clearly, the democratic character of Israel is at stake, because it’s not like any other Israelis objected to the above, and there was a broad outcry to turn these letters and religious rulings into law.

Oh. Wait. They did.

Still, the CSM breathlessly proclaims that actions such as a letter signed by some rabbis’ wives telling Jewish girls not to date Arabs, is a reason to question whether Israeli is a democracy. The fact that they contradict themselves right in their explanation didn’t stop this article from being published:

The people responsible for the letter say that its goal is to prevent assimilation and romantic relationships between Jewish women and Arab men, according to Ynet News. The letter was distributed by an organization named Lehava, which works against intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews.

“The problem is religious, not racist. If my son were to decide to marry an Arab woman who converted, I wouldn’t have a problem with that,” said Bentzi Gopstein, a senior member of Lehava, according to Ynet.

In sum, we have a religious group freely expressing a religious opinion—the very bedrock of a democratic state—used as evidence that Israel is leaning undemocratic.

Next:

Earlier this month, dozens of rabbis from all over Israel signed a religious ruling that forbids Jews from renting or selling real estate to Arabs.

This letter was widely condemned in Israel. These rabbis are not members of the Israeli parliament and have no ability to affect the laws of the nation. But to the CSM, this is another sign that Israel’s democracy must be questioned. And just in case you think that they’re exaggerating the rabbinic influence, well, they’ve got that covered. They minimize the condemnations and exaggerate the rabbis’ influence:

Although several Jewish and Israeli institutions have come out against the letter – such as Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust museum authority – the number of prominent rabbis in Israel who have condemned it has been comparatively small. Many of the rabbis that signed the letter are state-employed municipal chief rabbis.

Wow, “state-employed municipal chief rabbis”—oooh, that sounds really official. You know who else is a state-employed municipal official? The guy from VDOT who plows the highway in my county. I sure hope he doesn’t start issuing letters about white Virginians not renting to black Virginians, or vice-versa, because that would totally prove that Virginia is a racist state.

None of the “state-employed municipal chief rabbis” is a member of the Knesset, and none has the ability to affect Israeli law. Nevertheless, the CSM insists this is another reason to question Israel’s commitment to democracy.

Case number three:

In Safed, a religious town in northern Israel, Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu called on residents not to rent or sell real estate to Arab students studying at the local college. The request was later formalized into a religious ruling, the Monitor reported.

So, have we come up with a government edict restricting Arabs rights yet?

Nope. Strike three. So far, we have nothing more than a bunch of religious Jews making rulings that people can (and have) ignore, mock, criticize, follow, or tune out. One of the rabbis is being investigated by the government for incitement. Clearly, Israel’s democracy is wavering, and its Arab minority is in grave danger.

But wait! The CSM has found a case that actually involves the Israeli government!

In October, the Israeli cabinet approved a bill that will require even non-Jews who wish to become Israeli citizens to pledge allegiance to Israel as a Jewish state. There was already a mandatory oath of loyalty – as is the norm in many countries – but now it will be amended to include the phrase “Jewish and democratic state,” the Monitor reported.

The proposed law would have little practical impact, because there are few non-Jews seeking citizenship, but it is symbolic of an effort to delegitimize Arab Israeli citizens, some say.

We have a law that is in the bill stage. But even if it does become law, having new citizens of the state of Israel declare loyalty to a “Jewish and democratic state”—not current citizens, not Arabs only, but immigrants who want to become citizens of the state of Israel—is not anti-democratic. The law is not forcing non-Jews to convert. It is stating that they must declare their loyalty to the State of Israel, the only Jewish-majority state in the entire world, as a Jewish state. The horrors!

Strike four. Go for five? Hold onto your hats for this evidence that Israel is becoming less of a democracy: The government banned textbooks teaching the Palestinian version of Israel’s independence (known by them as the “nakba,” or catastrophe).

I was wrong. Israel is so totally heading down the road to authoritarianism, or something dark, dank, and dangerous. Holy cow, call out the UN Human Rights Committee! Someone get Richard Goldstone on the phone! OMG, Israel’s no longer a democracy!

You know, if you’re going to accuse Israel of losing its democratic values, you really need to include examples of government oppression, laws restricting rights, and officials cracking down on individual freedoms. If you can supply none of the above, you’re just blowing smoke. And making yourself a laughingstock here at Yourish.com.

But all mockery aside: This is how delegitimization works—one stupid article at a time, that people will cut and paste and quote for years to come as proof that Israel is taking away Arab citizens’ rights, even though the article proves no such thing—because people will take the article at face value, and do no critical thinking, no investigation, and no further research.

So I’ll do it for them. And you can link to this when some moron tries to tell you that Israel is cracking down on minority rights because a few religious Jews made their opinions known on Jewish religious matters.