Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Criticism about the Israeli Arab and Jewish radical left de-Jewifying Israel

In its core, Israel has the conflict of being both a democratic state and a Jewish state. To make Israel equal to all its citizens, there is a suggestion that its Jewish and Zionist cultural elements could be removed from it so that it can have a more universal and inclusive character. That may sound quite nice, but it creates further complications.

I voted for the radical left wing in the last elections, and a friend of mine sent me this article to chew on. How would Israel look like if it wasn't predominantly Jewish? How would Israel 'speak' as a state if it could not refer to itself as 'The Jewish People" in the "Land of Israel", but rather as a state for different people, who are all "Israelis" but of different religions, ethnicities and sub-cultures? And to what extent will many Israeli-Arab leaders, representatives and citizens advocate towards a state of predominantly Arab characteristics? Rather than adopt a universalist point of view of multi-culturalism?

I am not suggesting an obvious answer, because I don't know any.

I invite you to read this thought-provoking article by Jewish, Israeli, left-winger and well-known Israeli political scientist, Shlomo Avineri.

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