More Hypocrisy from the Loony Left

Israel National News (Arutz Sheva):

The latest bills to arouse the Left's ire are ones that, if passed, would limit the ability of foreign governments and international bodies to fund Israeli political NGOs. Also on the agenda is a law that would require Supreme Court nominees to undergo a parliamentary vetting process.

Foremost among the voices crying foul is that of MK Zehava Galon (Meretz). "The bills raised at the Ministerial Committee for Legislation poison democracy even without being voted upon," she stated Sunday. "Just by being presented, they encourage violence against activists for human rights and peace, strike terror into hearts and encourage self-censorship, which we are already witness to in several media outlets."

"Without the possibility of advancing a world view, opinions and aims that are not held by the majority at a particular point in time – there is no democracy, and when the majority attempts to silence the minority and deny it freedom of organization, expression and protest, this is not majority rule but majority dictatorship."

Interestingly it is Galon herself who, as leader of the Meretz faction, was instrumental in the court petitions that led to the State's shutting down of Arutz Sheva Radio eight years ago.

Arutz Sheva had broadcast for 14 years from a ship anchored at sea -- unfettered by centralized political regulatory procedures -- and was very popular among Israeli nationalists as the only alternative to mainstream leftist stations. An ultra-leftist station named the Voice of Peace had broadcast in precisely the same way for three decades, unmolested. Some feel that the government was already making preparations for the Disengagement from Gaza and possibly did not want Arutz Sheva making trouble.

As the High Court debated the motions against Arutz Sheva and eventually found in their favor, Galon and other Meretz heads repeatedly demanded that the Attorney General order Arutz Sheva closed down, their much-touted belief in free speech notwithstanding. Eventually, this is exactly what happened, on October 20, 2003.

A few weeks later Galon launched an attack on Arutz Sheva's sole remaining means of expression – its internet website (the one you are currently reading).

Galon again appealed to then-Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein and claimed that an Op-Ed article on the Hebrew site entitled "Expulsion, not Transfer" constituted a violation of laws against incitement. She claimed the article was a call to "murder hundreds of thousands of Palestinians." 

 

The article in question, by Gil Ronen, assumed that since there is no chance for reaching peace with the Arabs of Yesha (Judea and Samaria), Israel has no alternative but to "remove this 'nation' from our midst." Ronen wrote that he does not support "transfer," as "the Palestinians are not European Jews, and we are not Germans." Instead, he painted a scenario of "gradual deterioration" in which the war against terrorists expands to include more targeted killings, more house demolitions, and more air raids. All of the actions envisioned in the article were depicted as being taken by the IDF. As Arutz Sheva noted at the time, Ronen specifically wrote that "no one will have to take the law into his own hands."

The article was written at the height of the Terror War launched by Yasser Arafat in which over 1,000 Jews were murdered and buses full of innocent passengers of all ages exploded on a near-daily basis.

AG Rubinstein accepted Galon's demands and ordered an investigation against Arutz Sheva. The investigation was closed after police found no grounds for prosecution.

 

Analyst Ariel Natan Pasko noted at the time that Galon was not just after Arutz Sheva's freedom of speech: "Clump-clump, clump-clump, clump-clump, hark, I hear the sound of the goose-stepping Bolshevik Israeli thought police in the distance," he wrote.

MK Zahava Gal-On, just a couple of months ago, asked the Attorney General to look into a Jerusalem Post editorial she said had "words of incitement to murder" in it. The Jerusalem Post editorial said, "The world will not help us; we must help ourselves. We must kill as many of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders as possible, as quickly as possible, while minimizing collateral damage, but not letting that damage stop us. And we must kill Yasser Arafat, because the world leaves us no alternative." Where is Freedom of the Speech? Where is Freedom of the Press? When was it ever "incitement to murder", to call for the death of the enemy in wartime? Only in Israel, only on the Bolshevik Left, only to shut people up and divert attention from discussing the real issue, Arafat's war against Israel. By the way, in the end the Attorney General found nothing prosecutable in the editorial. Freedom of Speech 1, Thought Police 0.

Back in May 2003, MK Gal-On called on the Attorney General to "warn" members of the Yesha Rabbinical Council against releasing a Halakhic - Jewish law - ruling against the Road Map "peace" plan. Well, what are they supposed to issue, an economic impact report, they're rabbis? What? They're not allowed to think differently from Zahava?

 

Eight years down the line, it is Galon who claims that the nationalists are the ones guilty of censorship -- and that her camp is the victim being stifled.

Interestingly, the American Foreign Agent Act was created also to prevent foreign muddling in American internal affairs - at the time, to prevent Nazi propaganda.  There is absolutely no reason why foreign countries that wish ill for Israel should be allowed to donate billions of dollars to organizations that seek the destruction of Israel (slyly, by slapping the words "human rights" and "peace activists" onto themselves - human rights for all, except for the Jews in Israel).  Israel should handle its own internal affairs, without foreign countries trying to influence Israeli politics and running contrary to what the majority of the Israeli public wants.

Oh and by the way, doing something contrary to what mainstream Israeli public wants is not democratic.  So a 10 month unprecedented settlement freeze by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from President Obama, was a huge risk, which cost him much popularity, and angered many Israelis.  That would be acceptable, except Mahmoud Abbas still refused to negotiate.  As such, nothing came out of the freeze.

That was just one year ago.  And yet, foreign countries are demanding another settlement freeze, brainwashed by Abbas repeating that Israel must freeze settlements to engage in peace talks.  Because to these foreign countries, the agenda of fantasy peace is so high on their list that all other affairs come only after it.  And to them, the Israeli-Arab conflict can only be solved through their help, and so they can have the title.  Only then will ultimate harmony and peace be brought to Earth. Only then will everyone hold hands around a campfire and sing "Kumbaya."

They disregard that peace between Egypt and Israel was established secretly, without foreign countries.  The same goes for the peace deals between Israel and Jordan.

So what exactly is this ridiculous nonsense coming from the left?  And why do foreign countries feel an imperative need to donate tons of aid to leftist organizations that wish ill for Israel and want to muddle in Israeli internal affairs?  Take for example, Great Britian.  For every pound (unit of currency in Britian) that Britain spends on NGO's in non-democratic Arab countries to promote democracy, Britian spends six pounds on suicidal NGO's in a democratic country - Israel.

The hypocrisy is astounding.