8 thoughts on “Haaretz Criticizes Bishara Gag Order – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. Now that the gag order on the gag order has been lifted we can know that an INVESTIGATION is being carried against Bishara and has not yet been copmpleted. So that your prior posting “Let the world know the charges” is wrong and misleading (once again), since there are no charges yet, and maybe there never will be. MKs do not have immunity from investigations. From the radio today I learned that MKs also do not have immunity from arrest in two cases only: violent crimes or treason. Perhaps Bishara has not returned to Israel because he hasn’t completed doing whatever it is he was doing. Or, perhaps he knows what the shin bet has against him and he knows that his immunity won’t help. Time will tell.

  2. Bishara has done a great deal to cause mistrust between Israeli Jews and Arabs. He deserves to be thrown to the wolves. Let him live a long life in exile

  3. Integrity, dignity….

    This Israeli Arab representative, Bishara had no integrity.

    He was in the pocket of Syria, Hizbollah….

    There is no hope for the Israeli minorities and for the Gaza/West Bank Palastinians until a leader rises who has an impeccable integrity.

    The same is true for Israel.

    If there were good Israeli and Palestinian leaders whose words can be trusted by ordinary Israelis and Palestinians to create a bridge between the enlightened crossover people, there will be a strong majority to defeat the extremists on both sides.

  4. Rumours – supposedly substantiated – on Israeli blogs – mostly right wing – say Bishara is being investigated for spying for Syria.

    If he in fact did so, who can support him?

    On the other hand, he himself has now announced that he may delay his resignation from the Knesset in order to avoid prosecution – and since spying would not be covered by a Knesset Member’s immunity from prosecution – maybe the alleged charges are something else.

    On the third hand, it could be that what the Shin Bet calls “spying” is another persons “discussions” . Bishara openly travelled to Syria, and held discussions with the government officials there. (This is something that would be illegal for an ordinary Israeli, but specifically covered by a Knesset members immunity.) But what did he tell them? If it was the detailed location or nature of Israeli military facilities, that’s spying in anyone’s book. If it was his evaluation of the political forces in the Knesset, or the mood of the Israeli Arab “street”, or his evaluation of the Israeli publics opinion on war and peace – is that spying?

  5. Bishara has done a great deal to cause mistrust between Israeli Jews and Arabs.

    And Avigdor Lieberman, Meir Kahane and any number of Arab-hating Israeli Jewish politicians haven’t done “a great deal to cause mistrust” bet. Arabs and Israeli Jews??? C’mon. Are you wearing blinders? Do you think hate sprouts in a vacuum? Hate is a 2 way street.

  6. Bishara had no integrity.

    So you wanna talk about “integrity?” Who has more integrity–Olmert or Bishara? Sharon or Bishara? Ramon or Bishara? Katsav or Bishara? Hanegbi or Bishara? Netanyahu or Bishara? Don’t mention integrity in this regard or you won’t find a single Israeli politician who can be compared favorably with him except the few who don’t have real power like perhaps Beilin or Aloni or Sarid or the like.

    I don’t know what Bishara will be accused of but if it involves money do you think any corruption that might (and I emphasize MIGHT) have taken place could compare with corruption on the grand scale of the Sharon-Olmert political clique?

  7. your prior posting “Let the world know the charges” is wrong and misleading (once again), since there are no charges yet, and maybe there never will be

    Not at all. The context of my statement makes clear that I was not just talking about “charges.” I was talking about the entire process. Let’s hear what he is suspected of. Let’s hear what evidence there is. Let’s hear Bishara’s reply. That’s what happens in a true democracy.

    As for there possibly never being charges brought against him–if I was a security agency director and brought a gag order of this political magnitude against a sitting Knesset member & then didn’t bring charges, I’d hope that someone would fire me or at least haul my ass on the carpet to find out what the hell I was thinking when I clamped down that gag order.

    Perhaps Bishara has not returned to Israel because he hasn’t completed doing whatever it is he was doing. Or, perhaps he knows what the shin bet has against him…

    And perhaps the moon is made of green cheese.

  8. Rumours – supposedly substantiated – on Israeli blogs – mostly right wing

    A few problems with this statement. “Rumors” are by definition unsubstantiated. And rumors on right-wing Israeli sites are even more suspect than yr average garden variety rumor. Though there is still a chance that some of this will turn out to be true.

    spying would not be covered by a Knesset Member’s immunity from prosecution

    If the charge is espionage, it might not be covered by parliamentary immunity. But I think the entire effort to strip his immunity & prosecute him would be instructive for Israeli democracy. We’ll get to see what it’s really made of. And whether it is possible for Arabs to participate effectively within Israeli democracy w/o being criminalized.

    This reminds me in some ways of Black political participation in the Reconstruction era south. After the Civil War, Blacks played prominent roles in southern politics until Reconstruction was dismantled. After that, it took 100 years before meaningful Black political participation resumed within southern American democracy.

    Israeli Arabs could always opt out of all political participation in Israeli life. While some Israeli Jews would welcome that or say “good riddance to ’em” they don’t realize that this would a deep and abiding blemish on Israeli democracy & would never be fully accepted within the international community where Israel longs to be embraced.

    it could be that what the Shin Bet calls “spying” is another persons “discussions”

    Precisely my point. Neocons wanted to throw Nancy Pelosi in federal prison for having precisely these types of political “discussions” with Syrian leaders. And if Bishara revealed state secrets to Syria let ’em prove it in a court of law rather than hiding behind a gag order.

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