I never believed that Abe Foxman had any particular moral principles to speak of. His devotion to fighting anti-Semitism seems, at best, an opportunistic strategem. His devotion to fighting racism seems laughable (what Armenian genocide?). In that context, I find Honest Abe’s response to Avigdor Lieberman’s Israeli election triumph to be of a piece with all his other crass, two-faced posturing.
According to Abe, there’s nothing racist at all with Lieberman’s demand that Israeli Arabs swear allegiance to a state of which they are already citizens:
…The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that is quick to spot instances of discrimination, says Lieberman is right to be concerned about apparent acts of disloyalty by Israeli Arabs.
Abraham Foxman…noted with concern the trips by Arab Israeli Knesset members to enemy states and expressions of solidarity with Hamas by Israeli Arabs during Israel’s recent military operation in the Gaza Strip.
“There were a lot of people who said, ‘Hey, that’s disloyal,’ ” Foxman told JTA. “That’s what he’s talking about. He’s not saying expel them. He’s not saying punish them.”
This notion that Israeli Arabs are traitors to Israel because they visit Syria or Lebanon is ridiculous. They tried to pin this rap on Nancy Pelosi as well when she visited Syria, accusing her of violating the Logan Act, a law no one outside of the Wall Street Journal ever heard of. I note that no Israeli Arab has ever been prosecuted for any of these allegedly treasonous visits. So where does Foxman get off defending Lieberman’s proposal when Israel itself has never convicted an Arab of such “sedition?”
JTA also notes this wonderfully Orwellian quote of Lieberman’s:
“Arabs have all their rights in Israel, but they have no right to Eretz Yisrael.”
How does an Israeli Arab citizen whose ancestors lived in the land that is now Israel longer than many of the current Jewish inhabitants have “no right to Eretz Yisrael?” And if he has no right to the land of Israel how does he have “all his rights in Israel?” The notion is nonsense of course. It’s like someone who sells you a house but tells you the land underneath it will never be yours. If you have no rights to the land of which you are a citizen then you are lacking one major right without which you are not a full citizen.
But hey, Abe doesn’t hold back regarding Lieberman’s REALLY despicable views:
In 2006, the ADL issued a statement saying it was “disturbed” by Lieberman’s call for the execution of Arab legislators who met with Hamas leaders…
“Disturbed” must be Abe’s version of high moral dudgeon. I mean, c’mon, the guy’s done every thing but incite a lynch mob and all you can muster is it’s “disturbing???”
It must feel really good for Abe to be in the same company with Mort Klein, who can always be relied upon to say something nice about Israeli racists and pogromists (he never met a extremist settler he didn’t like). Klein called the loyalty oath a “legitimate” proposal.
What SHOULD American Jewish groups be doing or saying about Lieberman? They should make it clear that a ruling coalition that offers him a major ministerial portfolio is treif, period. And please don’t give me anything about Israeli democracy. There’s no law that says Lieberman has to be defense, interior or foreign minister. If Bibi or Livni are desperate enough to give him such power then American Jews should say: no thanks. That’s not OUR Israel. Lieberman should be ostracized here. If he comes give him the cold shoulder. Let him speak to ZOA. But not to a mainstream audience.
J Street’s statement on the election got it precisely right:
With deep respect for Israel’s democracy, we call on American Jews and organizations that represent them to make clear that we will not remain silent if the prejudice and intolerance promoted by his party actually become part of the incoming Israeli government’s policies and philosophy.
To the extent that the community does anything less than this it is strengthening Jewish racism. Is that how we want to be known? As the community that feted a corrupt thuggish racist Israeli politician?
Azmi Bishara would have been prosecuted had he come back to the country (and, at least according to one Balad-voting acquaintance of mine, with good reason).
And how do you know this? Do you have private information from the Shin Bet or intelligence agencies? THey had ample time to prosecute him before he left the country & did not do so. THey probably could file charges against him even now though he is out of the country & do not do so. Alex, yr conjectures are not only unfounded, they’re lame.
I only wish Israel’s political system was more like in the U.S. & there was an opportunity to haul the relevant spooks before a court of law or investigatory committee to uncover the shenanigans that went into this case. It reeks to high heaven.
And your unnamed acquaintance is certainly not a credible source for anything other than his own opinion which by the time it reaches you is already 2nd hand.
Forgive me if I am mistaken, but I feel Palestinians cannot win with Israel. Those in the West Bank and Gaza cannot venture beyond that hideous wall. And now, it would seem Palestinians living as “Israeli Arabs” inside Israel proper are scorned for venturing beyond Israeli borders.
I find it utterly disheartening that the shining beacon of democracy, racial equality and human rights that is the Western world, is duplicitous in bank-rolling the epitome of a racist and human rights violating state that is Israel. It is the West’s unquestioning support that sustains Israel’s abusive policies towards the Palestinian people – how long will this support continue?
Someone should remind Foxman how Israel and the US recalled their ambassadors to Austria after Jörg Haider’s FPÖ joined the ruling coalition in 2000. Haider ran on a xenophobic, anti-immigrants platform, while Lieberman targets people who’ve been Israeli citizens for far longer than he himself.
Foxman is downright wrong when he claims Lieberman doesn’t want to punish those he considers disloyal – what else does he think the threat to remove their citizenship is?
That’s of course revisionist Zionism in a nutshell, and not substantially different from other right-wingers, including what passes for the “centre” these days. Elsewhere Lieberman has made clear he’s a “two-stater” (or at least a one-and-a-half-stater, cf his proposed land swaps), so that relativises the “Eretz Yisrael” above.
The crux (no pun intended) is that the phrase “Israel is a Jewish state” is meant prescriptive, not just descriptive (like “Bavaria is a Catholic state”, e.g.), and with that view Lieberman is by no means a maverick, on the contrary. He’s just less circumspect, less polite, or, as he might say, less hypocritical about it than many.
Abe Foxman is a tool.
So Arab Israeli MKs can’t meet with Hamas, even to condemn them?! And what’s with Arabs having rights to Israel but not E”Y? Does that mean they have full rights in the Negev, Eilat, and Haifa?
I just wanted to analyze a little bit of what you said.
“Abraham Foxman…noted with concern the trips by Arab Israeli Knesset members to enemy states and expressions of solidarity with Hamas by Israeli Arabs during Israel’s recent military operation in the Gaza Strip.”
You then went on to say
‘This notion that Israeli Arabs are traitors to Israel because they visit Syria or Lebanon is ridiculous.’
The reason he calls them traitors is because these “members” of Israeli society are expressing solidarity with a terrorist group devoted to destroying Israel. Thats not traitorous? Are you saying that Al Qaeda members in the US who plan on blowing up plans shouldn’t be considered traitors.
Just listen to what you say please, and realize that you are encouraging the violence to continue by letting terrorists think they are accomplishing their evil goals.
Stuff & nonsense. I always enjoy you right wing moralists for whom the issues are so cut & dried. First, Israeli Palestinian citizens are just that. They are not “members” of Israeli citizens in quotes. They are citizens, period. Second, they are Arab by ethnicity as are Lebanese or Syrians & often have family ties to these countries. They have every right to visit them. And btw, Israeli Jews have visited these countries w/o being prosecuted. Can you tell me where Abe Foxman has ever complained about their travel plans? Third, Israeli Palestinian citizens largely opposed the Lebanon war & saw it as a war of aggression against Lebanon (though Hezbollah’s attack on Israel which initiated the war was inexcusable). Hezbollah defended Lebanon in their view. YOu & I may not like Hezbollah. But meeting with Hezbollah should no more be criminalized than meeting with Fatah should be penalized (recall that it was illegal for Israelis to meet w. the PLO for many yrs.)
Taliban and Iraqi resisters are killing U.S. soldiers. Are U.S. diplomats or soldiers who might meet with these forces in the interest of tamping down violence or figuring a more peaceful way forward traitors? The logic of yr argument is preposterous.
I would tell you to listen what you say but it’s prob. a hopeless proposition so I won’t even try.