Jul
25
Defenders of Israel often claim that it is the only democracy in the Middle East. Let us put aside for a moment the tribal blindness, that ignores the simple fact that 3.5 million people live under Israeli rule but aren’t even citizens and don’t have the right to vote. And let us put aside the fact that another million people who are citizens and can vote, are treated as second class citizens in every important way. Democracy is very shaky even for Israel’s Jewish citizens. I talk about that a bit in my FAQ on IDF refuse-nicks. This article by Dr. Aviad Kleinberg,a lecturer in history at Tel Aviv University, points out in more detail why Israel is no longer a democracy even for its Jewish citizens.