By
Natalie Sikavi
May 8, 2008
In response to Israel’s 60th anniversary next week, I’ve noticed a recent surge in anti-Israel propaganda on campus. Generally, I believe that to promote a cause, it’s best to spread positive ideas. I also believe that telling people the truth gives a cause more credibility. I’ve seen none of that on campus lately. What I’ve seen is the dissemination of false information without a peaceful solution.
I cannot offer you a television screen, fliers, or posters, and this column will probably reach fewer people than those methods ever will. What I can offer you is the truth. So here, in honor of 60 years, are a few great things about Israel.
Israel is a real democracy. It is the only country in the Middle East with free elections. The 120-member Israeli parliament has 17 female and 12 Arab-Israeli representatives. Israel is the only Middle Eastern country with a free press.
There are scores of publications that represent all viewpoints. Yes, that means there are Arab newspapers with the freedom to write whatever they desire. Freedom of religion exists in Israel.
Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze and others are welcome to practice their beliefs freely. Amid constant threat, Israel does not clamp down on freedoms, but allows its citizens to live without restrictions.
Israel is a hub of scientific and technological advancement. Israelis working in the Israeli branch of Motorola developed the cell phone. Most of the Windows NT and XP operating systems were developed by Microsoft Israel. Israel’s Givun Imaging developed the first ingestible video camera. It’s small enough to fit inside a pill and is used to view the small intestine from the inside. The camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.
Israel is a cultural hub. It is a holy center for many religions and allows them all to display their cultures openly. Israel has more museums per capita than any other country. It also has the world’s second-highest per capita rate of publishing new books.
Israel cares about the environment. An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered, electricity-generating plant in southern California. It is the only country in the world that has a net gain in its number of trees. This is exceptional because Israel is mainly desert.
These are certainly not all the great things about Israel, but I think it’s important to stress Israel’s commitment to peace. In 2005, Israel evacuated more than 8,000 Israelis from their homes and evacuated fully from Gaza: all of this in the name of a peace that has not yet materialized.
Israel has agreed to virtually every peace negotiation and partition plan. It said “yes” before it even became a state in 1937, when the Peel Commission would have given the Palestinians 80 percent of the land in question.
Israel said “yes” again in 1947 to giving up 45 percent of the land. And in 2000, the state offered 96 percent of the West Bank and all of Gaza in the hope for peace.
If this isn’t a willingness to make sacrifices for peace, what is?
12 Comments
#1 Peter O.
on May 8, 2008 at 8:49 a.m.(Washington, DC | Unverified Name)
Nice column. (from a reader in Colorado)
#2 Above Ideology
on May 8, 2008 at 10:08 a.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
From an objective perspective (I don't support one side over the other), the land was stolen from people who have been living there for generations, and until this wrong is righted, there will never be peace in the region. It doesn't matter how democratic or technologically advanced Israel is, and despite the suicide attacks by Palestinian groups (which are to be condemned), the land was stolen. Theft is theft.
#3 Ryan
on May 8, 2008 at 12:03 p.m.(Puyallup, WA | Unverified Name)
It’s unfortunate that in order to understand the Middle East you must choose to study it in college. I support Israel and your column was well-written, but as someone who has studied the region intensely I must point out some flaws in your argument.
By your definition of a real democracy (free and fair elections), Iran is one move away (abolishing the Council of Guardians) from being a real democracy. Even their parliament has a Christian, a Druze, and a Jewish member. I think they have a Zoroastrian seat, as well, but I doubt anyone would say Iran is close to democracy (they aren’t).
From a free press standpoint, you neglect to mention al Jazeera (which has NEVER shown a beheading on air). When Russia and Georgia were at the brink of war 3 days ago, I had to read al Jazeera to find out. The network has also come under fire from at least 5 Arab governments for “bias”, which sounds suspiciously like a free press in a region of dictatorships.
When Israel offered land for partition, they did so without offering the “right of return” for Arab refugees returning to their homes, a key issue for Arabs. It’s easy to offer a lot when you know it won’t be accepted.
Lastly, I will probably be labeled an anti-Semite for this response. What does that say about the freedom of speech in a real democracy when critics of government policy are accused of racism?
#4 Really?!
on May 8, 2008 at 1:14 p.m.(Pasadena, CA | Unverified Name)
Above,
Land was stolen from a people that have been there for generations....hmm....where do I remember that story from? Just on tip of my tongue.
If Israel has to leave its land, as Americans we have to go back to England (or homeland). Until that wrong is righted, America will never be safe.
Signed,
Not going to happen
#5 Larry
on May 8, 2008 at 2:45 p.m.(Mundelein, IL | Unverified Name)
In response to some of these comments: What about the fact that the land was Jewish to begin with, and was only stolen by Moslems and then Christian crusaders, and the Moslems again. What about the fact that Jews are the only people to have lived there continuously for 3,000+ years. Yes, if you know your history, you know there wasn't even such a thing as Christianity or Islam 3,000 years ago. Doubt my facts? Looks up neutral archiology and history sources. Don't just spew propoganda that feels right to you. Educate yourself before you form an opinion.
#6 S
on May 8, 2008 at 2:57 p.m.(Seattle, WA | Unverified Name)
I've noticed a corresponding surge in Zionist propaganda. Since the reporter apparently hasn't seen those posters, it seems that they either need to look around more or are using the Daily as a platform for more of this propaganda.
#7 BIZ
on May 8, 2008 at 6:36 p.m.(Los Angeles, CA | Unverified Name)
if you are claiming israel stole the land... which was given to us by the UN and before that jews were in the land before the crusades and even before then... but i'll go along with you that israels land is stolen. then all of the western hemisphere should go back to native americans and aztecs and so on. We know for a fact that spain, england, france etc took it, so if you say Israel needs to give back the land then all of the western hemishpere should give back the land. the native americans didnt get anything from the settlers when they arrived we just contined to push westward until we gave them small parcels of land throught the country.
Israel has historical monuments, the western wall, the many burial sites of biblical figures (Abrham, Yitzchak, Yakkov) that show we have had the land way before anyone else has.
#8 Settle Down
on May 9, 2008 at 2:05 a.m.(Puyallup, WA | Unverified Name)
One can argue who the land belongs to until they are red in the face. But the fact is, conflicts with this type of staying power never have easy solutions, never have sides clearly right or clearly wrong, and ALWAYS have people uninformed on BOTH sides. Israel was not given the land by the UN; that is not what a "mandate" is. European Jews bought the land from the people it belonged to: Arab landholders who had long ago fled what was then known as Palestine. So, legally, the land belongs to the Jews. But on the same hand, on that land that was bought from Arabs who hadn't been there in generations, lived other Arabs with no idea about the transaction. These Arabs were forced from their homes into neighboring areas. This might not sound just to those Arabs, but what of the European Jews who bought the land for, oftentimes, as much as 10 times its worth? Like I said, difficult and complicated. The biggest tragedy is that if an American wants to study this conflict academically, they must choose to do so. The most important region in the world right now, which is associated with the fastest growing religion in the world right now, and only a handful of Americans will study the Middle East or Islam. Time for high school curriculum change.
#9 Peter
on May 9, 2008 at 2:30 a.m.(Seattle, WA | Unverified Name)
All of the things mentioned about Israel's democracy in this article are great *if you live in Israel proper*.
Ask some folks who live in the West Bank or Gaza how they feel about Israel's flourishing democracy and I think you'll get a very different response.
@Larry: Don't be ridiculous. You want to take this back 3000 years? Why not earlier? You need only read your old testament to hear the tale of the ancient Hebrew conquest of the land of Israel and the slaughter of the various groups that were living there.
#10 Canadian Refugee
on May 9, 2008 at 7:53 a.m.(Berkeley, CA | Unverified Name)
My grandfather was born in Canada. Before he was married and before my mother was born, he left Canada and moved to Seattle. By the logic, words, and actions taken by "Palestinian Refugees" I should now be demanding that the Canadian government return all of my grandfather's land and I should be blowing myself up in Canadian restaurants, nightclubs, hospitals, schools, and buses.
The vast majority of all Palestinians that left Israel in 1948 during the war left because the surrounding Arab countries told them to leave so that they would be out of the way when the Jews were being killed. The only problem is that Israel was not destroyed by the Arabs, and Palestinian Refugees have been trying to finish the task ever since.
#11 James Bond
on May 19, 2008 at 7:26 p.m.(San Francisco, CA | Unverified Name)
Natalie Sikavi (NS) wrote: "Israel is a real democracy."
No it is not. Jews get preferential treatment (jobs, tax breaks, etc.). You may say the same thing about muslim countries (WRT Dhimmas), and I would agree with you, but I’m not calling those countries democracies either.
NS wrote: “It is the only country in the Middle East with free elections.”
There are many countries who claim to have “free elections” (El Salvador, Haiti, Zimbabwe, etc.) – that doesn’t make it so.
NS wrote: “Israel is the only Middle Eastern country with a free press. There are scores of publications that represent all viewpoints.”
Try telling that to Victor Ostrovsky, Naeim Giladi, or to the journalists who routinely get shot at or harassed by the IDF or settlers.
NS wrote: “Amid constant threat, Israel does not clamp down on freedoms, but allows its citizens to live without restrictions.”
Not true. The Israeli government routinely uses curfews and border closures against Palestinians.
NS wrote: “Israelis working in the Israeli branch of Motorola developed the cell phone.”
I’ve never heard that. I’ve heard it was Martin Cooper working from the New York lab.
NS wrote: “Most of the Windows NT and XP operating systems were developed by Microsoft Israel.”
I’ve never heard that either. But Microsoft sucks (especially XP), so it doesn’t really matter.
NS wrote: “Israel cares about the environment.”
The Israeli government is known for bulldozing Palestinian orange groves and olive trees. Palestinians had already developed the skill of making bushes and trees thrive in the desert before Israel was created. But I would imagine most desert people (Mizrahi Jews and gentiles) have probably been doing this for a long time now.
NS wrote: “An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered, electricity-generating plant in southern California.”
I’ve never heard this (sounds fishy). It was probably Southern California Edison (not “an Israeli company”).
NS wrote: “Israel has agreed to virtually every peace negotiation and partition plan."
When you are the one dictating the terms for peace, it is very easy to ‘agree’. It’s unfair and misleading if you come up with an unacceptable peace plan which favors you, and then accuse the other side of ‘rejecting your peace proposal”, which is what Israel has been doing for the last 60 years.
NS wrote: “It [israel] said “yes” to the [Peel commission]
No. Zionists were divided (some said yes, some said no). Palestinians would have received a lot less than 80% of the land (just look at a map of the partition), and they would have lost at least half of their coastal access. Also, would it have been right to displace arabs currently living in the future “jewish” area? Can you really blame the local arabs for opposing such a plan, which would set such a bad precedent?
#12 .
on June 5, 2008 at 1:33 a.m.(Kent, WA | Unverified Name)
James Bond,
Just because you "haven't heard" of some of the things about which Natalie is speaking doesn't mean they aren't true. Are you the ultimate authority on all things related to the region? I don't think so. You may have some valid points, but don't undermine your arguments by claiming that since you've never heard of something that it is simply not true. That just serves to de-legitimize your other points.
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