Here ’s a report from the Associated Press which yet again demonstrates that Israel is a proper democracy, with proper separation of powers between the legislature, executive and judiciary:
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that two Arab parties can run in upcoming elections.
The parties were recently barred by a parliamentary committee on the grounds that they “supported terrorism.”
The ban came during Israel’s offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza and reflected the heightened tensions between Israel’s Jewish majority and Arab minority. Many Israeli Arabs have relatives in the Palestinian territories and identify with their cause.
Lawmakers from the Arab parties have traveled to some of Israel’s staunchest enemies, including Lebanon and Syria.
A spokesman for Israel’s Courts Administration says judges overturned the ban in an unanimous vote Wednesday.
Israeli elections are set for February 10.
Says Gene over at Harry’s Place: “I look forward to all the anti-Israel blogs and websites which highlighted the original disqualifications now reporting this news with equal prominence.”
The courts in Israel are always too independent minded for the anti-Israel blogs and websites. They disappoint their expectations and frustrate the stereotype they try to push as Israel’s image.
If the courts actually work and achieve fairness and justice, how can there be victims? And if there are no victims, how can they persist in vilifying the villain?
If only the Supreme Court had power over the Gaza incident. Also, bare in mind, a democracy is worth nothing if it alows for segrigation in the first place.
Furthermore, how can you establish a democracy in a non-secular state (assuming Israel is a Jewish state), doesn’t that put the Jews above everyone else?
“…how can you establish a democracy in a non-secular state (assuming Israel is a Jewish state), doesn’t that put the Jews above everyone else?”
It’s true that Israel is a non-secular state, at least as far as its Jewish citizens are concerned. It’s very frustrating not to have public transportation widely available on Shabbat, when one wants desperately to go to the beach and has no one to drive them there. It’s also disturbing that most retaurants serving non-kosher food tend to be very expensive and off limits to most Jews in live Israel. To say nothing about when an Israeli man who happens to bear the name Cohen or Rapaport or Katz, cannot marry a divorced woman, because antiquated Jewish law restricts his choices.
I have great hopes that the first and third of my examples will disappear as soon as possible. There are ways to circumvent these restrictions but they are usually quite expensive (take a cab, go abroad to get married or ask Shulamit
Aloni to marry you). I don’t think much can be done about the restaurants, though. Maybe a deep recession may force them to lower their prices.