[Marxism] "the only democracy in the Middle East" bans Arab parties from election

[Dbachmozart at aol.com]

Israel Bans Arab Parties From Elections

(Two  Reports)

(1)

Balad Chairman Asks Why Lieberman is so Afraid  of
Democracy

antiwar.com January 12, 2009

_http://news.antiwar.com/2009/01/12/israel-bans-arab-parties-from-election/_ 
(http://news.antiwar.com/2009/01/12/israel-bans-arab-parties-from-election/)   

By a margin of 26-3, the Israeli Central Elections
Committee  decided to ban the Balad Party from running
in next month's election. By a  margin of 21-8, they
also banned the United Arab List-Ta'al (UAL-T). The  two
bans will prevent more than half of the current Arab
members of  Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, from
running for reelection.

The  Arab parties earned the ire of the most hawkish
elements in the Israeli  government by publicly opposing
the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. Balad  likewise made
enemies by explicitly calling for equal rights for  all
citizens of Israel, regardless of national or ethnic
identity, which  the ruling Kadima Party said would
'undermine Israel's identity as a Jewish  state.'

A handful of Arabs will remain on the ballots across
Israel,  running for as-yet-unbanned Jewish majority
parties, but with the general  consensus among most of
the population that Israeli Arabs are traitors  based
purely on their ethnic background, they would seem to
have an uphill  battle. Many disillusioned Arab voters
may not vote at all, now that the only  significant Arab
parties aren't allowed on the ballot.

During the  discussion, Balad Chairman Jamal Zahaika
called the move to ban his party 'a  test for Israeli
democracy' and asked Avigdor Lieberman, the driving
force  behind the ban, 'Why are you afraid of
democracy?' Lieberman declared Balad a  terrorist
organization and said 'whoever values life' would
understand the  need to ban it.

(2)


Israel Bans Arab Parties from Running in  Upcoming
Elections

Associated Press January 12, 2009

_http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054867.html_ 
(http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054867.html)   

The Central Elections Committee on Monday banned Arab
political  parties from running in next month's
parliamentary elections, drawing  accusations of racism
by an Arab lawmaker who said he would challenge  the
decision in the country's Supreme Court.

The ruling, made by the  body that oversees the
elections, reflected the heightened tensions  between
Israel's Jewish majority and Arab minority caused by
Israel's  offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Arabs
have held a series of  demonstrations against the
offensive.

Knesset spokesman Giora Pordes  said the election
committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of the  motion,
accusing the country's Arab parties of incitement,
supporting  terrorist groups and refusing to recognize
Israel's right to exist. Arab  lawmakers have traveled
to countries listed among Israel's staunchest  enemies,
including Lebanon and Syria.

The 37-member committee is  composed of representatives
from Israel's major political parties. The  measure was
proposed by two ultranationalist parties but  received
widespread support.

The decision does not affect Arab  lawmakers in
predominantly Jewish parties or the country's  communist
party, which has a mixed list of Arab and Jewish
candidates.  Roughly one-fifth of Israel's 7 million
citizens are Arabs. Israeli Arabs  enjoy full
citizenship rights, but have suffered from
discrimination and  poverty for decades.

Arab lawmakers Ahmed Tibi and Jamal Zahalka,  political
rivals who head the two Arab blocs in the Knesset,
joined  together in condemning Monday's decision.

"It was a political trial led  by a group of Fascists
and racists who are willing to see the Knesset  without
Arabs and want to see the country without Arabs,"  said
Tibi.

Together, the Arab lists hold seven of the 120 seats  in
the Knesset.

Tibi said he would appeal to the high court,  while
Zahalka said his party was still deciding how  to
proceed.

Pordes remarked that the last time a party was  banned
it was the late Rabbi Meir Kahane's Kach Party, a list
from the  1980s that advocated the expulsion of Arabs
from Israel. 
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