This page is not a defence of Israel's policy in its war against its
terrorist enemies.
That is elsewhere.
This page is a defence of Israel as a liberal democracy,
with free speech, freedom of religion and freedom of sexuality.
This is why I support Israel.
I support any
liberal democracy anywhere in the world - South Korea, Japan, Taiwan,
India, South Africa, Israel, the South American democracies,
Eastern Europe,
and of course the traditional West.
And I especially support any democracy
fighting against non-democratic tyranny
- as in the case of Israel,
whose opponents are not democrats but rather
tribal racists and totalitarian religious maniacs.
If Israel was not a democracy, I wouldn't support it.
If the Palestinians were democrats, I would support them.
But they're not, so I don't.
Joshua Muravchik
lays out in numbers
why Israel is the most liberal state in the region
and all liberals should support it.
Israel is the freest country in the Middle East in the
Freedom in the World
index.
Israel is the freest country in the Middle East in the
Democracy Index.
Israel is the freest country in the Middle East in the
Freedom of the Press
index.
When the
Web Index
was last done (2014),
Israel was the freest country in the Middle East.
Ad for Israel tourism.
From Israel Ministry of Tourism.
As well as the sexy women, you've got to love the tolerance of gays here.
Copies
here and
here.
Israel is the only country in the entire region
where I, an atheist, could live
without being persecuted.
That is all one has to say really.
We all know this in our hearts in the West.
We all know this is true.
Who Hates Israel Now?
by Jonathan Eric Lewis (October 28, 2003).
Why every secular person in the world
should support Israel:
"The reason why the state of Israel is the moral ideal in the Middle
East is precisely because it is the
least religious politic in the Middle East."
Israel is the most secular country in the Middle East.
Pew survey of global opinion.
From here.
Absurd leftie site
"Injustice Facts"
attempts a ludicrous argument that Christians should support the Arab world, where Christians are oppressed,
rather than Israel, where Christians are free.
Some Anti-Israel people claim Israel is a racist state
- not in its treatment of Palestinians,
but in its treatment of its own citizens.
They claim that Israel
oppresses:
Blacks.
Christians.
Arabs.
Their evidence seems rather weak.
They provide stories of individuals
harassing minorities, but this is not legal or supported by the state,
and such stories can easily be collected from the US, UK or any western country.
Israel's legal framework seems normal western to me.
So here is a challenge for the anti-Israel people:
Show me an opinion survey of blacks, Christians or Arabs
living in Israel
that shows the majority of them agree that they are oppressed.
I would definitely pay attention to that.
Blacks:
Black Africans,
whether with Jewish ancestry
or without,
are desperate to immigrate to Israel.
They seem to be unaware that Israel is racist against blacks!
Someone needs to tell them what a terrible mistake they are making.
Racism in Israel
- Not much evidence that Israel is different to other western states.
Christians:
As shown on this page, Christians are much freer in Israel than in the PA,
and none want to leave.
They know they are so lucky to be Israeli citizens and not PA citizens.
Arabs (and hence most Christians) are exempt from
military service.
But some volunteer.
Ala Wahib,
an Israeli Arab Muslim,
is the
highest-ranked Muslim officer in the IDF.
"I believe in the Muslim faith, and I will never abandon it,
but I think that Zionism is more than a religion.
It is something that fully represents my sense of belonging to the State of Israel".
Most Jews in Israel are not "white" or Ashkenazi.
2/3 of the Jewish population have ancestry from the Middle East and North Africa.
From thread:
The truth behind Israel's 'Ethno-State'.
The first black
Miss Israel,
Yityish Titi Aynaw,
in 2013.
Obviously a racist state!
From here.
Why do African blacks want to get into Israel?
As I say,
people vote with their feet.
They always have.
As with Cuba and East Germany in the Cold War, look at the countries people are trying to leave
and the countries they are trying to get into.
It tells you more than sneering intellectuals ever will.
Dara de Brun
carries on claiming that Israel is racist against blacks.
I carry on asking why African blacks want to live there.
Maybe they understand Israel better than he does.
Elinor Joseph, a Christian Arab in the IDF.
From here.
See another
cracking picture.
In 2013,
the Israeli public voted for an Israeli Arab Christian,
Lina Makoul,
as winner of
"The Voice".
Obviously a racist state!
Israeli Arab
Rania Fadel
explains why she loves Israel, the country where she can be free.
Ethiopian Jew
Eden Alene,
Israel's entry for the Eurovision song contest, 2021.
White pop singers
Jedward
want black girl kicked out of Eurovision, 13 May 2021.
Arab Muslims who love Israel and serve in the Israeli army.
Falach Hayib
is a Bedouin Muslim officer in the IDF.
More Muslims serve in the Israeli army than in the British army
Muslims in the British army (all volunteers):
500.
Muslims in the Israeli army (all volunteers):
over 1,700.
A soldier of the "apartheid state" of Israel.
Posted here.
Is there anything wrong with Israel?
Of course there is.
Like the US, UK, Ireland and indeed any western liberal democracy,
there are things wrong with the place.
Haters of Israel bring these up
to try to make Israel look no different from its jihad-and-sharia-based enemies.
But it seems to me that
the same argument could be applied to the US, UK and Ireland too.
We're no better than Israel.
Israel is flawed:
Marriage in Israel.
There is no proper civil marriage and civil divorce.
Marriages historically have been all religious, causing problems for non-religious,
liberal and inter-faith couples,
who had to get married abroad.
(Israel recognises these foreign marriages.)
There is an unsatisfactory
civil marriage
if both partners are non-religious,
but not otherwise.
There are ongoing proposals for civil marriage for all
but they have not yet passed.
Proselytism in Israel.
Proselytism (notably, trying to convert Jews to Christianity) is not illegal,
but Israel finds ways of restricting it,
such as by banning entry to Christian missionaries.
The UK has arbitrary freedom of speech laws
and arrests people for offensive speech.
All Internet porn is actually illegal in the UK.
So is saying "fuck" online.
Though these are not enforced.
Whether you get done for online speech is fairly arbitrary.
These are bad things, but Israel, the US, UK and Ireland
are all within the western democratic model,
where you can criticise the state for these things
and campaign to change it
without fear of arrest.
Judges can overturn politicians' decisions
without fear of arrest.
Politicians can run for election, promising to change the law, without fear of arrest.
Most of the world is not like this.
If you think these flaws make Israel, the US, UK and Ireland
similar to genuinely unfree places like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran,
I suggest you live in both types of place, and in each one try criticising the government
and criticising the leading religion.
By the time you are out of jail, you will understand the difference.
This is actually fair criticism of Israel. I agree with it.
But every western state has some flaws like this.
And Israel?
Israel has gay pride marches.
Yes, of course it is
the only country in the Middle East that does.
You knew that.
Israel is the only country in the entire region
where gays can live
without being persecuted.
Israel, Palestine, and Gays
by Paul Varnell, August 28, 2002.
- If you are a typical left-wing anti-Israel jerk,
then read this. And explain it.
The "Tel Aviv Gay Vibe" gay tourism campaign
is actually run by the Tel Aviv Tourism Association.
The campaign is supported by the Israeli Tourism Ministry and the Tel Aviv Municipality.
What Arab government would support a gay tourism campaign?
Religious settler comes to aid of gay Palestinian, 28 Oct 2009.
Palestinian gay who lives in freedom in exile in Israel
returns briefly to West Bank to visit his sick father.
Can't get back into Israel.
Palestinians threaten to kill him because he is gay.
He is rescued by religious Jewish settler who agrees to hide him in his West Bank settlement.
It seems a no-brainer for western gays to be hostile to Islam and sharia,
and pro-Israel.
Sexual freedom:
Ad for
Koolanoo
social networking site.
Some naughty
Israeli army recruits
pose with their guns.
They were disciplined for this.
And yet the symbolism is attractive.
The Israeli army is the only army in the Middle East
that is fighting to defend
freedom of sexuality, speech and religion.
What other country in the Middle East has parades like this?
From here
in photos of the Tel Aviv
Love Parade 2004.
See other Israeli parades
(both gay and straight/mixed).
"In an unstable Middle East, Israel is the one anchor of stability. In a region of shifting alliances, Israel is America's unwavering ally. Israel has always been pro-American. Israel will always be pro-American.
My friends, .. you don't need to do nation-building in Israel. We're already built. You don't need to export democracy to Israel. We've already got it. And you don't need to send American troops to Israel. We defend ourselves."
"Israel has always embraced [freedom] in a Middle East that has long rejected it. In a region where women are stoned, gays are hanged, Christians are persecuted, Israel stands out. It is different.
...
George Eliot predicted over a century ago that .. "The Jewish state will shine like a bright star of freedom amid the despotisms of the East." Well, she was right.
We have a free press, independent courts, an open economy
...
Courageous Arab protesters are now struggling to secure these very same rights for their peoples, for their societies. We're proud in Israel
that over 1 million Arab citizens of Israel
have been enjoying these rights for decades. Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel's Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights. Now, I want you to stop for a second and think about that. Of those 300 million Arabs, less than one-half of 1 percent are truly free, and they're all citizens of Israel.
...
Israel is not what is wrong about the Middle East; Israel is what's right about the Middle East.
Israel fully supports the desire of Arab peoples in our region to live freely. We long for the day when Israel will be one of many real democracies in the Middle East."
- Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, Address to U.S. Congress, May 24, 2011.
AVI CHAI Foundation, 2000,
found the following:
