Robby Geller on Israeli Democracy

Yasher koach to Robby Geller for his New Mexican letter to the editor (see full letter below). Take a moment NOW before you go to Kol Nidrei to write a short and sweet letter to the New Mexican to back up his points:

1. The Lannan Foundation continues to perpetuate anti-Semitism by inviting speakers who are both anti-Semitic (e.g., Alice Walker – whose talk was “postponed” in May) and propagandistic (the upcoming Noura Erakat on December 4 – see here for how Erakat uses smooth language to spread lies).
2. Israel’s democracy is the most robust of most democracies, even if it sometimes struggle in its parliamentary approach.
3. Those who claim Israel’s democracy is “at risk” are usually projecting their own misunderstanding of how Israeli society actually works.  In Matti Friedman’s term, you have to be Middle Eastern to understand the Middle East, and to understand Israel (see here if you weren’t able to get to his presentation).
4. The Arab minority party (the “Joint List”) is a player, finally.  For years they discouraged voting and participation in Israeli elections.  Now that they found participating can bring influence perhaps they’ll become more involved in the process, and not rejectionist or self-harming.  Contrary to some allegations, they’ve never been frozen out of electing a list to the Knesset.

Send your op-eds and letters to  letters@sfnewmexican.com.  More information on how to write effective letters and op-eds can be found on our website:  https://www.sfmew.org/how-to-write-to-the-sf-new-mexican-or-abq-journal/ .

Here’s Robby’s well-worded letter:

Even though there was much controversy leading up to the recent elections in Israel, it should now be clear that Israel has an open and vibrant democracy where every component of a diversified populace casts a vote. In addition, for those persons who only believe what they hear from the Lannan Foundation’s yearly condemnation of Israel and the claim that Israel represents an apartheid state, the influence that Israeli Arabs have had in this election may come as a surprise.

Recently, the president of Israel met with the main parties including the Arab bloc. The Joint List endorsed a leader (Benny Gantz, Blue and White party) who may be responsible for the ouster of Benjamin Netanyahu. It is Arab backing which would propel Gantz to be the next prime minister. Hard to imagine how, within the confines of a truly apartheid Israel, Arabs would have been able to have such a significant impact.

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