Issue No. 591
Opinion
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20 - 26 June 2002 Issue No. 591 Opinion |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Occupation and democracy
Israeli leaders repeatedly proclaim their pride at Israel being the only democratic state in the Middle East: it is one of the emotions they are more than happy to wear on their sleeves. Former prime minister Netenyahu has described what he called "the neighbourhood" as "backward and ugly", likening the Arab countries that surround Israel to an underprivileged black neighbourhood in an American metropolis, while Barak, on a visit to the US in 1996, described Israel as an oasis of democracy in the wilds of the Middle East.None of this, though, takes into account Israel's occupation of Arab lands, which can hardly be squared with democratic practices. Taking into account the occupation, the length of time it has endured and the brutal manner in which it is maintained, the practice of democracy in Israel becomes nothing but a sham. Since 1967 the occupation has had a very direct effect on democracy: it has drastically reduced parliamentary representation, allowing small special-interest groups among the political elite to monopolise government policy and force through legislation of benefit to their core supporters, whether or not this is approved of by the majority. The true function of democracy is comprehensive representation, a condition that does not obtain in Israel.
Occupied Arab lands -- and this is how ridiculous the system is -- are represented within the Knesset, but through the Ministry of Defence, by virtue of its connections with the Israeli military. And it is the power that accrues to the military that marginalises the role of plurality and the multi- party system, reinforcing the tendency towards violence and making occupation a necessary aspect of political practice. Thus is the undermining of democracy perpetuated.
* This week's Soapbox speaker is deputy head of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies
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