More and more Israelis apply for a foreign passport, not for easier travel but because something has gone terribly wrong here.
2 June 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)
By Gideon Levy
The numbers are climbing rapidly and the phenomenon is intriguing: Many Israelis are longing for a second passport. If Shimon Peres (now president ) once promised "a car for every worker," a second passport is now becoming the object of desire. If our forefathers dreamt of an Israeli passport, there are those among us who are now dreaming of a foreign passport.
A Bar-Ilan University study published in the journal Eretz Acheret has found that roughly 100,000 Israelis already hold a German passport. Over the past decade, the trend has strengthened and some 7,000 more Israelis join them every year. To these should be added the thousands of Israelis who hold foreign passports, mostly European countries. The excuses are strange and diverse, but at the base of them all are unease and anxiety, both personal and national. The foreign passport has become an insurance policy against a rainy day. It turns out there are more and more Israelis who are thinking that day may eventually come.
In recent years the Israeli passport has become useful and effective. It opens the gates of most countries of the world, except for parts of the Arab and Muslim world. It is hard to believe that those applying for a second passport are doing so in order to vacation in Tehran, tour Benghazi or take in the sights of San'a. The alibi that a European passport makes entering the United States easier cannot fully explain the phenomenon, which has no equivalent in other developed countries.
It should not be condemned, though. It reflects a mood, a natural and understandable consequence of the real and imagined fears that have been sown here. When Avrum Burg boasted of his French passport several years ago, a public outcry arose, but in vain. Presumably some of those who cried out did so because they do not have the option, like he does, of obtaining an additional passport for themselves. The others may have since crowded onto the line at one embassy or another.
The fact that Germany, of all places, is the passport provider of preference should also no longer touch off feelings of anger or shame. For many Israelis, Germany has long since become a country like any other: Our cabinet ministers ride in Audis, and the washing machines we import from there excel in their German quality. The scare campaigns have been effective, and the passport applicants are responding in an intelligent and sensible way. It turns out that they are far more rational than their leaders: If the leaders so want to scare us of the Iranian bomb, the Muslim Brothers in Egypt and the hooligans from Gaza, if everything threatens to become a "Holocaust," then it really does make sense to equip oneself with suitable means of protection. An additional passport, for example.
Anyone who believes an additional passport is a national shame and a social disgrace is invited to have a look at why Israelis desire them. If we had a leadership worthy of the name, one that instead of sowing anxieties did something to reduce them, and instead of terrifying us instilled hopes in us, then the lines at the German Embassy would have become shorter long ago. Instead of condemning the passport seekers, let us ask honestly and courageously: Why are they doing this? They are doing this because someone is scaring them, and no less so, because there is someone endangering our future here.
Passports? If the Palestinian people already had one real passport, maybe the Israelis wouldn't need two. If Israel were to try at long last to be accepted in its region, with all that entails, then maybe the region would open to it by means of a single, blue and white passport. If Israel were also to take the advice of its friends in the world, especially in the countries of Europe, then perhaps we wouldn't need their passports.
Israel is strong and established and ostensibly its passport should be sufficient for its citizens. The fact that it is not sufficient for many of them testifies, more than a thousand passports, that something has gone deeply wrong here. Israel, after all, arose to become a haven for the Jewish people, mainly from the horrors of Europe, yet in an irony of history, Europe is in fact becoming a haven for Israelis.
Anyone who can obtain an additional passport is of course invited to do so, but on the way back from the embassy he should ask whether his country has done everything in its power to ensure he will not need it. The answer to this is a resounding no. Still, I personally have no intention of applying for a second passport.
Mostrando postagens com marcador Bar Ilan. Mostrar todas as postagens
Mostrando postagens com marcador Bar Ilan. Mostrar todas as postagens
quinta-feira, 2 de junho de 2011
quarta-feira, 4 de maio de 2011
Israeli Army: We use Gaza military operation to test new weapons
4 May 2011, Al Ahram Online
The Cast Lead Operation commander speaks bluntly on the Israel's view of Gaza as an 'ideal training zone' for its soldiers and weaponry
Israel used the war in Gaza in 2008 as a training opportunity for its armed forces to test new weapons, designate Israeli military chief of staff has revealed.
In a speech at the Begin-Sadat Center of Strategic Affairs at Bar-Ilan University, Major General Yoav Galant said that Gaza was an “ideal training zone” as it lacks a strong enemy that could inflict serious casualties upon Israel.
Galant was the operation commander of Israel's Cast Lead Operation on Gaza between December 2008 and January 2009 in which more than 1600 Palestinians were killed. Most of the fatalities were among women and children.
Under his command, the Israeli armed forces openly used white phosphorus shells fired from 155mm artillery guns in the crowded Gaza Strip which were.
“Although Israel's military capability is much stronger than [that of] Hamas, we consider them as our fiercest enemy,” he said.
Galant added that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had improved their rocket firing capabilities, asserting that firing rockets “isn’t only an act of terror, it is a challenge to Israel's very existence.”
With regards to the wave of Arab uprisings, Galant expressed his view that that none of the ongoing revolutions in the Middle East have any positive short or long-term potential for the future of Israel’s security.
Galant expects that the region will represent a major instability threat as in his opinion it will be ruled by radical “Islamic extremists.”
The Cast Lead Operation commander speaks bluntly on the Israel's view of Gaza as an 'ideal training zone' for its soldiers and weaponry
Israel used the war in Gaza in 2008 as a training opportunity for its armed forces to test new weapons, designate Israeli military chief of staff has revealed.
In a speech at the Begin-Sadat Center of Strategic Affairs at Bar-Ilan University, Major General Yoav Galant said that Gaza was an “ideal training zone” as it lacks a strong enemy that could inflict serious casualties upon Israel.
Galant was the operation commander of Israel's Cast Lead Operation on Gaza between December 2008 and January 2009 in which more than 1600 Palestinians were killed. Most of the fatalities were among women and children.
Under his command, the Israeli armed forces openly used white phosphorus shells fired from 155mm artillery guns in the crowded Gaza Strip which were.
“Although Israel's military capability is much stronger than [that of] Hamas, we consider them as our fiercest enemy,” he said.
Galant added that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had improved their rocket firing capabilities, asserting that firing rockets “isn’t only an act of terror, it is a challenge to Israel's very existence.”
With regards to the wave of Arab uprisings, Galant expressed his view that that none of the ongoing revolutions in the Middle East have any positive short or long-term potential for the future of Israel’s security.
Galant expects that the region will represent a major instability threat as in his opinion it will be ruled by radical “Islamic extremists.”
sexta-feira, 22 de abril de 2011
Rightist Attacks Peace Now’s Director in TV Studio, Israeli Professor Calls for His Execution
20 april 2011, Tikun Olam-תקון עולם http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam
You know something’s dreadfully wrong when a well-known Israeli professor says to a peace activist the equivalent of “up against the wall, mother-fucker.”
A week ago Peace Now director Yariv Oppenheim was slapped in the face before the airing of a TV interview which was supposed to include an Israeli right-wing activist, Dr. Mohr Altschuler. According to Peace Now and Al Jazeera, the attack was unprovoked and before slapping him she accused him of sending left-wing activists to interview her at her home a number of years earlier. Oppenheim refused to enter the TV studio until police were summoned. The authorities took witness statements from station personnel and Altshuler did not go on air.
However, another panel participant, a Likud MK accused Peace Now of participating in “an international campaign to generate delegitimization of Israel” by sharing with the U.S. embassy its reports about settlement activity in the Territories.
Apparently unsatisfied that Oppenheimer was only slapped and not punished severely enough, a far-right Bar Ilan professor, Moti Keidar, has called for Oppenheimer’s execution. Among the jewels contained in the letter of support he wrote to Altshuler:
“I learned with great satisfaction of your slapping Yariv Oppenheimer. Good for you! The time has come for someone with initiative to do what should be done to this dirty weakling squealer [against Israel], the least of which can be said about him that he is a traitor. In any normal nation he would’ve long ago been stood against a wall [and shot].”
Imagine that Kedar views Israel as an abnormal nation because no one has the guts to kill Yariv Oppenheim. What kind of sick souls does Bar Ilan and the entire Orthodox nationalist community nurture that they think its “normal” to execute those with whom you diagree?
In a subsequent TV interview Kedar told the reporter he was “proud” of what he wrote:
“He had it coming and has it coming. He has no idea what I see in the world. You have no idea what troubles we find ourselves in as a nation because of what he [Oppenheim] does, characterized largely by genuine lies.”
A spokesperson for Bar Ilan had the decency to say that Kedar did not reflect the University’s views in this matter (though I doubt you’ll find the president or board of trustees taking the good professor to task, because he likely reflects their views). Oppenheimer responded by challenging Bar Ilan to fire Kedar. Good luck with that.
If Kedar was a lone ranting lunatic it would be one thing. But aside from his prestigious academic position, he really represents the views of a large minority of Israelis. Every major opinion poll of Israelis confirms a decided willingness to limit free speech and the activities of NGOs which might endanger the State. It is far too short a walk from that to seeing such figures as traitors who deserve physical punishment and even death for their activities.
I’ve already written in this blog about a Yeshiva University senior administrator who told students in Israel that they should hang the prime minister (at the time) if he gave up one inch of Jerusalem. His punishment? The University sent him back home on the next plane to avoid further embarrassment. But as far as I know he wasn’t disciplined, again likely because he expressed precisely the views of many other senior leaders of the University.
Not to mention Yitzhak Rabin’s 1995 assassination at the hands of another far-right settler thug, Yigal Amir.
There is a strong undercurrent of violence among far-right Orthodox nationalists represented by the good rabbi and Professor Kedar. And truth be told, this group is in the political ascendancy in Israel. It may be only a short interval before some Jack Teitel nutcase actually does kill a peace activist like Oppenheimer. After all, it was Teitel himself who injured distinguished Hebrew University professor Zeev Sternhell with a poorly placed bomb outside his apartment front door.
What I wonder is–when such violence finally does happen, what will be the response? What will be learned? Which views will be renounced? Which groups, if any, will be tarnished by such violence? My guess is that no one who should pay a price, will; that Israel is incapable of learning any real lesson from such threats of violence or actual violence. Professor Kedar will continue opining to the world media and not be seen for the accomplice to murder that he really is. This is why my current views of the political situation inside Israel are so dreary and downcast.
Related posts:
- Rightist Ben Gurion Professor Derails Faculty Candidacy of Peace Activist
- Israeli Rightist Calls for Death of Palestinian MK
- Top Israeli Academics Censure Bar Ilan for Firing Professor Over Political Beliefs
- Israeli Security Labels American Professor Terrorist, Then Realizes It Was Mistaken Identity
- Bibi Names New Shin Bet Director, New Israeli Palestinian Arrest Under Gag
You know something’s dreadfully wrong when a well-known Israeli professor says to a peace activist the equivalent of “up against the wall, mother-fucker.”
A week ago Peace Now director Yariv Oppenheim was slapped in the face before the airing of a TV interview which was supposed to include an Israeli right-wing activist, Dr. Mohr Altschuler. According to Peace Now and Al Jazeera, the attack was unprovoked and before slapping him she accused him of sending left-wing activists to interview her at her home a number of years earlier. Oppenheim refused to enter the TV studio until police were summoned. The authorities took witness statements from station personnel and Altshuler did not go on air.
However, another panel participant, a Likud MK accused Peace Now of participating in “an international campaign to generate delegitimization of Israel” by sharing with the U.S. embassy its reports about settlement activity in the Territories.
Apparently unsatisfied that Oppenheimer was only slapped and not punished severely enough, a far-right Bar Ilan professor, Moti Keidar, has called for Oppenheimer’s execution. Among the jewels contained in the letter of support he wrote to Altshuler:
“I learned with great satisfaction of your slapping Yariv Oppenheimer. Good for you! The time has come for someone with initiative to do what should be done to this dirty weakling squealer [against Israel], the least of which can be said about him that he is a traitor. In any normal nation he would’ve long ago been stood against a wall [and shot].”
Imagine that Kedar views Israel as an abnormal nation because no one has the guts to kill Yariv Oppenheim. What kind of sick souls does Bar Ilan and the entire Orthodox nationalist community nurture that they think its “normal” to execute those with whom you diagree?
In a subsequent TV interview Kedar told the reporter he was “proud” of what he wrote:
“He had it coming and has it coming. He has no idea what I see in the world. You have no idea what troubles we find ourselves in as a nation because of what he [Oppenheim] does, characterized largely by genuine lies.”
A spokesperson for Bar Ilan had the decency to say that Kedar did not reflect the University’s views in this matter (though I doubt you’ll find the president or board of trustees taking the good professor to task, because he likely reflects their views). Oppenheimer responded by challenging Bar Ilan to fire Kedar. Good luck with that.
If Kedar was a lone ranting lunatic it would be one thing. But aside from his prestigious academic position, he really represents the views of a large minority of Israelis. Every major opinion poll of Israelis confirms a decided willingness to limit free speech and the activities of NGOs which might endanger the State. It is far too short a walk from that to seeing such figures as traitors who deserve physical punishment and even death for their activities.
I’ve already written in this blog about a Yeshiva University senior administrator who told students in Israel that they should hang the prime minister (at the time) if he gave up one inch of Jerusalem. His punishment? The University sent him back home on the next plane to avoid further embarrassment. But as far as I know he wasn’t disciplined, again likely because he expressed precisely the views of many other senior leaders of the University.
Not to mention Yitzhak Rabin’s 1995 assassination at the hands of another far-right settler thug, Yigal Amir.
There is a strong undercurrent of violence among far-right Orthodox nationalists represented by the good rabbi and Professor Kedar. And truth be told, this group is in the political ascendancy in Israel. It may be only a short interval before some Jack Teitel nutcase actually does kill a peace activist like Oppenheimer. After all, it was Teitel himself who injured distinguished Hebrew University professor Zeev Sternhell with a poorly placed bomb outside his apartment front door.
What I wonder is–when such violence finally does happen, what will be the response? What will be learned? Which views will be renounced? Which groups, if any, will be tarnished by such violence? My guess is that no one who should pay a price, will; that Israel is incapable of learning any real lesson from such threats of violence or actual violence. Professor Kedar will continue opining to the world media and not be seen for the accomplice to murder that he really is. This is why my current views of the political situation inside Israel are so dreary and downcast.
Related posts:
- Rightist Ben Gurion Professor Derails Faculty Candidacy of Peace Activist
- Israeli Rightist Calls for Death of Palestinian MK
- Top Israeli Academics Censure Bar Ilan for Firing Professor Over Political Beliefs
- Israeli Security Labels American Professor Terrorist, Then Realizes It Was Mistaken Identity
- Bibi Names New Shin Bet Director, New Israeli Palestinian Arrest Under Gag
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