Ответ Дениса дискутантам в ЖЖ
Feb. 22nd, 2009 03:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
posicHere I post Dennis Gaitsgory's comments clarifying his position on the issues related to their petition, which he sent to me by e-mail and asked to post in LJ. There is also some quotation from Josh Tenenbaum.
***
Just to address several points of criticism regarding our petition:
I) "Being friends of Israel...".
A) I am aware that I'm a citizen of Israel. But "citizen"
doesn't exclude being a friend (i.e., a person who wishes
well to the State), nor does it imply it (e.g., Azmi Bishara).
B) Many Israeli-Israelis (unlike a Russian-Israeli like myself)
who reside in Israel, decided to sign this petition as well. So,
I guess, I'm not the only citizen, who is also a "friend".
C) "Being friends" doesn't only refer to the initiators of the
petition (J.T. and myself), but to all the signatories, who,
by signing this petition, also declare that they wish Israel
well.
II) The goal of this petition is not to criticize the State of Israel
(as is the case of many other petitions), nor is it to urge
foreign bodies to take some kind of action (boycott, etc.)
The goal of our petition is to bring to the attention of the future
Prime Minister that engaging Mr. Lieberman as a key coalition
partner will cause *strategic damage* to the State of Israel on
multiple levels, for which reason, it would extremely unwise to
partner-up with him, however convenient this may seem from
the point of view of internal politics:
1) Primarily, Mr. Lieberman's platform is inherently anti-democratic,
and as such will undermine foundations of Israel as a democratic
state.
A) In my assessment, Mr. Lieberman is essentially an opportunist,
who very cleverly manipulates the sentiments of a nation exhausted
by the ongoing conflict, in his drive to power. It is likely that in the
next elections he will be poised to become PM. You think it's
impossible? Look how Hamas went from <25% support in 2003
to the takeover in 2006.
B) What Mr. Lieberman drives at, is not limited to disenfranchising
Israeli Arabs. He has proposed measures that will empower the
government at the expense of the Knesset, and he is also looking
to restrict the authority of the High Court. Such measures can easily
lead to dictatorship.
C) As to the "loyalty oath", I keep wondering: should Mr. Lieberman
become PM, whose turn will it be next to take such an oath after
the Israeli Arabs? Maybe mine, for disputing the legitimacy of
such move?
2) International implications:
A) Mr. Lieberman is likely to be perceived, justifiably, as persona
non-grata by many governments around the globe, which will
add to the already existing tendency to delegitimize the State of Israel.
B) Israel is not self-sufficient economically. So far, the US and European
governments have rebuffed demands to impose any significant
economic sanctions on Israel (e.g., embargo on trade in military
equipment). With Mr. Lieberman as a foreign or defense minister,
this will become increasingly difficult.
C) Disenfranchisement of Israeli Arabs will play into the hands of
people who try to portray Israel as the modern-day South Africa.
Coupled with the diplomatic isolation of Israel, such moves, which
are likely to lead to global sanctions, will be very hard to counter.
3) Through his views, Mr. Lieberman is likely to alienate a large
proportion of Israel supporters in the US, who provide a basis for
the continuing political, financial, military and moral support that
Israel receives from the US government.
Here's a quote from what Josh has written:
When Israel is under fire for controversial actions, as in the recent Gaza war, Americans' ability to trust that Israel is "doing the right thing" -- for example, doing all that it can to avoid civilian casualties and to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian conflict -- rests in large measure on the feeling that deep down, Israel is "like us": that Israel shares our commitment to democracy and civil rights, that Israel is and always has been "the only democracy in the Middle East", and hence is our indispensable ally. When the Israeli government makes a highly visible move away from democracy as Americans recognize it -- as it would by legitimizing Lieberman with a top ministerial post -- then the shared bond that American Jews and Americans feel towards Israel will be strained greatly. This is the basis behind our petition's statement that a government with Lieberman in a key role would be one that even Israel's friends would find increasingly difficult if not impossible to support. Anyone who cares about the relationship between American Jews and Israel, or between the US government and the Israeli government, should recognize that relationship is now in jeopardy -- more than ever before.
***
Just to address several points of criticism regarding our petition:
I) "Being friends of Israel...".
A) I am aware that I'm a citizen of Israel. But "citizen"
doesn't exclude being a friend (i.e., a person who wishes
well to the State), nor does it imply it (e.g., Azmi Bishara).
B) Many Israeli-Israelis (unlike a Russian-Israeli like myself)
who reside in Israel, decided to sign this petition as well. So,
I guess, I'm not the only citizen, who is also a "friend".
C) "Being friends" doesn't only refer to the initiators of the
petition (J.T. and myself), but to all the signatories, who,
by signing this petition, also declare that they wish Israel
well.
II) The goal of this petition is not to criticize the State of Israel
(as is the case of many other petitions), nor is it to urge
foreign bodies to take some kind of action (boycott, etc.)
The goal of our petition is to bring to the attention of the future
Prime Minister that engaging Mr. Lieberman as a key coalition
partner will cause *strategic damage* to the State of Israel on
multiple levels, for which reason, it would extremely unwise to
partner-up with him, however convenient this may seem from
the point of view of internal politics:
1) Primarily, Mr. Lieberman's platform is inherently anti-democratic,
and as such will undermine foundations of Israel as a democratic
state.
A) In my assessment, Mr. Lieberman is essentially an opportunist,
who very cleverly manipulates the sentiments of a nation exhausted
by the ongoing conflict, in his drive to power. It is likely that in the
next elections he will be poised to become PM. You think it's
impossible? Look how Hamas went from <25% support in 2003
to the takeover in 2006.
B) What Mr. Lieberman drives at, is not limited to disenfranchising
Israeli Arabs. He has proposed measures that will empower the
government at the expense of the Knesset, and he is also looking
to restrict the authority of the High Court. Such measures can easily
lead to dictatorship.
C) As to the "loyalty oath", I keep wondering: should Mr. Lieberman
become PM, whose turn will it be next to take such an oath after
the Israeli Arabs? Maybe mine, for disputing the legitimacy of
such move?
2) International implications:
A) Mr. Lieberman is likely to be perceived, justifiably, as persona
non-grata by many governments around the globe, which will
add to the already existing tendency to delegitimize the State of Israel.
B) Israel is not self-sufficient economically. So far, the US and European
governments have rebuffed demands to impose any significant
economic sanctions on Israel (e.g., embargo on trade in military
equipment). With Mr. Lieberman as a foreign or defense minister,
this will become increasingly difficult.
C) Disenfranchisement of Israeli Arabs will play into the hands of
people who try to portray Israel as the modern-day South Africa.
Coupled with the diplomatic isolation of Israel, such moves, which
are likely to lead to global sanctions, will be very hard to counter.
3) Through his views, Mr. Lieberman is likely to alienate a large
proportion of Israel supporters in the US, who provide a basis for
the continuing political, financial, military and moral support that
Israel receives from the US government.
Here's a quote from what Josh has written:
When Israel is under fire for controversial actions, as in the recent Gaza war, Americans' ability to trust that Israel is "doing the right thing" -- for example, doing all that it can to avoid civilian casualties and to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian conflict -- rests in large measure on the feeling that deep down, Israel is "like us": that Israel shares our commitment to democracy and civil rights, that Israel is and always has been "the only democracy in the Middle East", and hence is our indispensable ally. When the Israeli government makes a highly visible move away from democracy as Americans recognize it -- as it would by legitimizing Lieberman with a top ministerial post -- then the shared bond that American Jews and Americans feel towards Israel will be strained greatly. This is the basis behind our petition's statement that a government with Lieberman in a key role would be one that even Israel's friends would find increasingly difficult if not impossible to support. Anyone who cares about the relationship between American Jews and Israel, or between the US government and the Israeli government, should recognize that relationship is now in jeopardy -- more than ever before.
