Newsweek refers to Avigdor Lieberman as “Israel’s most popular politician,” but then calls him its “far-right” foreign minister. He is indeed, but since he is also — in his words — “the mainstream,” it’s time the American mainstream media desist from portraying him as being on the political fringe.
Lieberman is a mainstream politician in a far-right country.
Racism has been normalized in what should now be universally recognized as a racist state — Israel cannot claim to be nor should be characterized by others as a liberal democratic state. Were it such, Lieberman could not possibly have risen this far.
Lieberman talks about his plan to strip at least 10 percent of Israelis of their citizenship:
You’re talking about drawing a line so that how many Israeli Arabs will no longer be part of Israel?
At least half.
Polls suggest that 90 percent or more of Israeli Arabs don’t want that.
You have 20 percent of the population that’s the Arab minority. You have 80 percent that’s Jewish. From 80 percent of the Jewish population, 70 percent support this idea.
So even if a resident of [the Israeli Arab town] Umm al-Fahm, for instance, doesn’t want to become part of Palestine, if a majority in the country says he has to, he has no choice?
He can continue to live in his property, his house, his land [and become a citizen of Palestine], or he can move to Israel.
I’m a little confused. Did you, Newsweek, or Lieberman himself say ‘Israel’ in that last sentence when he really meant to say ‘Palestine’? Maybe it’s just me.
It’s interesting that in Lieberman’s Israel the majority has every right to tyrannize over the minority.
I also liked this quote: “What we’re trying to do is stop this phenomenon of people enjoying all the advantages of a democratic country but refusing to be integrated. They don’t want to adopt our values. It’s like in the 1930s. Everyone understood who Hitler was, but everybody tried to avoid this reality.”
The transition to Hitler was priceless. Physician heal thyself. Psychologists have a name for this kind of thing. They it call it ‘thought confusion’.
Sorry to be so dense. I didn’t understand what Lieberman was proposing but now I think I do. For example, Umm al-Fahm is inside Israel but it’s CLOSE to the West Bank. Lieberman apparently proposes to redraw the West Bank line to enclose Umm al-Fahm and towns like it. That way it becomes part of “Palestine” and its citizens, formerly Israelis, are now to be Palestinians. So the choice on the part of people who live in Umm al-Fahm is to stay there and become Palestinians or move to Israel and become Israelis? But after redrawing the line to exclude the people of Umm al-Fahm from Israel under what conditions are its inhabitants to be allowed back into Israel? Maybe we need someone knowledgeable to weigh in on this. I don’t think I’ve seen a real discussion of what it is that Lieberman actually proposes or I haven’t been paying attention. Paul, can you help us with a more detailed description of what Lieberman actually wants?
You got the basic idea — towns such as Umm al-Fahm would become part of a new Palestinian state and their inhabitants would become Palestinian citizens unless they decided to move the other side of the border (back into Israel). But if they wanted to do that — under Lieberman’s plan — they would no doubt be forced to take a loyalty oath. In other words, Israeli Palestinians are welcome in Lieberman’s Israel only if they become Zionists.
I can’t make sense out of this probably becuase it doesn’t make sense.
Israel isn’t going to let Palestine become a State so what good is Umm al-Fahmo?
And why would he invite Palestines back into Israel, oath or not, when the whole zionist idea is to get rid of Arabs in Israel to begin with.
This guy is a mental case and isn’t even logical in his brain farts.
Lieberman does not have to make sense to you or I. He only has to make sense to his constituency back in Israel – and it is a large constituency.
This is what the US is becoming an accessory to; the warning is there for all to see. Lieberman and his ilk are not hiding what they are doing or saying.
From a cursory reading of who this gentleman is I gather that he from Moldavia and that at one time he was bouncer in a girlie bar in either Moldavia or Israel.
He is indeed mainstream when one reads that the Chief Rabbi of Israel at one time referred to all non jews as cattle as well as donkeys and their primary purpose was to serve the Jew.
And lastly it should be clear as snow that the mainstream Mr. Lieberman represents is not interested in complying with UN Resolutions tha created both Israel and Palestine. So far US Policy has been one sided and subservient to Israeli pressure specially on both Congress and the President no matter who he might be.
there will come a time by either commission or ommission that he chickens will come home to roost.
Seems it’s your move “O”. Are you bought & paid for as an Israeli toady? Have you like all the rest sold the U.S. into being subservient to the whims of the mad men in Israel? Perhaps you have duel citizenship? Is this the reason that none of what happened on Bush’s watch is being investigated? When are you & the Congress with the S.C.O.T.U.S. going to drop America & add Israel from U.S.?