From the JPost 2/10/09

I came across an op-ed written by Shira Kaplan in the Jerusalem post this morning an thought with Israel voting that it was worth posting on the blog. I tried to pick out a quote but I think it needs to be read more or less in its entirely so I'm posting it with the link on the bottom, enjoy:

Consciously or not, Lieberman's campaign slogan "There's no citizenship without loyalty" took on the task of addressing perhaps the most fundamental question emerging from Israel's Declaration of Independence: Can Israel be both a democratic and a Jewish state? Lieberman is quite bluntly suggesting that the answer is a simple no.

'THERE'S NO CITIZENSHIP without loyalty" alludes to the disturbing attempts of Arab-Israeli MKs to defame the State of Israel, while posing a real threat its security in the name of democracy.

Arab-initiated, anti-Israel statements and sentiments have become a daily matter at the Knesset, spearheaded by Arab-Israeli MKs such as Ahmed Tibi and Taleb a-Sanaa. Calls have been repeatedly made at the Knesset to condemn Israel as a "Nazi" and "apartheid" state, while Arab MKs justify the continuation of the armed struggle.

Such expressions were dwarfed by actions taken to proactively sabotage Israel's security. MK Azmi Bishara, for example, was accused by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in 2007 of advising Hizbullah where to aim the Katyusha rockets during the Second Lebanon War. In exchange, Bishara was offered hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Now imagine what would be the fate of a congressman who called for the death of America from his congressional seat, or told Osama bin Laden where to carry out the next 9/11.

LIEBERMAN'S CAMPAIGN is bold to the extent that it fearlessly confronts the toughest philosophical questions posed by Israel's founding fathers, much like Obama did in the States.

While Israel's Declaration of Independence does not straightforwardly address the question of Arab-Israeli loyalty to the state, it does leave clouded the precise nature it should adopt - a true democracy or a plain state of the Jews.

The declaration essentially suggests that a mélange of both identities - Jewish and democratic - is reasonably attainable. It suggests no recipe, however, as to what to do if the combination turns out to be incongruent.

Lieberman's campaign is brilliant to the extent that it pioneers a notion that no one else had dared to address. That is, there's something fundamentally problematic in running both a Jewish and a democratic state.

Lieberman implies that perhaps there is something essentially oxymoronic, or self-contradictory, in such a vision.

Recognizing that Israel is a Jewish state places the Jews by definition before anyone else on the ladder of civil and religious rights, despite any attempts to claim otherwise. This, to me, seems like a rather undemocratic thing to do. It's much like suggesting that America should be both Christian and democratic.

Lieberman's campaign may be alarming to Jewish liberals (let alone to Israel's Arab neighbors), to the extent that he has managed to rally around him masses of Israeli (and not just Russian-born) youths calling "Death to the Arabs." Lieberman admittedly boasts of opinions that are racist, and some would say even fascist.

"Consciously or not, Lieberman's campaign slogan "There's no citizenship without loyalty" took on the task of addressing perhaps the most fundamental question emerging from Israel's Declaration of Independence: Can Israel be both a democratic and a Jewish state? Lieberman is quite bluntly suggesting that the answer is a simple no. "

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304731228&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull