(American Interest) Walter Russell Mead - Last week a politically marginal Arab Palestinian activist had her political rights upheld when a panel of nine judges on Israel's Supreme Court overruled a decision by the Central Elections Committee to disqualify Haneen Zoabi from seeking re-election as a member of the Israeli parliament. The committee's decision was based on her participation in a flotilla attempting to breach the blockade of Gaza in 2010. The vindication of her right to run for office is a heartening sign that Israel's democratic institutions continue to work. How many of the European countries who constantly upbraid Israel would maintain the same level of freedom under the same kind of pressure that Israel faces? Not many, we suspect. How many of Israel's enemies are this scrupulous in protecting civil rights? How does Israel's treatment of its Arab minority contrast with the fates of national and religious minorities (like the Kurds, the Copts and the Berbers) in the Arab world? Israel's tolerance for opposition and forceful criticism is one of its greatest strengths and is a signal to the whole world about the remarkable nature of this society.
2013-01-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive