Liberal Israel’s rude awakening – Times of Israel
“Israel has never extended its tenuous liberalism equitably. While Jewish Israelis enjoy most of the freedoms expected in a Western democratic society, Israel’s non-Jewish citizens are hemmed in on every side by legal and unwritten forms of discrimination. Over the last two decades, as Israeli politics moved increasingly to the right, the situation has worsened. Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi’s well-known aphorism, “This country is Jewish and democratic: democratic toward Jews, and Jewish toward Arabs,” is, from a legal standpoint, truer now than at any time since 1966 when Israel ended its military control over the Arab population within its borders. And with people like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at the helm, the future for Israel’s non-Jewish citizens looks even bleaker.”