Israeli-Arab objection to fighting puts democracy to the test

MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad), one of the rally's organizers, said he could not see the end of the human wave that made its way through the alleyways of Umm al-Fahm Sunday.

The protest is just one example of events and statements that appear to be putting the strength of Israeli democracy to the test. As Israel continues to fight Hezbollah, its tolerance for views condemning the war - often expressed by Arab MKs - is on the wane

MK Abas Zkoor (United Arab List-Ta'al) spoke from the Knesset in Arabic Monday. In comments addressed to the Lebanese after dozens of civilians were killed in an Israel Air Force strike in Qana, he said: "We ask Allah to forgive your martyrs, increase your reward in the world to come, and avenge the exploiters."

Several Arab MKs called Defense Minister Amir Peretz a "murderer" during the special Knesset recess session that discussed the war. The interruptions led to the expulsion of three Arab MKs - Zahalka, Ibrahim Sarsur and Talab al-Sana - from the plenum. In comments to the media, some Arab MKs referred to Peretz as the minister of war, a derogatory term borrowed from the Arab-language press.

Israeli Arab leaders argue that a true democracy must tolerate opinions and comments that deviate from the consensus, even when the country is going through a crisis. They say that the job of the opposition is to express opinions that differ from those of the coalition, and in this case, it is almost only Arabs who are criticizing the war from the Knesset floor.

MK Azmi Bishara, chairman of the Balad party, told Haaretz yesterday that he believes the war could have been prevented. Hezbollah's abduction of two Israeli soldiers is not a legitimate casus belli, he said, adding that the fighting has not made neither Israeli nor Lebanese cities immune from the threat of attack.

Whether or not one agrees with Bishara's views, it is his democratic right to express them, he said.

"Genuine democracy means that there is no consensus," Bishara said. "That is true in normal times and in a time of war. History is full of examples of unjust wars that broke out amid a national consensus, and the latest example of that is the American war in Iraq. The war over Lebanon is a war of choice, and I have no doubt about it."

But Bishara has not expressed his views to the Israeli broadcast media, saying that Arabs interviewed on the air are regularly accused of being disloyal to the state.

"This is the season of incitement against Arab MKs," he said. "What is considered an extremist opinion here is considered very moderate in the Arab world."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/745288.html