In the Egyptian newspaper al-Ahrar, an editorialist takes aim at Israeli democracy. The spur for his article were recent statements made by the owner of the London-based al-Mustaqila television station, al-Hashimi al-Hamidi, in praise of Israeli democracy and urging Arab states to emulate the Israeli model. According to the article, al-Hamidi ?even claims that the rights of all Arabs, either inside or outside the Green Line, are fully protected.? Furthermore, ?he himself has the honor of being friends with a number of Jews and that he even retains a Jewish lawyer.? The article claims that al-Hamidi?s family has ?issued a statement denouncing his applause of Sharon, the war criminal.? The Egyptian columnist writes in response to the salutary comments about Israel, ?In our present situation, a praise of the enemy should not not only go unnoticed, but should raise many question marks as well.?
According to the newspaper, ?Israeli democracy is actually a lie, well-promoted and well-projected by the Mossad.? In actuality, the Egyptian columnist claims, ??the Jews of Western origin lead a rich and easy life, while their compatriots of Eastern origin suffer under the yoke of poverty and are treated like servants.? Not only Sepharadim suffer, of course, according to the piece, ?Arab Israelis, too, whom we thought were enjoying life under an acclaimed democratic rule, are proven to have been handled as third rate citizens.? Seemingly oblivious to the very self-contradictory nature of the statement he writes, the author cites the recent lifting of parliamentary immunity from Arab members of Knesset as an example of anti-democratic behavior: ?Recently, the Israeli government, democratic as it is so-claimed, has stripped a number of Arab-Israelis of their membership in the Knesset; an incident which proves that democracy in Israel is a right enjoyable by some yet denied to others.?
According to the newspaper, ?Israeli democracy is actually a lie, well-promoted and well-projected by the Mossad.? In actuality, the Egyptian columnist claims, ??the Jews of Western origin lead a rich and easy life, while their compatriots of Eastern origin suffer under the yoke of poverty and are treated like servants.? Not only Sepharadim suffer, of course, according to the piece, ?Arab Israelis, too, whom we thought were enjoying life under an acclaimed democratic rule, are proven to have been handled as third rate citizens.? Seemingly oblivious to the very self-contradictory nature of the statement he writes, the author cites the recent lifting of parliamentary immunity from Arab members of Knesset as an example of anti-democratic behavior: ?Recently, the Israeli government, democratic as it is so-claimed, has stripped a number of Arab-Israelis of their membership in the Knesset; an incident which proves that democracy in Israel is a right enjoyable by some yet denied to others.?