About a month ago, my radio program dealt with the fact that the majority of the Israeli people are against a Palestinian state. And I quoted a public opinion survey conducted by the prestigious Smith Research Organization in June of this year, which showed that the overwhelming majority of the Israeli People are against the establishment of a Palestinian state, even in return for peace with the Palestinians and the Arab states. In that same program, I discussed a very valid question posed by one of my listeners: If this is indeed a fact, why is this majority so quiet, and so passive? My answer, at that time, was that the media in Israel is very powerful and very much controlled by the Left. There is indeed a majority against a Palestinian state, but other powerful political and economic forces, in addition to the media, also prevent us from being heard.
On December 5, there was an interesting op-ed article in the Jerusalem Post, entitled "Is a Constitution Desirable?", by Daniel Doron, a well-known economist. His thesis was that the Israeli system of government is disastrously dysfunctional. To quote: "The concentration of economic power in the hands of the few and its corrupting relationship to government is a problem besetting all democracies, but it is far greater in this country, where four entities alone hold 40% of all assets and a dozen or so families ? with strong connections to the political establishment ? control 80%." On the same date, I received a media release from Aaron Lerner of Independent Media Review & Analysis (IMRA), asking the following question: "Is the Israeli system working? Are the Israeli people allowed to decide?" Coincidently, the day after, December 6, an article by Caroline B. Glick appeared with the intriguing title, "Conference Commissars."
It seems to me that all three of these analysts are discussing the same subject, although from different perspectives. They point out a trend that is very dangerous to the survival of a democratic state. Appearing on my program, Dr. Lerner and Caroline B. Glick said that there are powerful elites in Israel ? political, military, economic and academic ? with disproportionate influence on the democratic process. Is there a way out of this gross failure in the Israeli democratic process? In an article written for the Jerusalem Post by Ariel Sharon on August 3, 1994, he criticizes the Yitzchak Rabin government for making decisions "without a referendum, without elections, without a Knesset or cabinet decision. It is as though it was a private matter. No, they would probably have taken care over a private matter."
What has happened to the Ariel Sharon who wrote these words? What has happened to the Ariel Sharon whom we so admired? May we suggest to Mr. Sharon that he think seriously about his previous pronouncements, which led to the overwhelming support of the Jewish People?
Prime Minister Sharon, you owe the Jewish people a chance to vote in a referendum as to whether we agree to the creation of a Palestinian state in our land. As you said in 1994, such an important decision is not a private matter, to be decided "without a referendum, without elections, without a Knesset or cabinet decision...."
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Ruth Matar is co-chairwoman of the grass-roots activist organization Women for Israel?s Tomorrow (Women in Green). This article was adapted from the Women in Green radio program on Arutz Sheva - Israel National Radio, which can be heard on demand at IsraelNationalNews.com.
On December 5, there was an interesting op-ed article in the Jerusalem Post, entitled "Is a Constitution Desirable?", by Daniel Doron, a well-known economist. His thesis was that the Israeli system of government is disastrously dysfunctional. To quote: "The concentration of economic power in the hands of the few and its corrupting relationship to government is a problem besetting all democracies, but it is far greater in this country, where four entities alone hold 40% of all assets and a dozen or so families ? with strong connections to the political establishment ? control 80%." On the same date, I received a media release from Aaron Lerner of Independent Media Review & Analysis (IMRA), asking the following question: "Is the Israeli system working? Are the Israeli people allowed to decide?" Coincidently, the day after, December 6, an article by Caroline B. Glick appeared with the intriguing title, "Conference Commissars."
It seems to me that all three of these analysts are discussing the same subject, although from different perspectives. They point out a trend that is very dangerous to the survival of a democratic state. Appearing on my program, Dr. Lerner and Caroline B. Glick said that there are powerful elites in Israel ? political, military, economic and academic ? with disproportionate influence on the democratic process. Is there a way out of this gross failure in the Israeli democratic process? In an article written for the Jerusalem Post by Ariel Sharon on August 3, 1994, he criticizes the Yitzchak Rabin government for making decisions "without a referendum, without elections, without a Knesset or cabinet decision. It is as though it was a private matter. No, they would probably have taken care over a private matter."
What has happened to the Ariel Sharon who wrote these words? What has happened to the Ariel Sharon whom we so admired? May we suggest to Mr. Sharon that he think seriously about his previous pronouncements, which led to the overwhelming support of the Jewish People?
Prime Minister Sharon, you owe the Jewish people a chance to vote in a referendum as to whether we agree to the creation of a Palestinian state in our land. As you said in 1994, such an important decision is not a private matter, to be decided "without a referendum, without elections, without a Knesset or cabinet decision...."
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Ruth Matar is co-chairwoman of the grass-roots activist organization Women for Israel?s Tomorrow (Women in Green). This article was adapted from the Women in Green radio program on Arutz Sheva - Israel National Radio, which can be heard on demand at IsraelNationalNews.com.