Re: [Salon] ‘A Democracy in Name Only’: Israel’s AG Sounds Alarm Over Netanyahu’s Legislative Blitz



As I was saying. But this has to be “broke down” to correctly understand what is taking place in Israel in far-right circles, and in their allied National Conservative Movement in the U.S. 

Since the 1950s in the US, vociferous arguments were made from the “Right” against Judicial Review, on the claim it interfered with the “Absolute Majoritarian” principle, which I’ve shared information on in the past (which I assume no one looked at, as it quoted a principal influencer of Trumpism). That argument continues to be made by “Originalists” on the Right, like Bill Barr who even explained it in detail to a Hillsdale College audience, which predictably cheered him when he called for looking to the so-called "Philadelphia Constitution” before that damned, disruptive First Amendment had been added, under James Madison’s influence after he broke with his Federalist Papers collaborator on the issue of a Bill of Rights (which I hold dear). That anti-“Rights” argument is central to the National Conservative theorist, and Israeli settler, Yoram Hazony as well, whose NatCon colleagues hold him and his extreme Right ideology so dear. 

 This is our role,” she said, but added that “without judicial review and independent legal advice, we will have to abandon this principle of majority rule [to protect all Israelis]. [Otherwise we are simply] a democracy in name only.”

These terms need to be “defined” under the correct category of political theory, as these term’s definitions may vary among political actors. Here, what is being substituted for what is ordinarily thought of as “democracy,” are ideas derived from Rousseau’s “General Will” theory of democracy. Which can accurately be called: "Fascist Democracy," as the attached files show, with one a proponent of such “democracy."

I have pointed out, and been derided for, that this kind of “Democratic Majoritarianism” was first put forward in the U.S. by so-called “Conservatives” creating a National Security State Ideology, which was in fact, drawing upon the same “theoretical sources” as our recently defeated enemies, principally, Thomas Hobbes and Machiavelli. But with Ayn Rand, drawing in just like our enemies had, Nietzsche. Then Leo Strauss entered the scene and duplicitously, “mined” ideas of the “Ancients” which were in fact those of the original “Fascists,” the Spartans. But using the voice of Socrates and/or Plato, to present them as "democratic.” Read The Republic for that, and I.F. Stone’s “The Trial of Scocrates.”   

But these files show the “theory” underlying such political thought, with the latter two opposing it.  

Attachment: The Government of Poland.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document

      

Attachment: Rousseau and Totalitarianism Author(s)- Robert A. Nisbet.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document

Attachment: Pages from The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document


One would think there would be a thunderous outcry at seeing Israel take the final step into all-out “Fascist Democracy.” Certainly the BDS Movement understands what that means. But they have largely been “neutralized.” By whom, you ask?


https://www.salon.com/2015/04/07/business_of_backlash_gop_cashes_in_on_kochadelson_anti_bds_donations/

Why, by the Koch organizations, of course, whose long-term "strategy” becomes ever more apparent, even while they drop a dollar or two on some sound issue, like ostensibly being “antiwar,” while at the same time, “neutralizing” those “Rule of Law” elements in society, like BDS. And so long as they do a “little bit,” anti-war people don’t complain that they do a “huge bit” to promote the oligarchical, pro-war ideology they do of the party they support. I used to meet at the Liberty Tavern on Wilson Blvd. with a few people who were antiwar at the time, with one of them of the CATO Institute who wrote more vociferously than almost anyone against the Iraq War. Which he believed was the cause of his being fired from CATO. Whether or not that was true, I do know that on the one hand, they, CATO, “slightly” oppose war, ever so slightly, and on the other hand, they overwhelmingly support the pro-war side, to include opposing the BDS Movement as they did in so many states in which BDS was basically criminalized. As if Koch organization were an active, extension, of the IDF/Mossad. 



On Dec 15, 2022, at 8:58 AM, <salon@listserve.com> wrote:

‘A Democracy in Name Only’: Israel’s AG Sounds Alarm Over Netanyahu’s Legislative Blitz

Chen MaanitDec 15, 2022

Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara warned on Thursday against the latest bills put forth in the Knesset that are slated to help form Benjamin Netanyahu’s next government. 

Speaking at a Haifa University’s law conference, Baharav-Miara said that “the legislative proposals being discussed these days – what is unfortunately known as the ‘legislative blitz’ – do not stand on their own. The backlog of proposals on the table, certainly if implemented hastily, which is not based on a comprehensive and long-term view, may disrupt the system of checks and balances between the government authorities.”

Israel’s incoming government wasted no time with their legislative agenda, passing preliminary readings of three key bills on Tuesday that grant significant powers to Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right allies.

The first proposal amended one of Israel’s semi-constitutional basic laws to allow Shas head Arye Dery to be appointed as minister despite being sentenced to a suspended prison term. It was swiftly followed by bills subordinating the police chief to the far-right National Security Minister-designate Itamar Ben-Gvir and another granting Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich control of the Civil Administration, a key authority in the West Bank.

Baharav-Miara said that she does not dispute the importance of critical thinking in relation to the existing political structure. “Changes are sometimes forced by reality,” she said, “but the idea according to which it is true or possible to make a deep change in the fabric of the political arena at the stroke of a pen is wrong in my eyes. A fundamental change requires deep thinking and informed judgment.” 

She added that the bills on the incoming government’s agenda did not propose mechanisms to balance the rule of the majority and guarantee the state’s commitment to human rights. “Those who wish to make a change in the Israeli system of checks and balances should clarify how, according to their method, the rule of the majority will be restrained from harming the minority,” she said.

The attorney general reiterated that elected politicians should govern the country and enact laws. “This is the basic democratic principle,” Baharav-Miara said. “Effective governance is essential for the prosperity of the country and the realization of the voter’s will. Not only do we believe in this, we also assist the government in doing so. This is our role,” she said, but added that “without judicial review and independent legal advice, we will have to abandon this principle of majority rule [to protect all Israelis]. [Otherwise we are simply] a democracy in name only.”

Baharav-Miara also warned against “politicizing law enforcement” which, according to her, “will lead to a severe violation of the most basic principles of the rule of law: equality, absence of arbitrariness, and the absence of partiality. If there is even a small sense of politicization [of the law enforcement system], it will deal a fatal blow to its ability to function and seriously harm public trust. In a democratic country, it is not appropriate to change the relationship between the legislative body and the law enforcement system with this legislation.”

--
Salon mailing list
Salon@listserve.com
https://mlm2.listserve.net/mailman/listinfo/salon

Attachment: smime.p7s
Description: S/MIME cryptographic signature



This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail (Mailman edition) and MHonArc.