The government of Israel, however, is anything but democratic. It is a democratically elected oligarchy that manipulates public opinion and scorns the abiding beliefs of the Jewish people. It has ignored mass demonstrations against turning over Judea, Samaria, and Gaza to the PLO-Palestinian Authority, even though that terrorist organization has murdered 1,000 Jews and has educated a generation of Arab children to emulate homicide bombers.
Civil disobedience against this Sharon-led oligarchy will not be effective unless it spreads to the army—forget it—or shuts down the economy.
Another overlooked aspect of Martin Luther King's success is that he had the more extreme Malcolm "X" on his right. Back in 1964 King let it be understood that if the white Establishment didn't deal with him, it would have to deal with Malcolm "X." In other words, civil disobedience can only be effective when it bears the threat of violence.
As for the video's reference to Thomas Jefferson, this is ludicrous. Jefferson was not an advocate of civil disobedience but of rebellion or revolution. Let me quote from his correspondence.
In a letter dated January 30, 1787 and addressed to James Madison (the father of the American Constitution), the Sage of Monticello wrote: "I hold that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and is as necessary in the political world as storms on the physical."
In a letter to William Smith dated November 13, 1787, Jefferson went so far as to say: "God forbid that we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion....The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
Today the author of America's Declaration of Independence would be labeled an "extremist" or "fanatic." Actually, Jefferson was quite sober. He understood that even democratic governments can be oppressive: they can succumb to majority tyranny; or, a government bearing a democratic facade can in reality be an oligarchy—the situation in Israel.
For Jefferson liberty is something one must fight for. The tendency of government is to stifle liberty. Hence he could write, again to Madison: "I own I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive. It places the governors indeed more at their ease at the expense of the people."
Neither the teachings of Thomas Jefferson, and certainly not those of Martin Luther King, will save Israel from the designs of the Sharon-led oligarchy, which spells more Jewish bloodshed on the road to a PLO-Palestinian state. To appeal to those Americans is demeaning given the infinitely richer tradition of the Hebrew Prophets and Sages. Why imitate imitators? Whatever wisdom will be found in the American political tradition is derived from, and will be found in infinitely greater abundance, in the Torah.
It is precisely because too many Jews are mentally enslaved to America that Israel's government is neither of the people, for the people, or by the people! Yes, Abraham Lincoln was an "Old Testament" man. Today Israel is ruled by “No Testament” men—men utterly devoid of principles. They are but a house of cards. Soon the house will collapse. To hasten the collapse, turn to the Torah and learn from its wisdom how to transform pseudo-democratic but really oligarchic institutions into an authentic Jewish Constitutional Democracy.
Civil Disobedience - Article Two
By Prof. Paul Eidelberg
During the Rabin Government a video cassette was distributed in Israel on civil disobedience. Its aim was to justify non-violent resistance against any attempt of the Rabin Government to force the Jews out of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza in the process of establishing a PLO-Palestinian state. What follows is an update of an article I wrote at the time. I merely substitute Sharon for Rabin.
The video on civil disobedience was and remains intellectually flawed. It draws on Martin Luther King and Thomas Jefferson for ideological support. Why is this misguided?
Martin Luther King succeeded in his civil disobedience movement because the United States is an authentic democracy, one whose government respects minority as well as majority opinion. This is why even conservative administrations in the U.S. respond positively to gays demonstrating for increased public expenditures for AIDS research.
The government of Israel, however, is anything but democratic. It is a democratically elected oligarchy that manipulates public opinion and scorns the abiding beliefs of the Jewish people. It has ignored mass demonstrations against turning over Judea, Samaria, and Gaza to the PLO-Palestinian Authority, even though that terrorist organization has murdered 1,000 Jews and has educated a generation of Arab children to emulate homicide bombers.
Civil disobedience against this Sharon-led oligarchy will not be effective unless it spreads to the army—forget it—or shuts down the economy.
Another overlooked aspect of Martin Luther King's success is that he had the more extreme Malcolm "X" on his right. Back in 1964 King let it be understood that if the white Establishment didn't deal with him, it would have to deal with Malcolm "X." In other words, civil disobedience can only be effective when it bears the threat of violence.
As for the video's reference to Thomas Jefferson, this is ludicrous. Jefferson was not an advocate of civil disobedience but of rebellion or revolution. Let me quote from his correspondence.
In a letter dated January 30, 1787 and addressed to James Madison (the father of the American Constitution), the Sage of Monticello wrote: "I hold that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and is as necessary in the political world as storms on the physical."
In a letter to William Smith dated November 13, 1787, Jefferson went so far as to say: "God forbid that we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion....The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
Today the author of America's Declaration of Independence would be labeled an "extremist" or "fanatic." Actually, Jefferson was quite sober. He understood that even democratic governments can be oppressive: they can succumb to majority tyranny; or, a government bearing a democratic facade can in reality be an oligarchy—the situation in Israel.
For Jefferson liberty is something one must fight for. The tendency of government is to stifle liberty. Hence he could write, again to Madison: "I own I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive. It places the governors indeed more at their ease at the expense of the people."
Neither the teachings of Thomas Jefferson, and certainly not those of Martin Luther King, will save Israel from the designs of the Sharon-led oligarchy, which spells more Jewish bloodshed on the road to a PLO-Palestinian state. To appeal to those Americans is demeaning given the infinitely richer tradition of the Hebrew Prophets and Sages. Why imitate imitators? Whatever wisdom will be found in the American political tradition is derived from, and will be found in infinitely greater abundance, in the Torah.
It is precisely because too many Jews are mentally enslaved to America that Israel's government is neither of the people, for the people, or by the people! Yes, Abraham Lincoln was an "Old Testament" man. Today Israel is ruled by “No Testament” men—men utterly devoid of principles. They are but a house of cards. Soon the house will collapse. To hasten the collapse, turn to the Torah and learn from its wisdom how to transform pseudo-democratic but really oligarchic institutions into an authentic Jewish Constitutional Democracy.
Posted by Tiburon at December 23, 2004 01:39 AM