Opinion
Shameful, irresponsible decision
Uri Misgav
Published: 14.01.09, 11:31
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2. Stop talking. Ban them.
Kev ,   London   (01.14.09)
The luxury of having this intellectual banter is killing people, it's that simple.
3. No, You, Uri Misgav are shameful and irresponsible
Yisrael ,   Israel   (01.14.09)
you support the enemy with in. you are a true traitor.
4. Uri Misgav
Ricardo Macher ,   KarneiShomron-Israel   (01.14.09)
Uri dear, you forget one small detail about democracy and liberties! You cannot expect legislative representation when you don't recognize that Israel is homeland for the Jewish people as stated. You may like that or not, but this is our country, our flag and our anthem, whoever doesn't accept that belongs elsewhere. You speak nicely like most intellectuals, but like most of them just speak and speak with no sense. Please come back to reality and understand that this guys are not our brothers, rather, they are our enemies!
5. Arab Knesset parties
noel ,   israel   (01.14.09)
A fundemental function of a democracy is to defend itself from those that would destroy it. So Arab politicians must decide,and state publicly,that they are in favor of the State of Israel,the homeland of the Jewish people. If not, then they do not have any democratic right to be a part of the country's legislature- and that's how a democracy works.
6. Shameful
POPPY   (01.14.09)
I THINK THAT THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT ARE CORRECT IN THEIR DECISION THEY SHOULD NOT ALLOW ANY ARABS WHO SPEAK AGAINST THE STATE OF ISRAEL IN THE PARLIMENT. THEY ARE THE 5 COLUMN IN OUR COUNTRY WHAT WERE THE GOVERNMENT THINKING IN THE FIRST PLACE...........TO TRUST THEM??? ANY MEMBER OF PARLIMENT WHO SPEAKS AGAINST THE EXCISTENCE OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL SHOULD BE JAILED FOR LIFE. THEY ARE TRAITORS.. CANT ANYONE SEE THIS????????? IS EVERYONE SO STUPID?????????? CAN YOU IMAGINE THE ARABS ALLOWING A JEW TO BE IN THEIR PARLIMENT....LETS SAY IN TURKEY A DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY????? IF THE ISRAELI ARABS WANT TO LIVE ALONG SIDE THE JEWS IN HARMONY AND PEACE THEN THEY MUST BE FAITHFUL TO THE COUNTRY THEY LIVE IN. THE COUNTRY THAT GIVES THEM A LIVING, THE COUNTRY THAT LOOKS AFTER ALL THEIR HEALTH NEEDS. ETC ETC.
7. arab list
dr daniel mostrel ,   paris   (01.14.09)
to be MK means that you believe that Israel must live as a jewish independant state. Whatever you say , MKs who stand with enemy and slam all the time their own country must not be allowed to be elected. free vote for the arabs in the democratic state of Israel is right , but arabs parties must know that they have to be for the interest of their country ,not for enemies.
8. The committee is right and
Hertzel H'Tveriani ,   Israel   (01.14.09)
AND YOU ARE WRONG !!!WE ARE AT WAR AND THESE ARAB LEADERS ARE BACKING OUR ENEMIES IN THE NORTH THE SOUTH AND FURTHER EAST. AND PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE TOO BLIND TO SEE THE LIGHT, SINCE YOU PREFER TO LIVE IN A UPHORIC ILUSION...SAD.
9. GOOD RIDDANCE OF BAD RUBBISH
SHOSH ,   ISRAEL   (01.14.09)
10. Uri Misgav SHOULD BE TRYED FOR TREASON OR MOVE TO AN ARAB
TREASON = DEATH   (01.14.09)
COUNTRY!
11. DEATH TO THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL!
TEXAS LOVES ISRAEL!   (01.14.09)
12. Arab parties
NYC Girl   (01.14.09)
It's one thing to disagree with certain policies of the country you represent. We certainly have politicians in this country who oppose the administration. However, it's an entirely different thing to undermine your country in a time of war and these politicians have crossed that line.
13. Misgav doesn't know the first thing about democracy.
Terry ,   Eilat, Israel   (01.14.09)
He just gives a knee-jerk response according to his own ideological biases, biases, I might add, that are not shared by a vast majority of Israelis. Would Mr Misgav like to explain how the Court can be seen as a democratic institution? He'll have to do some really good intellectual gymnastics to do it. Does Mr Misgav understand the concept of balance of power among branches of gov't. ? That there are limits, checks & balances, to the power of any branch of gov't.? While I certainly support the concept of an independent judiciary, I most certainly do not subscribe to the concept of judicial activism as practiced by our court. Nor can an institution exist without accountability - it cannot be the domain of one ideology, self-perpetuating & self-selecting. Democracy is not a system based only on abstract ideas that exist in some sphere removed from reality. The Court's decisions must take into account the reality on the ground & most important, the outcome of it's decisions in the real world. When we say that democracy means the rule of law, this does not mean the rule of lawyers - it means the rule of the legislature as well ,representing the views & interests of citizens. Democracy is a very delicate balance between the rights of individuals & the rights of the collectivity. As it happens, in this particular case, we are talking about two separate collectivities - one, the majority, the other the minority. There are two opposing views here about the nature of the State. One view is that this is a state of all it's citizens, the other, that this is the state of a certain collectivity, namely the Jewish state. In other words, a conflict between individual rights & the rights of the collectivity. This case is NOT about individual rights. It is about OUR collective rights. And I'll debate anyone on this point, including Mr Misgav or even the High Court itself.
14. Nothing shameful about it
daniel   (01.14.09)
These are racist parties calling for the destruction of Israel, siding with your enemies. It's insane not to ban them.
15. Banning parties
Chaim ,   Aust   (01.14.09)
Did Uri Misgav think the same thing when R Meir Kahana's party was banned?
16. question
Jospeh ,   Lisboa Portugal   (01.14.09)
Isn't Hadash just the same as the 2 banned? Do they still can vote for them? CAnanybody answer to me? Thanks
17. They should let them run
Danny   (01.14.09)
They are utterly irrelevent and the only people they really hurt are the suckers who voted for them.
18. #1, says the Libyan
Danny   (01.14.09)
again i take it as a compliment that you object to our system of rule. If Libyans were praising us it would be a cause for concern.
19. Even in the United States
Sidney ,   USA   (01.14.09)
Elected officials must take a loyalty oath to the country. Let Uri Misgav name one democratic country that allows people dedicated to the destruction of the country to sit in parliament.
20. Let them govern Gaza it needs it more
Petra ,   usa   (01.14.09)
if they have the stones for it. Israels right, lose them asap.
21. You are a traitor
Daniel ,   NYC & Tel Aviv   (01.14.09)
^^^ Thats all.
22. not misgudided at all!
oded   (01.14.09)
on ly an i nsane democarcy as is israel , where its open and unveiled enenmeis are allowed to spew venom against the state, can put up with them for so long. it is a sane logical outcome of the arabs' trumping our democracy against us!
23. Anyone in Israel that doesn't recognize Israel should
(01.14.09)
be kicked out of Israel.
24.  Uri Misgav the traitor
Shia ,   Teveria   (01.14.09)
Uri should be sent to gaza and lebanon with his traitor friends. MK's who don't support Israel ever, especially in time of war, have no rights. Ban them forever.
25. # 13 i completly agree with you, What Democracy realy means
josef ,   switzerland   (01.14.09)
wow... congratulations, at least someone whom has knowledge about democracy unlike most other guys including Mr. Misgav. The understanding, that democracy is a sensitive balance between the (mayority) collectivity and individual (minority) is about the most basic knowledge about what democracy means. Every granted individual (minority) right may be terminated when conflicting with the collectivities (mayor) interests, either temporary or alltiime.
26. Maybe
Israel Israeli ,   Tel Aviv   (01.14.09)
The Arab parties haven't changed in the past four years. If their ideas were dangerous, they should have been banned years ago, giving new parties a chance to get organized for the elections. By banning these parties less than a month before elections, the system is disenfranchising many citizens. Since Kadima has the most to gain from banning the Arab parties, the motivation for this stupid act is clear.
27. There is nothing democratic about allowing undemocratic
Roman ,   Lod, Israel   (01.14.09)
parties to run for office. And the very definition of undemocratic is undermining the state from within. This includes meeting enemies in times of war, publicly stating the destruction of the state in your very party manifesto, inciting to hatred and violence, and so on... Balad and Ra'am-Ta'al crossed that line. They crossed it ages ago. There are other Arab-focused parties in Israel - Hadash, the new Arab Centre Party... that don't define themselves solely by "Arab defiance" against the "Zionist regime", and being in favor of destroying it as a national home for the Jewish people. So no one is denying Arabs their right to vote for parties of their own, should they seek to found Arab-focused parties. What we're seeing here is rule of law and the survival of the state.
28. To #1
Yonatan ,   Israel   (01.14.09)
Let me help people understand your message, you complain here because your country does not allow you to do it locally. So, go ahead, and use Israel as a way to express since you can not do it in your "democratic" country....
29. Uri Misgav is the Misguided One!
Mike Sless ,   Israel   (01.14.09)
30. Arab-Israeli Parties
Eve   (01.14.09)
Using a democracy to try and destroy is not democracy. What is it that they want?????The destruction of the stat of Israel. They are proxies for Iran. There is NO country in this world that would allow such a party and this includes US. If Arab-Israel want a party that represents them they need to establish a party that will have extreme missions, for the destruction of Israel and siding with the enemy.
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