Opinion
The right to hate
Yair Lapid
Published: 30.05.09, 08:26
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71 Talkbacks for this article
1. So according to your logic it;s OK to rase a Nazi flag
Ron ,   LA   (05.30.09)
in Jerusalem? In the name of freedom of course.. How about strip naked in the middle of the mall? Is it any limit to freedoms? Israel need to protect itself from haters. If they want to enjoy citizenship they need to respect the state. If they don't want to be Israelis then why not giving up their citizenship and getting Jordanian one? After all if Nakba wouldn't accure they woyuld be aproud Jordan citizens.
2. Amen
vered ,   israel   (05.30.09)
Although our enemies say differently, we don't want Israel to be about "coercion".
3. LAPID YOU ARE AN ANTI-ZIONIST SHUT UP NOW
(05.30.09)
4. Beautiful
Tom ,   Jerusalem   (05.30.09)
A beautifully written and powerfully argued piece. I think I understand (as much as an outsider ever can) some of the complexities of the Israeli identity. I am often struck that unlike any other major developed country, Israelis still have a genuine fear of existential threat. As a British National, for example, I cannot really conceive of a world in which my nation and my people do not continue. Israelis do not have that confidence. I think the world needs to find ways to give it to them (or rather to help them to find it for themselves). Because that lack of national self-confidence (which can come across wrongly as arrogance) is responsible for some of the mistakes I believe Israel to be guilty of and is holding back a great nation and a wonderful people from their full potential.
5. Lapid is an anti-zionist ignoramus.
Prof. Reuven Bar-On   (05.30.09)
6. Yair Lapid's well-considered essay forgets one thing
Rachel ,   Tel Aviv, Israel   (05.30.09)
You cannot equate the meandering hatred of a few misguided souls in the US with the ones here. The US has a Constitution and Israel does not. I now see why Israel has no Constitution. Sadly, they have not matured enough at this point as a state to be able to protect the rights of her citizens--all her citizens. When neo-Nazis marched through Skokie, Illinois and offended all good citizens, Jew and gentile alike, they still recognized that the law was meant to protect everyone and not just a few fake pious types or fringe fruitcakes. The ones who scream the loudest for loyalty oaths are the ones most threatening the good order of Israeli society. Avigdor Lieberman and the political parties that adhere to his views are a symptom of a larger problem which Yair pinpoints so accurately. Lieberman should be reading Thomas Paine's Common Sense, not his soon-to-be-released indictment for fraud. This is precisely what happens when someone from the former Soviet Union interprets freedom. He has no clue what it means.
7. large clusters of arabs from within undernine those pillars
(05.30.09)
8. Arab approval.
Matt C ,   Canada   (05.30.09)
Obviously, Israel does not "need" Arab approval. As the author says, as long as Israel is strong there is no requirement for Arab acceptance of Israel's existence as a Jewish state. If the Arabs never recognise Israel as a Jewish state then Israel can simply continue as it has, without a peace deal. However, if the peace process is ever to be successful, then the Arabs will eventually have to give Israel that recognition. If Israel were to sign a peace deal with the Arabs in which the Arabs never recognised Israel's existence as a Jewish state, then the Arabs would simply continue to attack Israel's identity and legitimacy and the peace deal would be rendered meaningless. Arab refusal to accept Israel's existence as a Jewish state shows that they are insincere in the peace process. Netanyahu is right to demand that they change.
9. Lapid has forgotten what it means to be a Zionist.
Antonio ,   Haifa   (05.30.09)
It means to live PROUDLY in our homeland. Not to let foreign elements who leached on to this land to disrespect us here. They can do whatever they want in their own Arab countries. This is Israel, not Ishmael. This is our land, our home. And we will not be disrespected here. That's Zionism!
10. Mr LAPID Please stop trying to impress us
david   (05.30.09)
Mr LAPID! When someone threaten your existence YOU DO NOT! RATIONALIZE IT USING A SILLY argument of the kind you came up with. You address it and respond to it appropriately. According to you we must allow racism and antisemitism
11. Lapid wants incitement of hatred to be legal!
Freejay3333 ,   Israel   (05.30.09)
What he seems to refuse to admit is that this NAkba rally is bogus and only meant to incite hatred! No land was stolen and no Arabs were thrown out like they falsely claim....and Yair knows this! What a stupid article. I suppose he thinks its ok for NAzis to protest in Tel Aviv too?
12. i agree, a very backward idea
jo   (05.30.09)
no matter how you disagree of the how and why it happened, the experience was real for many and they should be allowed to remember that. When a Palestinian state becomes a reality then this will be for the history books. until then/............
13. Confederate Flag
Jeffrey ,   Boston   (05.30.09)
Many states have banned the confederate flag. What does the genius author think about that?
14. The "nakba" or catastophe is Israel's proclamation in their
Ami-Hai ,   Jerusalem, Israel   (05.30.09)
eys. The armies of five Arab states entered into a war on the 15 of May 1948 in order to extinct the life of the newly born state and failed, thus the "nakba" is commemorated on the 15 of May of each year. The message, explicit and implicit in those commemoration ceremonies, held under the flags of the PLO, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and even Hizballah: Israel must be wiped off the face of earth, be it all at once or in stages. I thought the readers would want to know that.
15. Sometimes two wrongs do make a right.
Robbie ,   Ireland   (05.30.09)
Almost every bit of Nationalistic logic Mr Lapid uses to get to his conclusion that Freedom of Expression is vital to a healthy democracy, is warped and wrong, Yet he still manages to get to the right conclusion. Hmm.. funny world.
16. Lapid = Post-Zionist self hater!
leftys suck!   (05.30.09)
17. They are traitors, not political activists
Raphi ,   Toronto, Canada   (05.30.09)
The problem is that we are dealing with fifth-columnist traitors not just political activists. It is not insecurity that spurs us to quiet these traitors in our midst, rather our desire to preserve a semblance of nationhood.
18. I am a proud idiot antizionist coward
Trumpeldor,eurabia   (05.30.09)
19. Bravo again Yair - we are proud
Sheila ,   Jerusalem Israel   (05.30.09)
Israel is a proud and strong nation which gives so much to the world through its initiative and innovation. We do not need to bend our knee to anyone nor should we allow our symbols or rights to be abused. We honour others and they MUST honour us.
20. Wrong approach
Frank ,   Canada   (05.30.09)
The point is not to be afraid of Arab hatred. The point is that it is better to curb this hatred before it becomes out of control.
21. Wrong example, sedition during wartime IS illegal in US
Dr. L. Brnd ,   San Diego, USA   (05.30.09)
The US was not at war with anybody, declared or undeclared, in 1984. Making anti-state comments (sedition) during wartime is definitely illegal in the US and most countries, and has been prosecuted as treason here when judged to give "aid and comfort to the enemy". Arabs can celebrate Nakba day on the anniversary of an ACTUAL tragedy, there were no refugees yet on May 15, 1948 - the refugees resulted much later, from the Arab invasion of Israel, and the Jews fighting back HARD. "Nakba Day" as celebrated by muslim arabs on May 15th, and especially on the Hebrew calendar day of 5 Iyar (as they do in the US) is an anti-Jewish act of racism rejecting an Israel with ANY borders, and should be outlawed as such. Imagine if Japan celebrated their "Hiroshima Day" not on the date in August the atom bomb was dropped on them in 1945 (ending the war THEY started), but on every 4th of JULY, USA's Independence Day. It would NOT be tolerated, and they know it. Japan would have no diplomatic or trade relations with the US - INSTANTLY, I assure you. GET IT, LAPID?
22. Literate bunch of tripe:
Robert Haymond ,   Ashdod, Israel   (05.30.09)
The writing is very literate; it flows well and appears to be highly integrated. This is what struck me as questionable, however. It was so easy, so smooth, yet the subject is such a problematic one. Remember George Steiner writing about the "freedoms" of speech before the Holocaust took place: These anti-Jewish commentaries and cartoons put the German people in a frame of mind to decimate us. There is power in speech and demonstrations. Therefore, a balance must be struck between what's legitemate, what's inciteful and what's downright threatening to the very existence of the state. This must be viewed in terms of the socio-political context so what works in one nation may not work in another. This also goes for time frames. therefore, Lapid needed to explore Israel's current socio-political context. He didn't. The reason Lapid's opinion piece was so liquid was that his considerations, passionate though they were, were also very limited, full of expression but not thoughtful. Perhaps another writer could provide a more intelligent argument, both for and against.
23. #4 and #6: very well said. thank you! but...
usa   (05.30.09)
all the same, there should be laws against the use of Palestinian flags on Israeli soil to commemorate any "holiday." #13 is correct in that the raising of the Confederate flag is banned in most states in America. If Arabs living in Israel want to commemorate Naqba day, they should have the right to do so. If they want to put up a Palestinian flag on there own property, they should have the right to do so. However, in a public forum for which they must apply for a permit to demonstrate, Palestinian flags should not be allowed. I agree with Mr. Lapid's compelling argument. Banning Naqba day makes Israel look like a paranoid totalitarian state, which it clearly is NOT, and it is an extreme disservice to the citizens living there who fought very hard for its democratic ideals.
24. speaking of cowards....
zediker ,   israel   (05.30.09)
tell us, o wise one, is al-queda considered a legal political party in america? stop comparing apples and oranges, and seek help...
25. Amichai # 14
zediker ,   israel   (05.30.09)
what, you think people dont know?? martin luthur king jr said it decades ago: whoever says he hates israel but not the jews is either a fool or he thinks youre one.
26. Lapid it is time for you to go to sleep
(05.30.09)
27. The Right to Hate
Michael ,   Dunedin, USA   (05.30.09)
You are so right in your words. I live in Florida where you still see some idiots with the Confederate flag flying proudly. As much as I distaste the flying of that flag, it is their right to do so. That is the strengh of the Consitution of the US. What are these people who passed this idiot law so afraid of, some idiot burning a flag, please. Israel stand up! When the people of Israel decide it is time for a Consitution take some hints from ours it is a thing of beauty.
28. excellent article
Liron ,   Zichron   (05.30.09)
entirely true.. here is what begin said about asking others to recognize our rights: Our right to exist--have you ever heard of such a thing? Would it enter the mind of any Briton or Frenchman, Belgian or Dutchman, Hungarian or Bulgarian, Russian or American, to request for its people recognition of its right to exist? Mr. Speaker: We were granted our right to exist by the God of our fathers at the glimmer of the dawn of human civilization four thousand years ago. Hence, the Jewish people have an historic, eternal and inalienable right to exist in this land, Eretz Israel, the land of our forefathers. We need nobody's recognition in asserting this inalienable right. And for this inalienable right, which has been sanctified in Jewish blood from generation to generation, we have paid a price unexampled in the annals of nations. Mr. Speaker: From the Knesset of Israel, I say to the world, our very existence per se is our right to exist![
29. Every nakba celebration weakens Israel more
Rose ,   Netherlands   (05.30.09)
Yair, it seems to have escaped from you that in Europe and even the United States media [and with them an increasing number of people] are beginning to seriously doubt Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. In every nakba celebration scores of journalists interview wailing Arabs and Israel's right to exist erodes a bit more. And that does matter: it makes us weaker. It brings self-doubt. It takes away a little bit of the resolve to fight when Israel needs to fight and the determination to stand up for Israel's right in negotiations. There must be no media fest called Nakba Day.
30. To Lapid Zionists are despicable. He's not a Zionist.
Steve   (05.30.09)
Lapid wrote: Confident states .... know that laws are meant to protect precisely that which is infuriating and despicable. They are meant to protect the rabbis urging IDF troops to refuse orders (to expel Jewish families from their homes, farms, etc.), draft dodgers from Tel Aviv who travel to protest in Bil’in...." No Zionist would link these two; Rabbis urging troops to refuse orders to expel Jews from their homes and draft dodgers joining with our enemies. This man is very troubling indeed.
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