SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's Shame
Mar 25, 2009
Imagine a country that appoints
someone who has been found guilty of striking a 12-year-old boy to be
its foreign minister. The person in question is also under
investigation for money-laundering, fraud and breach of trust; in
addition, he was a bona fide member of an outlawed racist party and
currently leads a political party that espouses fascist ideas. On top
of all this, he does not even reside in the country he has been chosen
to represent.
Even though such a portrayal may appear completely outlandish, Israel's new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, actually fits the above depiction to the letter.
- In 2001, following his own confession, Lieberman was found guilty
of beating a 12-year-old boy. As part of a plea bargain, Lieberman was
fined 17,500 shekels and had to promise never to hit young children
again. - In 2004, Lieberman's 21-year-old daughter Michal set up a consulting firm, which received 11m shekels
from anonymous overseas sources. Lieberman, according to the police,
received more than a 2.1m-shekel salary from the company for two years
of employment. In addition, according to an investigation by Haaretz,
he allegedly received additional severance pay
- amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels - in 2006 and 2007,
while he was minister of strategic affairs and deputy prime minister.
According to Israeli law, this is illegal. - Lieberman is an ex-member of Meir Kahane's party, Kach,
which was outlawed due to its blatantly racist platform. Moreover, his
views towards Arabs do not appear to have changed over the years. In
2003, when reacting to a commitment made by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
to give amnesty to approximately 350 Palestinian prisoners, Lieberman
declared that, as minister of transport, he would be more than happy to
provide buses to take the prisoners to the sea and drown them there. -
In January 2009, during Israel's war on Gaza, Lieberman argued that
Israel "must continue to fight Hamas just like the United States did
with the Japanese in the second world war. Then, too, the occupation of
the country was unnecessary." He was referring to the two atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. - Lieberman does not live in Israel according to its internationally recognised borders, but rather in an illegal settlement called Nokdim.
Legally speaking, this would be like US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton residing in Mexico and UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband
living on the Canary Islands.
And yet, despite these
egregious transgressions, newly-elected Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu has no qualms about appointing Lieberman to represent Israel
in the international arena. Netanyahu's lust for power has led him to
choose a man who actually poses a serious threat to Israel. Both
Lieberman's message and style are not only violent, but have clear
proto-fascist elements; and, as Israeli commentators have already
intimated, he is extremely dangerous.
Politics being
politics, most western leaders will no doubt adopt a conciliatory
position towards Lieberman, and agree to meet and discuss issues
relating to foreign policy with him. Such a position can certainly be
justified on the basis of Lieberman's democratic election; however much
one may dislike his views, he is now the representative of the Israeli
people. Those who decide to meet him can also claim that ongoing
diplomacy and dialogue lead to the internalisation of international
norms and thus moderate extremism.
These justifications carry
weight. However, western leaders will also have to take into account
that the decision to meet Lieberman will immediately be associated with
the ban on Hamas, at least among people in the Middle East.
In January 2006, Hamas won a landslide victory in elections that were
no less democratic than the recent elections in Israel. While Hamas is,
in many respects, an extremist political party that espouses violence,
its politicians are representatives of the Palestinian people and are
seen as struggling for liberation and self-determination.
If
western leaders want to be conceived as credible, they must change
their policy and meet with Hamas as well. Otherwise, their decision to
meet Lieberman will be rightly perceived as hypocritical and
duplicitous, and the pervasive perception in the region - that the
United States and Europe are biased in Israel's favour - will only be
strengthened.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 The Guardian
Neve Gordon
Neve Gordon is a professor of international law and human rights at Queen Mary University of London. He is an Israeli activist and the author of "Israel's Occupation" (2008) and co-author (with Nicola Perugini) of "The Human Right to Dominate" (2015) and "Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire" (2020).
Imagine a country that appoints
someone who has been found guilty of striking a 12-year-old boy to be
its foreign minister. The person in question is also under
investigation for money-laundering, fraud and breach of trust; in
addition, he was a bona fide member of an outlawed racist party and
currently leads a political party that espouses fascist ideas. On top
of all this, he does not even reside in the country he has been chosen
to represent.
Even though such a portrayal may appear completely outlandish, Israel's new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, actually fits the above depiction to the letter.
- In 2001, following his own confession, Lieberman was found guilty
of beating a 12-year-old boy. As part of a plea bargain, Lieberman was
fined 17,500 shekels and had to promise never to hit young children
again. - In 2004, Lieberman's 21-year-old daughter Michal set up a consulting firm, which received 11m shekels
from anonymous overseas sources. Lieberman, according to the police,
received more than a 2.1m-shekel salary from the company for two years
of employment. In addition, according to an investigation by Haaretz,
he allegedly received additional severance pay
- amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels - in 2006 and 2007,
while he was minister of strategic affairs and deputy prime minister.
According to Israeli law, this is illegal. - Lieberman is an ex-member of Meir Kahane's party, Kach,
which was outlawed due to its blatantly racist platform. Moreover, his
views towards Arabs do not appear to have changed over the years. In
2003, when reacting to a commitment made by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
to give amnesty to approximately 350 Palestinian prisoners, Lieberman
declared that, as minister of transport, he would be more than happy to
provide buses to take the prisoners to the sea and drown them there. -
In January 2009, during Israel's war on Gaza, Lieberman argued that
Israel "must continue to fight Hamas just like the United States did
with the Japanese in the second world war. Then, too, the occupation of
the country was unnecessary." He was referring to the two atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. - Lieberman does not live in Israel according to its internationally recognised borders, but rather in an illegal settlement called Nokdim.
Legally speaking, this would be like US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton residing in Mexico and UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband
living on the Canary Islands.
And yet, despite these
egregious transgressions, newly-elected Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu has no qualms about appointing Lieberman to represent Israel
in the international arena. Netanyahu's lust for power has led him to
choose a man who actually poses a serious threat to Israel. Both
Lieberman's message and style are not only violent, but have clear
proto-fascist elements; and, as Israeli commentators have already
intimated, he is extremely dangerous.
Politics being
politics, most western leaders will no doubt adopt a conciliatory
position towards Lieberman, and agree to meet and discuss issues
relating to foreign policy with him. Such a position can certainly be
justified on the basis of Lieberman's democratic election; however much
one may dislike his views, he is now the representative of the Israeli
people. Those who decide to meet him can also claim that ongoing
diplomacy and dialogue lead to the internalisation of international
norms and thus moderate extremism.
These justifications carry
weight. However, western leaders will also have to take into account
that the decision to meet Lieberman will immediately be associated with
the ban on Hamas, at least among people in the Middle East.
In January 2006, Hamas won a landslide victory in elections that were
no less democratic than the recent elections in Israel. While Hamas is,
in many respects, an extremist political party that espouses violence,
its politicians are representatives of the Palestinian people and are
seen as struggling for liberation and self-determination.
If
western leaders want to be conceived as credible, they must change
their policy and meet with Hamas as well. Otherwise, their decision to
meet Lieberman will be rightly perceived as hypocritical and
duplicitous, and the pervasive perception in the region - that the
United States and Europe are biased in Israel's favour - will only be
strengthened.
Neve Gordon
Neve Gordon is a professor of international law and human rights at Queen Mary University of London. He is an Israeli activist and the author of "Israel's Occupation" (2008) and co-author (with Nicola Perugini) of "The Human Right to Dominate" (2015) and "Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire" (2020).
Imagine a country that appoints
someone who has been found guilty of striking a 12-year-old boy to be
its foreign minister. The person in question is also under
investigation for money-laundering, fraud and breach of trust; in
addition, he was a bona fide member of an outlawed racist party and
currently leads a political party that espouses fascist ideas. On top
of all this, he does not even reside in the country he has been chosen
to represent.
Even though such a portrayal may appear completely outlandish, Israel's new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, actually fits the above depiction to the letter.
- In 2001, following his own confession, Lieberman was found guilty
of beating a 12-year-old boy. As part of a plea bargain, Lieberman was
fined 17,500 shekels and had to promise never to hit young children
again. - In 2004, Lieberman's 21-year-old daughter Michal set up a consulting firm, which received 11m shekels
from anonymous overseas sources. Lieberman, according to the police,
received more than a 2.1m-shekel salary from the company for two years
of employment. In addition, according to an investigation by Haaretz,
he allegedly received additional severance pay
- amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels - in 2006 and 2007,
while he was minister of strategic affairs and deputy prime minister.
According to Israeli law, this is illegal. - Lieberman is an ex-member of Meir Kahane's party, Kach,
which was outlawed due to its blatantly racist platform. Moreover, his
views towards Arabs do not appear to have changed over the years. In
2003, when reacting to a commitment made by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
to give amnesty to approximately 350 Palestinian prisoners, Lieberman
declared that, as minister of transport, he would be more than happy to
provide buses to take the prisoners to the sea and drown them there. -
In January 2009, during Israel's war on Gaza, Lieberman argued that
Israel "must continue to fight Hamas just like the United States did
with the Japanese in the second world war. Then, too, the occupation of
the country was unnecessary." He was referring to the two atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. - Lieberman does not live in Israel according to its internationally recognised borders, but rather in an illegal settlement called Nokdim.
Legally speaking, this would be like US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton residing in Mexico and UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband
living on the Canary Islands.
And yet, despite these
egregious transgressions, newly-elected Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu has no qualms about appointing Lieberman to represent Israel
in the international arena. Netanyahu's lust for power has led him to
choose a man who actually poses a serious threat to Israel. Both
Lieberman's message and style are not only violent, but have clear
proto-fascist elements; and, as Israeli commentators have already
intimated, he is extremely dangerous.
Politics being
politics, most western leaders will no doubt adopt a conciliatory
position towards Lieberman, and agree to meet and discuss issues
relating to foreign policy with him. Such a position can certainly be
justified on the basis of Lieberman's democratic election; however much
one may dislike his views, he is now the representative of the Israeli
people. Those who decide to meet him can also claim that ongoing
diplomacy and dialogue lead to the internalisation of international
norms and thus moderate extremism.
These justifications carry
weight. However, western leaders will also have to take into account
that the decision to meet Lieberman will immediately be associated with
the ban on Hamas, at least among people in the Middle East.
In January 2006, Hamas won a landslide victory in elections that were
no less democratic than the recent elections in Israel. While Hamas is,
in many respects, an extremist political party that espouses violence,
its politicians are representatives of the Palestinian people and are
seen as struggling for liberation and self-determination.
If
western leaders want to be conceived as credible, they must change
their policy and meet with Hamas as well. Otherwise, their decision to
meet Lieberman will be rightly perceived as hypocritical and
duplicitous, and the pervasive perception in the region - that the
United States and Europe are biased in Israel's favour - will only be
strengthened.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.