Weekly Question: Is the Media Right to Make a Connection Between Protests in Israel and the Arab Spring?
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August 10, 2011
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Should Israel apologize to Turkey to renew relations between the two states?
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Laurence Morrell
3:52 pm
Aug 10, 2011
Not really. The only connection is that the “Arab Spring” demonstrated to the world that there was unrest within the Muslim countries (Arab countries ). There hs always been open and free demonstrations in Israel. One was anti-government control over daily lives, the other open non-violent protesting over economic issues.
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Bentsion Moskovits
3:54 pm
Aug 10, 2011
The Arab people around us are living under great depression, some openly and others under the cover of “Islam” We do not live under any depression… Basic household products are raising weekly, yet salaries stay at a minimum. a couple working and bringing in a standard salary can’t save a penny for a rainy day!!!
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David Rose
3:55 pm
Aug 10, 2011
While many of the “experts” have been quick to compare Israeli social protests with the so-called “Arab Spring”, I am convinced that many Arabs would be thrilled at having an “Israeli Summer”!
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Steven Kalka
4:22 pm
Aug 10, 2011
I think there’s little in common between the two. Israel is a democracy, and the demonstrations are permitted. Try doing that in an Arab country.
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Marilyn
5:56 pm
Aug 10, 2011
They have – in Syria, and we see the terrible results every day on our news broadcasts. Give me Israel any day!
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Richard Salcer
4:51 pm
Aug 10, 2011
The comparisons are not meant to be negative. Israelis themselves have commented that the unrest and desire for political freedom and basic human rights in Arab countries has sparked Israelis’ own desire for improvement in their own country, albeit economic rather than political. The economic unrest that has spread across Israel has united both the left, the right, the young and the old. This should be looked at as a positive thing, for many in Israel have expressed that the cohesiveness and community spirit that are Israel’s miracle in the desert are in danger of fading away in the gap between the haves and the have-nots, with the middle class being squeezed out.
Israel is most definitely a light unto the nations that surround it. That is not the question here. Because Israel is a vibrant democracy – something its neighbors have envied for decades – there is the freedom to demonstrate against an economic situation that is in strong need of correction.
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dr.steve pastner
5:43 pm
Aug 10, 2011
Whatever justification the ( peaceful) original British anti-police demonstration had it is now in the hands of a mob of lumpen sociopaths.
It still remains to be seen if the so called ‘arab spring’ ( and i hate the term since it may well turn out to be an even bleaker ‘winter’) is in the hands of the well educated ‘facebook’ revolutionaries or of arab lumpens and fundamentalist fanatics.
Way to early to tell ,let alone drawing comparisons with the British case which is opportunistic anarchy by those who’d otherwise be soccer hooligan-ing.
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dr.steve pastner
5:48 pm
Aug 10, 2011
whoops…i was thinking britain not israel…sorry.
No particular heavy insights on how ,or if, the arab and israeli demos compare as it’s too early in the first …and waaay tooo early in the 2nd— to draw any conclusions as to outcomes ( and motivations of the protestors are clearly diverse in the first and probably the 2nd as well)..
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Lou J Apa
6:37 pm
Aug 10, 2011
No….one is for freedom of a muslim peoples and the other is for the very existence of the Jewish state AND PEOPLE. One is muslim on muslim and the other is Islamofacist on a people of freedom and peace!
lja/JMJ
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Steve Mann
6:38 pm
Aug 10, 2011
There is no connection whatsoever-
In Israel it was a peaceful DEMONSTRATION-
The Arab spring is about revolution. Killing- and political conspiracy.
The Israel gathering should be compared to that of the Public Sector Union in the UK demonstrating against cuts. And then the Israeli Demo was more peaceful than that.
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Brent Pudsey
10:40 pm
Aug 10, 2011
No I do not see a connection between the Arab Spring and the current situation in Israel. One reason for this is that Israel is a democratic state where harsh measures against public speech are not taken. Secondly, the situation is Israel is about how the government accountable to voters is handling a crisis. Thirdly, there is no ideology, philosophy or religious overtones to the conflict in Israel and it has not ruffled religious leadership in Israel. In closing there is a tie between the Arab Spring and Israel due to concerns leading to protests over government spending but the Arab Spring has a greater connection to the events in Britain as both were planned and well coordinated to send a message against the government.
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jp6
11:38 pm
Aug 10, 2011
Even the Arabs in their uprisings made no connection between their discontent and oppression under dictators and the “Palestinian” problem – that of their blood brothers. The media has to have a peg to hang their hat on and the liberal press loves to blame Israel for all the many ills of the middle east. Those of us who are sentient and not followers know the press is wrong again.
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Loretta
12:04 am
Aug 11, 2011
The profound difference is in the type of government that Israel has. Because it is a democracy that is responsive to it’s citizen’s needs, this is not so much a revolution as a building process. It is the building up of human rights, whereas the Arab Spring is the desperate attempt to gain human rights, where they don’t already exist.
Another difference is in the type of response given by the various governments. A democracy is strengthened by the freedom of expression of it’s people, while a tyrannical dictatorship is only threatened by that freedom.
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brynababy
1:49 am
Aug 11, 2011
That is the most ridiculous comparison I can imagine. I’ve seen it elsewhere and it boggles the mind to think Israelis were inspired by the Arab Spring. In fact, I would think it’s just the other way around. The Arabs, knowing the kind of wonderful (if sometimes difficult) lives the Israelis have in their democracy, so vastly different from their lives of oppression, were finally move to revolution!
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Ephraim Shalom
4:50 am
Aug 11, 2011
I agree completely w/ brynababy’s take. The only commonality appears to be that both the Egyptian and Israeli protests have been hijacked by extremists – in Egypt, by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, and in Israel, by leftist extremists determined to do whatever is necessary to undermine Netanyahu’s leadership. Of course, the facts won’t be reported by the mainstream media.
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Nathan Zafran
6:20 pm
Aug 13, 2011
Any attempt to compare between Israeli demonstrators and Arabs is absolutely ludicrous. Let’s first return to the revolution in Iran, back in 1979. The Shah, considered a tyrant, was removed from power – and what happened? The Iranians received a crazy bunch of clerics and a moron for a president. So far the Egyptian tyrant was ousted and is currently on trial with his sons. What do we have instead? A military junta, that hasn’t the slightest idea on how to assume power. The economy has collapsed and tourism is dead. The Muslim Brotherhood is lurking around the corner waiting to fill any vacuum created. See Turkey which has disposed of all threatening military personel, and is sliding back to Islamic rule, under a fanatic leader. How about Syria, Lybia and Yemen? There the “Spring” is still costing hundreds of innocent lives. (Where are all those European academic bleeding hearts, who so eagerly attack Israel and demand BDS? Why no condemnation of this bloodshed? Are they afraid that contributions from the oil sheiks will cease?). Thus any comparison between Israel and the so-called “Arab Spring” is ridiculous. There will never be democracy in any Arab state and maybe a little in most Muslim states. Democracy is against their religion.
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mark purhcase
6:23 am
Aug 15, 2011
Where are all these complainers who kicked up a storm about Israeli action against the flotilla? Why are they so silent about whats going on right now next door in Syria? Shooting their own people!!!
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Gordon
12:17 am
Aug 17, 2011
What do you expect from a slanted media. Israel will never get an even shake from the press.
The mere fact that hundreds of Arabs are being killed in the name of the governments that rule them make me sick.
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sav'ta shel Cohen
4:22 am
Sep 03, 2011
No, the media’s connection is totally wrong and, I believe, designed to somehow imply that the Israeli political system is as corrupt and dictatorial as those in the Arab nations. The extended implication of this, of course, is that the systems of power and control in Israel i.e. the government and the IDF need to be violently removed – which would no doubt make those anti-semites who control much of the world’s media very happy. The whole idea is utter rubbish! If anything, the Arabs have seen how successfully a democracy has been operating in Israel and have finally decided that they so badly want the same freedoms and rights that they are prepared, at last, to wage civil war to get them.
Israel is a democracy and its citizens are very politically aware and vocal. Israelis demonstrate about all kinds of things, in all kinds of ways, continually and their voices are heard and the government does make every attempt to accommodate them wherever possible. Economically things are tough at the moment, as they are in most countries now due to the GFC. Policies and strategies need to be developed and implemented to encourage economic growth but this is true of most countries. However, for a tiny nation, short on natural resources but big on intellectual capacity and human ingenuity that must continually defend itself from its undemocratic, hostile neighbours it is a wonderful example of what can be achieved by a true democracy and a beacon of hope for the whole world. That is the reality!
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Abu Nudnik
8:54 pm
Sep 05, 2011
No. The Arab uprisings are insurrections: The Israeli demonstrations are just that – a call for changes of policy or change of government through democratic means.
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