Netanyahu in Congress: This is the real democracy

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the Joint Session of Congress, which was interrupted by a protester advocating against the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Participants explore themes of democracy, human rights, and the treatment of activists in Israel, as well as the implications of Netanyahu's statements during the speech.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question the validity of Netanyahu's claim of "real democracy," suggesting that the treatment of the protester contradicts this assertion.
  • Others argue that the protester's actions were illegal and that the response from the audience was inappropriate, highlighting the distinction between private actions and government enforcement.
  • There are claims that activists in Israel are treated well, with calls for credible evidence to support opposing views.
  • Some participants express skepticism about Netanyahu's comparisons to Iran, suggesting that such comparisons are ironic given the treatment of activists in both countries.
  • Concerns are raised about the implications of Netanyahu's policies regarding human rights and international law, particularly in relation to Palestinian treatment.
  • Participants discuss the perception of Israeli citizens' treatment of Palestinians and the complexities surrounding claims of war crimes and settlement policies.
  • Humor is used by some participants to cope with the tension of political discussions, indicating a mix of serious and light-hearted engagement with the topic.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views, with no consensus reached on the legitimacy of Netanyahu's statements or the treatment of the protester. Multiple competing perspectives on the nature of democracy, human rights, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remain evident throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some arguments depend on interpretations of legality and human rights, and there are unresolved claims regarding the treatment of activists and the implications of Israeli policies. The discussion reflects a variety of assumptions and perspectives that are not universally accepted.

Majd100
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday was disrupted by a left-wing protester calling to stop the Israeli occupation in Palestine.

The heckler was identified as Rae Abileah, a 28-year-old Jewish-American activist, of Israeli decent, who works with human rights organization CODEPINK.

''You can’t have these protests in Tehran,” Netayahu said. “This is real democracy.”

[Police arrested CODEPINK peace activist Rae Abileah at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington DC. Abileah was taken to the hospital after having been assaulted and tackled to the ground by AIPAC members of the audience in the House Gallery during Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress]

http://www.moveoveraipac.org/2011/05/jewish-protester-disrupts-netanyahu-during-congressional-address/

My comment: I am wondering if Netanyahu knows that the real democracy of AIPAC did not let this brave lady to speak without hard punishment. She could have less punishment if she did that in Tehran!
 
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Dunno but since what the protester did is illegal here too, the comment doesn't actually make much sense...

...However, we may not drop him into a plastic shredder...
 
nor will we run her over with a bulldozer
 
I thought in cases like this police or security (who are trained) escorts the heckler away. It seems like some audiences took mater into their own hands.
 
Okay, the key distinctions here are that (1) AIPAC is not a government law enforcement agency, and (2) what its members did here is illegal. Furthermore, we're not going to see this woman hanging from a crane any time soon.
 
I smell troll.
 
loseyourname said:
Okay, the key distinctions here are that (1) AIPAC is not a government law enforcement agency, and (2) what its members did here is illegal. Furthermore, we're not going to see this woman hanging from a crane any time soon.

I hope there will be appropriate charges against both the woman and the AIPAC members.

Otherwise, OP is just acting bit over emotional in regards to Israel-Pales affairs IMO.
 
rootX said:
I hope there will be appropriate charges against both the woman and the AIPAC members.

Otherwise, OP is just acting bit over emotional in regards to Israel-Pales affairs IMO.

over-emotional would be congress' reaction to bibi's speech. embarrassing, to be honest.
 
  • #10
Anyone else thinks this whole speech (including that situation) was incredibly ironic?

A. Its not HIS congress that the woman is protesting in, so the whole "this is real democracy" statement is invalid, because we all know how these activists are treated in Israel.

B. He keeps comparing himself to Tehran, if Iran wasn't so "evil" he wouldn't have someone bad to compare Israel to, and then people will see reality.

C. He keeps "defending" human rights while in most parts of Israeli-controlled territory Arabs are treated like 2nd grade human-beings, and Palestinians are usually treated even worse and worse, an Israeli can humiliate you again and again and you can't do **** about it because you're Palestinian.

D. He keeps "defending" democracy and on the other hand he requires all Israeli citizens to accept Judaism.

E. He keeps "defending" law and order and on the other hand he defies international law every day by building more settlements, and then he cries about the fact that he can't defend these settlements, so he can't go back to 1967 borders (big lol)
Not to mention the whole issue of war crimes.

F. He has some of the worlds most extreme right-wing movements in his country, people that would annihilate every single Muslim if they could, and he complains about Hamas and Fatah coming together, why? because Hamas used to fight them, THATS THE WHOLE POINT OF PEACE TALKS YOU IDIOT.
Besides they did not interfere with Israeli internal politics and Israeli extremist parties did they?

Seriously man stuff like this are bad for people's blood pressure.
 
  • #11
hootsh said:
Seriously man stuff like this are bad for people's blood pressure.

Politics is generally bad for the blood pressure. That's why I do math. it lowers my BP :)
 
  • #12
Skins said:
Politics is generally bad for the blood pressure. That's why I do math. it lowers my BP :)

Haha that is is indeed true, but I have to avoid looking at model answers to achieve that effect xD
 
  • #13
funny thing, all the fuss about iran. it may just be for show.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-editio...orce-international-sanctions-on-iran-1.364069

Published 02:51 26.05.11
Latest update 02:51 26.05.11

Israel apparently doing nothing to enforce international sanctions on Iran

Benjamin Netanyahu, who endlessly preaches the need for firm action against Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear arms, is not lifting a finger to stop Israeli companies and individuals indirectly trading with Iran.

By Yossi Melman Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu Iran

The Ofer Brothers Group may be scurrying into damage control in Israel, Singapore, London and Washington, after the United States blacklisted it for trading with Iran, but Israel seems to be doing nothing to enforce international sanctions on Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who endlessly preaches the need for firm action against Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear arms, is not lifting a finger to stop Israeli companies and individuals indirectly trading with Iran.

...
 
  • #14
hootsh said:
A. Its not HIS congress that the woman is protesting in, so the whole "this is real democracy" statement is invalid, because we all know how these activists are treated in Israel.

Activists in Israel are treated fine. Please cite something credilble.

hootsh said:
B. He keeps comparing himself to Tehran, if Iran wasn't so "evil" he wouldn't have someone bad to compare Israel to, and then people will see reality.

The reality being that Israel is a fair and civilized country.

hootsh said:
C. He keeps "defending" human rights while in most parts of Israeli-controlled territory Arabs are treated like 2nd grade human-beings, and Palestinians are usually treated even worse and worse, an Israeli can humiliate you again and again and you can't do **** about it because you're Palestinian.

Arabs/Palestinians who are citizens of Isael are treated the same as any Jewish citizen.

hootsh said:
D. He keeps "defending" democracy and on the other hand he requires all Israeli citizens to accept Judaism.

That's just plain false. I have no idea where you heard that but it is not close to the truth.

hootsh said:
E. He keeps "defending" law and order and on the other hand he defies international law every day by building more settlements, and then he cries about the fact that he can't defend these settlements, so he can't go back to 1967 borders (big lol)
Not to mention the whole issue of war crimes.

What war crimes? If you are talking about the Gaza War then you would be mistaken. The UN investigator that filed the report accusing Israel of the crimes later recanted. http://www.uncoverage.net/2011/04/g...rt-to-un-ny-times-refuses-to-print-the-story/

hootsh said:
F. He has some of the worlds most extreme right-wing movements in his country, people that would annihilate every single Muslim if they could, and he complains about Hamas and Fatah coming together, why? because Hamas used to fight them, THATS THE WHOLE POINT OF PEACE TALKS YOU IDIOT.
Besides they did not interfere with Israeli internal politics and Israeli extremist parties did they?

Seriously man stuff like this are bad for people's blood pressure.

Israelis do not want to kill all Muslims; just the ones who are trying to kill them by lobbing rockets into Israel.
 
  • #15
Far from being brutalised, this 28-year-old seems to have been discharged from hospital after a very short time without treatment … see Al-Jazeerah at http://www.aljazeerah.info/News/2011/May/26%20n/Move%20Over%20AIPAC%20Activist,%20Rae%20Abileah,%20Injured%20By%20AIPAC%20Members,%20After%20Heckling%20Netanyahu%20in%20US%20Congress.htm" …

She was confronted by American Israel Public Affairs Committee members in the gallery who tackled her to the ground before she was led out by security.

“They assaulted me and I fell on the floor. The activists strangled me and beat me. Then I was dragged out by police who arrested me," Abileah said. According to JNet, she was hospitalised with suspected neck and shoulder injuries and released into police custody after some hours.​

She has at no time complained of any specific injuries, and the police and stewards seem to have used no more than reasonable force.

Majd100 said:
My comment: I am wondering if Netanyahu knows that the real democracy of AIPAC did not let this brave lady to speak without hard punishment. She could have less punishment if she did that in Tehran!

Majd, you had no grounds whatever for saying she received "hard punishment". :frown:

All you know is …
i] she had a check-up in hospital for suspected injuries
ii] she was discharged after a few hours, apparently without treatment.

From that you have built up a groundless case of serious assault and "hard punishment" … would you do that if the people you were accusing were not Jewish? :mad:​
 
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  • #16
I fear for a Middle East without a democratic Israel. The only barrier to being a totally free country is to separate temple and state (as it were..). However, there is little to no institutionalized discrimination. The Israeli government is very open to other religions being practiced, but makes no appologies about having a nationalized religion. At least they still allow for religous dress to be worn in public (see France's newish law).

About the OP directly: I hope the woman that interupted the congressional session has a good bruise that she remembers for a while. I think the AIPAC members have every reason to tackle her, she was brazen enough to charge onto the floor, who's to say what else she is capable of?
 
  • #17
mege said:
About the OP directly: I hope the woman that interupted the congressional session has a good bruise that she remembers for a while. I think the AIPAC members have every reason to tackle her, she was brazen enough to charge onto the floor, who's to say what else she is capable of?

Two negatives don't make a positive.
 
  • #18
rootX said:
Two negatives don't make a positive.

I don't think any bystander stopping a raving person is a negative. So the only negative is the person trying to interrupt a civilized and proper council session.

If they did legitimately treat her extra aggressively, then I could see cause for discussion, but she was released from the hospital within hours. It's not like she's was at a baseball game in LA.
 

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