"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Any right-wing politician who votes in favor of sabotaging Israel HaYom discredits his positions

The bill against Israel HaYom was delayed by a week, but may be going to Knesset tomorrow, and any right wing politician who favors it has no business calling themselves pro-Israel. Haim Shine sums it up correctly when he says it's meant to turn Israel into a dark dictatorship:
There are times during which a mirror is placed before the nation, a mirror that reveals the country's political and social core. Akiva Ernst Simon wrote a book titled "Are We Still Jews?" Due to the anti-Israel Hayom bill, the question must be asked whether Israel will continue to be a Jewish and democratic state.

It turns out there are Knesset members who, motivated by outside interests, are willing to take Israeli democracy to the chopping block. Jewish history will never forgive the Knesset members who are seeking to instill here in Israel a withered Diaspora-like existence, which we hoped and prayed for thousands of years to be freed from.

The Israeli national anthem speaks of our aspiration to be a free people in our own land. Yet we cannot be a free people when our legislative branch is trying to prevent a huge part of the public from being able to express itself and exert influence. This is shameful.

The day the anti-Israel Hayom bill is brought for a Knesset vote will be remembered as the day on which a small group of Knesset members decided to turn out the lights on Israeli democracy. It is a great shame that the media commentators entrusted with our freedom of speech are not speaking out loud and clear when it comes to protecting the human rights of right-wingers.
It's also a shame when somebody like Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman won't support a paper whose purpose was to protect humans rights either, and if they support the bill, then nobody should support their parties any longer. Nor should they continue to buy Yediot Achronot, for that matter.

Owner Sheldon Adelson's already responded:
On Sunday, Adelson spoke to Israeli press about the bill, calling it a power play by Yediot Aharonot publisher Arnon "Noni" Mozes, following a conference of the Israeli American Council, an organization he helps fund, in Washington D.C.

Yediot Aharonot used to be the most popular newspaper in Israel, but was eclipsed by Israel Hayom in recent years.

"I believe when sober-minded people think about [the bill] twice, they'll realize they're creating a dictator," he said. "This is a commercial enterprise so that Noni Mozes can sell his newspaper to a German publisher, or anyone who will pay him enough, so he wants to increase revenue."

According to Adelson, "Noni Mozes has been attacking Bibi and his family for years, for decades, so if we tell the truth about Bibi, there's a contrast."

"I got to hand it to Noni, when he says [Israel Hayom] is Bibi's newspaper, he's trying to discredit and degrade the independence of the newspaper, but it is simply not true…It's just silly. If I were a judge, I'd laugh at it," the billionaire added.
If he needs to, I hope he fights it all the way in court with a lawsuit.

Update: here's more by Gonen Ginat.

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