Israeli Racism: Changing the Discourse
Israeli racism: Changing the discourse | Naomi Schacter | The Times of Israel
It is not that I don't recognize the dangers of Iran or of Hezbullah or of Hamas. It is just that I have great confidence in the IDF and Israel's security apparatus. I therefore see the internal threats as more insidious and even dangerous. While focusing on the external we tend to forget about the internal. Or because we talk so much about the external we begin to view the internal through a similar lens.
Naomi Schacter writes:
It is not that I don't recognize the dangers of Iran or of Hezbullah or of Hamas. It is just that I have great confidence in the IDF and Israel's security apparatus. I therefore see the internal threats as more insidious and even dangerous. While focusing on the external we tend to forget about the internal. Or because we talk so much about the external we begin to view the internal through a similar lens.
Naomi Schacter writes:
Just as Israel has not just a legal but a moral obligation to act against all racist attacks by its own citizens, so it must maintain a strong moral public face and utter honesty with its own history. The validation of the Israeli Arabs’ historical suffering in the creation of the Jewish state would not invalidate the State of Israel or negate its identity as essentially Jewish. Rather, it would acknowledge that natives of this land suffered loss and deprivation as they were buffeted by world events beyond their control. Admitting the historical facts would only strengthen the state and the Jewish people.Perhaps Thursday's beating of an Arab youth will be the occasion to refocus our discussion and look within. Such an accounting (heshbon hanefesh) is long overdue.