Tel Aviv "Race Riots" Reveal Much About Israel by Ran HaCohen, May 28,
- From: dynolator@xxxxxxxxx (Capt. Justice)
- Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 18:08:07 -0500
Tel Aviv "Race Riots" Reveal Much About Israel
by Ran HaCohen, May 28, 2012 .
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http://original.antiwar.com/hacohen/2012/05/27/tel-aviv-race-riots-reveal-much-about-israel/
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The "race riots" in Tel Aviv last week - a mass demonstration that
turned into a pogrom against about 60,000 asylum seekers, an
overwhelming majority of them from Eritrea, the rest mostly from Sudan
(Darfur and South Sudan) and a few other African countries - gives a
revealing glimpse into Israeli realities under the current fascist
government.
The predominant speakers at the demonstration in the poor southern part
of Tel Aviv, where most of the asylum seekers and migrant workers are
concentrated, were two Knesset members: Michael Ben-Ari (of the
far-right National Union), who urged the Jewish rabble to take law into
its own hands ('the time for words is over'), and Miri Regev (Likud),
who described the 'Sudanese' (contrary to the facts, many ignorant
Israelis subsume all Africans under 'Sudanese') as "cancer."
Obviously, fascism always deflects public discontent by turning it
against helpless minorities. But the alliance between the two Knesset
members is revealing: whereas Regev is a coalition member, Ben-Ari is
officially part of the opposition. Israel's fascist coalition is in fact
even wider than the 94 (out of 120) Knesset members it now includes, as
it can rely on the support of the far-right opposition to carry out its
policies. Netanyahu uses this quite often. When regulations or tradition
stipulate the appointment of an opposition member to some official
function, Netanyahu appoints someone from the far right, marginalizing
the small liberal opposition even further.
Ben-Ari is a former (?) member of the Orthodox, fascist-racist Kach
movement, which is outlawed in Israel and considered a terrorist
organization in the United States. Miri Regev, on the other hand, was
the spokesperson of the Israeli army during the Second Lebanon War
(2006). Trained and experienced in lying and inciting against the 'enemy
from without,' she now turns her talents against the 'enemy from
within.' Just a few years ago, the far-right former Col. Effi Eitam
defined Israeli Arab citizens as a "cancer," now Regev is using -
without any apology even in hindsight - the same image (quite popular
among neo-Nazis against Jews, by the way) against asylum seekers.
The Palestinian Model
Indeed, the asylum seekers are neatly placed into the square allotted to
Palestinians and Arabs. "Cancer" is just one common image. The
"demographic threat" is evoked against the Africans too:
Netanyahu has warned that the 60,000 (about 0.8% of Israel's total
population) "might become 600,000 and destroy Israel as a Jewish and
democratic state." On the backdrop of this blatant incitement,
Netanyahu's condemnation of violence after the riots is nothing but lip
service.
Even the U.S. government 'viewed negatively [Israeli] government
officials' use of the term 'infiltrators' to refer to asylum seekers, as
well as officials who directly associated asylum seekers with the rise
in crime, disease and terrorism.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai was specifically flagged as an instigator.-
The Hebrew term mistanenim ('infiltrators') was coined to refer to the
Palestinian refugees who tried to return to their homes and fields
inside Israel, from which they had fled or been expelled during the 1948
war.
Though predominantly unarmed, about 5,000 of them were ruthlessly killed
by Israeli soldiers during the 1950s. The routine was repeated after the
1967 war; Israeli historian Shlomo Sand has just revealed how as a young
soldier he witnessed the abuse of an elderly Palestinian 'infiltrator'
who was unlucky enough to be arrested in daylight (those caught at night
were killed summarily): "The detainee was sitting tied to a chair while
my good friends were beating him all over his body, occasionally putting
out burning cigarettes on his arms." Later, a vehicle left carrying the
corpse of the old man. My friends told me they were going to the Jordan
River to get rid of it."
Compared to this organized state violence against "infiltrators," the
incited Israeli demonstrators of last week -whose life has indeed become
impossible due to the presence of thousands of mostly unemployed
immigrants in their already impoverished neighborhoods - treated the
African "infiltrators" rather kindly.
Indeed, even the "solution" used for the "problem" of asylum seekers is
similar to the one implemented on the Palestinians. Showing some civil
courage " a very rare trait in Israel " the chief of police hit the nail
on the head last week when he urged the government to let asylum seekers
work. Imagine: the Africans are arrested upon crossing the border from
Egypt, kept in detention for weeks or months, and then dumped at the Tel
Aviv Central Bus Station. They are not given any work permit as long as
their request is "processed" by Israel - and regarding this 'processing'
we have the evidence of the American 2011 Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices: "of 4,603 new asylum applications, 3,692 were
rejected. Only one was approved."
What's the sense of keeping thousands of people who cannot be deported
to their failed home countries without a work permit, pushing them to
hunger, theft, and robbery- Government spokesmen are quite open about
that: "If we let them work, more will come." We see again the "solution"
traditionally suggested and implemented toward the Palestinians in the
West Bank and Gaza: do not treat them well; dispossess them, deprive
them of land, work opportunities, and human rights; and they'll go away
(or evaporate). And if ' surprise surprise ' they turn to violence,
that's even better: portray them as terrorists and "Let the Army Win."
After all, there's no problem the Israeli army cannot solve.
The Economy Behind
But it's not just ideology that is at stake here. Behind the scenes,
economic factors play a huge role. While thousands of asylum seekers are
pushed to starvation and crime, Israel opens its gates every year to
thousands of foreign workers, mostly from Asia; entire branches of the
country's economy - especially agriculture and construction - depend on
this cheap labor, since the Palestinian commuters were pushed out of the
labor market to perish behind walls and fences.
The solution seems trivial: instead of importing new workers from the
Philippines or China, Israel can give work permits to the asylum seekers
already here. Why is this not done? We?ve already seen the official
excuse. But the deeper reason is concealed. Take, for example, Miri
Regev. Just a few days before railing against "the Sudanese cancer" in
Tel Aviv, the very same lady tried to promote an amendment to the law
that would reduce government's regulation of foreign workers and give
"manpower contractors" a free hand to import whomever they decide. How
come? Well, unlike asylum seekers, who are often robbed and blackmailed
by Egyptian smugglers but enter Israel free of charge, every legal
migrant worker pays his Israeli "manpower contractor" thousands of
dollars just for entering Israel. Asylum seekers come for free, but
migrant workers are big money. Regev is a politician, and politicians
are always aware of big money.
Remember Eli Yishai, the interior minister "specifically flagged as an
instigator- against asylum seekers" During his time as interior
minister, work permits for migrant workers have soared. His colleague in
the ultra-orthodox Shas Party, former minister Shlomo Benizri, is now in
prison, convicted of accepting bribe from a good friend - a 'manpower
contractor' - in exchange for inside information regarding foreign
workers scheduled to arrive in Israel.
Regev could have helped both the poor asylum seekers and the poor
Israelis who suffer from them - by urging to let the Africans work. But
that would make her unpopular among the 'manpower contractors' who
import Asian migrant workers. Instead, she incites poor Israelis against
poorer Africans and demands benefits for the rich contractors who
exploit poor Asians. Social justice, Israeli-style.
Not Just Africans
Modeled on the violence against Palestinians, the incitement and
eruption of violence against Africans is just another symptom of the
fascist atmosphere in Israel, and it does not end with Africans.
Regev specifically aimed her attack also at 'the leftists who appealed
to courts' (asking not to deport asylum seekers to South Sudan). "Shame
on them, they stopped the deportation," she added, pointing a finger
both at the 'leftists' and at Israel's judiciary, despised and hated by
the government. The rabble got the message: immediately afterward,
Ha'aretz reporter Ilan Lior was attacked when demonstrators claimed to
have identified him as 'a leftist who throws stones at Israeli soldiers
at a checkpoint.' .
His denials did not help. He was saved thanks to police who pushed him
into their car, warning him he might get murdered.
The Israeli journalist was almost lynched, then, not for expressing any
support for asylum seekers in a heated demonstration against them, but
because he was seen as a political opponent in the "only democracy in
the Middle East."
P.S. Regev has apologized for calling the Sudanese 'cancer.' However,
she directed her apology to cancer patients and Holocaust survivors, not
to the Sudanese. .
Read more by Ran HaCohen
Was Elliott Abrams Hitler's Senior Advisor? - September 15th, 2011
Israelis Sick and Tired - but of What? - August 7th, 2011
Things You Can Say, Things You Cannot - July 12th, 2011
West Bank Neighbors: Chronicles of Death - March 15th, 2011
Barak Unmasked - January 20th, 2011
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