Israel going to the Right?

[rocala]

I recently met an Israeli woman who is fairly left wing and tolerant. She lives in a city and is distraught that her neighbours seem to be coming ever more right wing and militaristic. Is there an end to this, what do others think.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

I recently met an Israeli woman who is fairly left wing and tolerant. She lives in a city and is distraught that her neighbours seem to be coming ever more right wing and militaristic. Is there an end to this, what do others think.

First off, why is being militaristic equated with being right wing? Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Castro etc. are all socialists. And if you're using your military to defend yourself, is that being militaristic? Would you ban the military? The police? And another thing, there's being politically right wing, economically right wing, and religiously right wing. Do you know the difference?

 

[rocala]

Illogical reply, I used, as did she the "and" word. At no time did she or I indicate that the two were synonymous.

 

[rosends]

Illogical reply, I used, as did she the "and" word. At no time did she or I indicate that the two were synonymous.

I was more concerned with your use of the word "and" in the first part: "fairly left wing and tolerant"
Did you mean that the two are inherently connected or that the appearance of the two, together was unexpected?

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

Illogical reply, I used, as did she the "and" word. At no time did she or I indicate that the two were synonymous.

Yet you tied them together so casually that the implication that they are a matched set is inescapable. Of course if you'd care to deny that and assert that leftist are often (if not more often) the aggressive militants, I'd feel much assuaged.

 

[rocala]

No, I was just giving the general attitude of the person referred to.
Please should any further readers think I am trying to make some thinly disguised point - I am not! It is just a simple question.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I recently met an Israeli woman who is fairly left wing and tolerant. She lives in a city and is distraught that her neighbours seem to be coming ever more right wing and militaristic. Is there an end to this, what do others think.

Your friend is right, and there have been more than a few articles in the Israeli press commenting on this phenomenon.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

First off, why is being militaristic equated with being right wing? ... Do you know the difference?

He made no such equation. Practice reading.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I was more concerned with your use of the word "and" in the first part: "fairly left wing and tolerant"
Did you mean that the two are inherently connected or that the appearance of the two, together was unexpected?

Good grief!

 

[rosends]

Good grief!

What's wrong Charlie Brown? Would you rather I drew an inference, got it wrong, and opened myself up to criticism for not asking for clarification? There are two simple yet diametrically opposed readings of that phrase. Is it wrong to ask which one was intended by the author?

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

He made no such equation. Practice reading.

You first.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

What's wrong Charlie Brown? Would you rather I drew an inference, ...

No, I'd rather you had accepted the question as an honest one and responded in kind.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

No, I was just giving the general attitude of the person referred to.
Please should any further readers think I am trying to make some thinly disguised point - I am not! It is just a simple question.

Seemed pretty simple to me.

Edit:

Let me add that this rightward drift has everything to do with a persistent and pervasive insecurity in the wake of terrorist attacks. It's hard to focus on combatting xenophobia and jingoism when one is constantly on guard against random knife attacks. Terrorism seeks to demoralize and destabilize and, at this point, it seems to be winning.

Still, we're dealing with a drift rather than a lunge, and there are still forces in Israeli society that are deeply opposed to the occupation and a plethora of civil rights violations. They too, however, deserve an government which demonstrates zero tolerance for terrorism.​

 

[RocketJSquirell]

OK Folks. 1. Israel is not becoming "right wing"". Israel is a liberal democracy where even the right wing politicians are more left wing than our so called liberals here in the US. there is nothing right wing or left wing about defending one's country from attack. There is nothing right or left wing about protecting ones' citizens from terrorist attacks. And there is nothing right wing or left wing about insisting that ones' country's territorial integrity be respected by friend and foe alike. If you want to talk about militarists then talk about the Arabs who have been waging war against Israel since before it was re-established. The leaders of the PA, of Hamas, of Hexbollah or PLO, etc... are militarists. the leaders of Israel are not.

 

[RocketJSquirell]

The "peaceful people" around Israel, the ones who are using military tactis to destroy it - glorify violence. that is what militarists do and who they are. The people who are forced to respond to attack are not militarist. They are defending themselves. Enough with the double standard applied to Israel already.
Seen In Gaza: Edgy Fashion

 

[rosends]

No, I'd rather you had accepted the question as an honest one and responded in kind.

I cannot respond if I don't understand the thinking behind the question.

 

[metis]

First off, why is being militaristic equated with being right wing? Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Castro etc. are all socialists.

Actually Hitler was a fascist, and that's always been considered right wing-- don't let the "NAZI" translation fool ya. The remainder indeed were socialists and was based on the teachings of Marx but was heavily bastardized so as to accumulate power.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

Actually Hitler was a fascist, and that's always been considered right wing-- don't let the "NAZI" translation fool ya. The remainder indeed were socialists and was based on the teachings of Marx but was heavily bastardized so as to accumulate power.

Fascism is just another name for Nazism, which stands for the German Socialist Worker's Party. Fascism/Nazism is socialism that differs from communism in that the government controls business rather than owning it outright. Much of the West is now Fascist. In fact, technically, dictatorships, monarchies, and olygarchies are all forms or combinations of one or the both. Kings usually owned everything and only allowed use of their land etc. as favors under the feudal system--and were thus just rough forms of socialism before the name was coined.

BTW, the term socialism was used in contrast with the liberal ideal of individualism. That was true right up until the time when LBJ soiled the label for ever after. Ain't that turnaround a kick in the head.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

OK Folks. 1. Israel is not becoming "right wing"". Israel is a liberal democracy where even the right wing politicians are more left wing than our so called liberals here in the US.

Rubbish.

 

[metis]

Fascism is just another name for Nazism, which stands for the German Socialist Worker's Party. Fascism/Nazism is socialism that differs from communism in that the government controls business rather than owning it outright. Much of the West is now Fascist. In fact, technically, dictatorships, monarchies, and olygarchies are all forms or combinations of one or the both. Kings usually owned everything and only allowed use of their land etc. as favors under the feudal system--and were thus just rough forms of socialism before the name was coined.

BTW, the term socialism was used in contrast with the liberal ideal of individualism. That was true right up until the time when LBJ soiled the label for ever after. Ain't that turnaround a kick in the head.

Sorry:

Fascism/ˈfæʃɪzəm/ is a form of radical authoritarian nationalism [1][2] that came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe. Influenced by national syndicalism, fascism originated in Italy during World War I, in opposition to liberalism, Marxism, and anarchism. Fascism is usually placed on the far-right within the traditional left–right spectrum.[3][4] -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism

and...

National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), more commonly known as Nazism (/ˈnaːtsɪzᵊm/), is the ideology and practice associated with the 20th-century German Nazi Party and Nazi state as well as other far-right groups. Usually characterized as a form of fascism that incorporates scientific racismand anti-Semitism, Nazism developed out of the influences of Pan-Germanism, the Völkisch German nationalist movement, and the anti-communist Freikorpsparamilitary groups that emerged during the Weimar Republic after German defeat in World War I. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism