The United States and Britain did not support Israel in the 1948 War of Independence. The Soviet Union did, for a reason. Stalin remembered the huge role Russian Jews played in establishing the Soviet regime, and was sure they would build a socialist state in the Middle East. The Exile made the Jews afraid of the mob; they long for stronger state. Jews are smart and opinionated, and many want the power. Monarchies reserve the first roles for hereditary rulers. Democracies do not elect the Jews, a distinctive minority, to the top positions. Non-democratic socialism offered the Jews the best chance to ascend to power. Jews, imbued with the idea of changing the world to the better, embraced socialism which promised a just and safe society. Stalin was sure that the Jewish state would be socialist. And so it was. Israel based its agriculture on kibbutzim, a radical version of Soviet collective farms. Just as in the USSR, kibbutzim were successful initially, but quickly degraded. Simple enterprises can be communal, but economic development causes diversification. Israel is not just a "welfare state." She redistributes much more of the GDP than any civilized country. Israeli redistribution level qualifies her as a socialist state. Many Israeli groups depend on government paychecks rather than jobs for living, particularly elderly Soviet immigrants who never worked in Israel, many large Sephardi families, the religious establishment, and the Arabs. Israeli government manipulates the voters through arbitrary welfare policies. Strong trade union secured internationally non-competitive work terms and huge pensions and other benefits. Bulging state sector of Israeli economy symbiotically joined the military, and thrives on producing unnecessary weapons at unreasonable prices. It takes mind control to make the working people agree to tax shearing of 63% (consolidated tax rate) of their income, and Israeli government controls the minds. There is no free press in Israel. Government owns some media outlets, and the oligarchs who depend on the government own the others. Censorship long extended from military matters to police brutalities to purely political issues. Sharon made critique of the withdrawal from Gaza incitation, a punishable offense. Brainwashing in Israeli schools and army is unprecedented by the standards of civilized countries, and is on par with Soviet propaganda. Leftists permanently control educational institutions, and cram the young people with anti-religious (anti-Judaic) sentiment, and the absurd of Arabs being good neighbors (and so, implicitly, the Israeli army that opposes them being a bunch of murderers). Small Israeli establishment is deeply interconnected, and any dissent is detrimental to the political position and income. Just as in the Soviet Union, and in a striking contrast with the Western countries, there are no large independent political sponsors in Israel. Non-mainstream political parties lack financial opportunities. Militant government is certain about its righteousness. Extreme polarization of Israeli society allows for drastic measures against opponents. With world opinion behind the Arabs, discontent is directed against the fringe Jews: the religious and the right. Population depends on the government for security, and readily submits to some injustice. Ever enlarging police sufficiently counters the Arabs, and grow by extending control over the Jews. Israeli left-leaning courts join the police in suppressing political dissent. Administrative detention without trial, intended to deal with the terrorist suspects, is extensively used against the Jews. Governments readily oppose inner (harmless), not outer (dangerous) enemies. Israeli government opposes not Arabs, but religious Jews. To crash the religious and nationalist feelings, the government is ready to sacrifice Jewish land to the Arabs and to accept a huge number of Arabs in Israel. The left will try to cover their strategic errors by enhancing the totalitarian features of the Israeli state. Israel, a small country with pervasive security apparatus, drifts into the Orwellian nightmare. Faced with all-powerful police and harsh suppression of dissent, Israelis opt for the leftist Newspeak. Old terms acquire new meaning, and old ideals continue bereft of their essence. Zionism, a desire of Jewish state in the Promised Land, came to denote any policy of Israeli government. Ostensibly Jewish state gives away Jewish lands, and accepts the impending Arab majority. Unwilling to abandon their ideals, and prevented by the government from achieving them, Israelis emasculated the ideals. Israel is superficially pluralist. Knesset is highly fragmented, and so was the Reichstag days before the Nazi came to power. Political fragmentation, superficial discussion that does not touch the real issues, economic devastation, and grave military situation are the prerequisites for totalitarian takeover. Hopeless population tried every option to achieve peace and prosperity, and now will accept any regime which promises them. Israel will unlikely become a dictatorship, but Nazi Germany also wasnt. Germans dissented from the Nazi line on many issues, including the major ones like euthanasia and atheism. Nazi never entirely controlled German media. German police respected basic rights of criminals and moderate dissenters, and courts behaved reasonably in non-political cases. The USSR had no free press, but retained the elections. Some Soviet bloc countries had multi-party system. Totalitarianism comes in many flavors; their common denominator is absence of rational political choice. Israel had crossed that line. About the author: Obadiah Shoher is a pen name. Shoher was born in the USSR, emigrated, and became a top lawyer before entering politics. He served in several public offices, managed election campaigns, and leads a political party. See All articles From Author Tags:

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Word Count Appx. : 871 | Article Views 113 Published 11-12-2006