I post this in view of approaching Parliamentary elections in Israel (January 22nd, 2013). If I had a political party running for the Knesset, the following would be my likely program:
HaMetziut (“The Reality”)
1. Peace process is not the main
priority
We are aware of the reality: the
decades of failure in the Arab-Israeli peacemaking and the non-democratic
nature of the most of the Middle Eastesrn states. Therefore we believe that the
peaceful political settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict is not possible in
the nearest future. The conflict should be managed in order to i) ensure the
safety of the Israeli citizens, while also ii) minimizing the casualties among
the civilian population of Israel’s
adversaries.
2. Personal freedom
We believe in the equality of
rights for all Israeli citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs, ethnic
origin or geographic location.
In particular:
i) We will encourage deeper integration of the Israeli
Arab citizens and the other ethnic minorities into the mainstream Israeli society
to forge one common Israeli identity.
ii) All citizens should have
equal rights and obligations when it comes to military service, taxation, aid
to big families, etc.
iii) Although we do not intend to encourage the settlement activity, we believe that the settlers are equal
citizens of the State of Israel. Therefore we will oppose any legislation
intended to impose boycotts/sanctions or otherwise discriminate against this
group of population, as well as against any other ethnic/religious/demographic
group.
iv) We will promote civil
marriage/unions as well as other measures intended to provide equal rights to
all Israeli citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs, ethnic origin,
sexual preferences, etc.
3. Economic Freedom
It is a duty of the State to
help less fortunate of its citizens, whenever their misfortune results from
poor health, lack of opportunity, accidents, advanced age or other reasons
beyond their control. However, we believe that it is the obligation of young,
healthy, educated and otherwise fortunate part of the society to take the
economic, social, and political responsibility for the country’s well-being. We
believe that the role of the State is to provide equal opportunity and “fair
rules of the game” to this active part of the population, rather than to subsidize
it.
nice platform. I don't fully agree, but I believe that you've stated your point of view in a clear and honest way, which is much more than I can say regarding most of Israel's parties.
ReplyDeletepoint 1 - I hope we might be surprised by how fast the peace talks can advance, if we really intend to do something about it, unlike Netanyahu.
point 2 - fully agree
point 3 - I'm surprised to agree. I thought I had a clear idea of your opinions regarding economy. This is a good basis for 'social justice' as they say.
how do you like Lapid?
Thank you for the comment - it is nice to get some feedback.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, I was a bit unclear regarding point 3: I do not think that government should regulate prices or redistribute income beyond what is necessary to help those, who are indeed unfortunate. For others it should merely ensure that they can benefit from their hard work and talent. I still feel bitter about the "social protests", which I see as many young, healthy, educated people (just like me) demanding that the government helps them at somebody else's expense. It is us who should be helping others.