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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNew York Times Editorial Board Slams Netanyahu For Using Racism To Win Israeli Election
PoliticusUSA
Shortly after it became apparent that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party had survived a close election and would retain power over the nations government, the New York Times released a scathing editorial criticizing Netanyahu for going ugly and utilizing racism and anti-Palestine sentiment to energize far-right Israeli voters. In particular, the NYT editorial board took offense to Netanyahu stating on the eve of the election that he would never allow a separate Palestinian state as well as the Prime Minister stoking racist fears by claiming that Israeli right-wingers were in danger of losing power because Arab voters were mobilizing.
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... accepted an invitation from Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) to speak before Congress.
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The bad press surrounding the speech, both there in the United States and abroad, presented an opening for opposition parties and put Netanyahu in real danger of losing the election. Rather than moderate his stance and acknowledge that it was probably a mistake to engage in partisan politics in another country, especially a huge ally like the United States, Netanyahu decided to go to the extreme right in order to energize and mobilize the most rabidly conservative voters.
The Times editorial slammed Netanyahu for going down that rabbit hole.
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His behavior in the past six years aggressively building Israeli homes on land that likely would be within the bounds of a Palestinian state and never engaging seriously in negotiations has long convinced many people that he has no interest in a peace agreement. But his statement this week laid bare his duplicity, confirmed Palestinian suspicions and will make it even harder for him to repair his poisoned relations with President Obama, who has invested heavily in pushing a two-state solution.
Mr. Netanyahu added to the ugliness of the campaign when, during Tuesdays voting, he said in a video on social media: Right-wing rule is in danger. Arab voters are streaming in huge quantities to the polling stations. This outrageous appeal to hard-line voters implied that only he could save Israel from its enemies, including the countrys Arab citizens, who represent 20 percent of the population and have long been discriminated against. ...
Mr. Netanyahus demagogy further incites the rage that has torn the country apart. There were other inflammatory moments in recent days. Mr. Netanyahu claimed that nefarious foreign sources were trying to overthrow him and also promised to build more settlements, which most of the world consider to be illegal. ...
In order to win an election, Bibi increased the divide between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as Israel and the United States, while telling the Arab citizens of his country that he does not care about them. ...
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http://www.politicususa.com/2015/03/18/york-times-editorial-board-slams-netanyahu-racism-win-israeli-election.html
dissentient
(861 posts)that keeping on electing a war mongering right wing murdering scum bag isn't such a good idea...I'm reminded of the famous newspaper cover when Bush was elected -- how could so many people be so dumb?
Faux pas
(14,681 posts)sack, we have enough of them here.
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)now trying to draw into a coalition of 61. He needs 31 more than his party has.
He may well need the All Of Us party....
This is not over. Bibi has gone too far in so many obvious ways.
Is Bibi lying now or was he lying then...has to be the first thing you think about when Bibi's lips move.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026387772
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)e.g. blitzing South Carolina with robocalls implying that McCain's adopted daughter was black? (she's Bangladeshi)
LittleBlue
(10,362 posts)The NYT has been printing propaganda for a racist apartheid state for decades. Now everyone knows it.
liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)Babel_17
(5,400 posts)A good start, next up should be causing Netanyahu to stew as tangible consequences for his racist, and hateful, campaign are seriously deliberated and acted upon.
daredtowork
(3,732 posts)They may hide racism under other issues- welfare, privatization of education or home schooling, religious freedoms, privatization of the economy, family values, all sorts of wacky conspiracy theories...
...but once you peel back all the layers of misdirection and note the racist jokes along the way, the fundamental issue becomes clear. American psychology is based on competition for scarce resources, and white people in desperate rural areas see black people as being on a different team and getting a leg up from government programs.
EVERYTHING is about race here. That is why #BlackLivesMatter is the most important political movement of our time and needs to have a seat at the Big Policy table at all times.
And when a GOP candidate wins on covert appeals to racism, we need to recognize it and call it out.