Dear David,

I would not accept Australia becoming a Christian state. It would no longer be democratic. It cannot be both.

No matter how many times Israel is called both Jewish and democratic it remains nonsense to say it is both. A democratic state must make no distinctions among its citizens on the basis of religion and ethnicity except possibly to a limited degree to make up for past inequities.

When you say the one state solution is unattainable it means to me it is an alternative you are not willing to consider. It is possibly not feasible at this time, but it is a goal we can work for.

Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam is a cooperative village of Jews and Palestinian Arabs of Israeli citizenship. The village is situated equidistant from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Jaffa. My information is that the only primary or secondary school integrating Jewish and children is there. Where are the others?

#davidf

Sorry to disagree. Israel is both Jewish and democratic. Its 20% minority Arab population (1.2 million Arabs)enjoys the same voting rights, civil rights and freedom of expression and movement as the Jewish majority. Arab citizens occupy judicial and diplomatic office and are members of Israel's parliament. Arabic is an official language of Israel. In only one area to my knowledge is there a distinction - Arab citizens cannot do military service at the present time.

What is the point of working for a one state solution when that goal is not attainable? Israel is certainly not going to preside over its own demolition.

Neve Shalom is indeed one school with mixed Arab and Jewish students.

There are four others I am aware of with an enrolment of about 900 pupils operated by an organisation called Hand in Hand in Jerusalem,Galilee,Wadi Ara and Beersheva. There is also another - the Weizmann School in Jaffa - with a mixed enrolment of 350 students

Dear David,

I am glad to hear there are other schools besides Neve Shalom with a mixed student population.

Israel has many democratic attributes that the states around Israel do not have such as an independent judiciary and a free press.

However, we apparently define democracy in a different way. My definition includes forbidding of discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity or religion. By my definition Australia was not a democracy when the White Australia policy was on. It was not a democracy when it refused admittance to Jews fleeing the Nazi oppression apparently only because they were Jews. Under the Law of Return I who was not born in Israel and have no connection with it at this time can go to Israel and become a citizen while an Arab born in Haifa who fled Israel during the War of Independence cannot. The Knesset has conducted an inquiry into infrastructure and services such as garbage collection, roads and other services provided to communities and found that such services were not provided to Arab villages to an extent equal to that provided by Jewish villages.

Two Israelis who want to marry each other cannot marry in Israel unless clergy of the appropriate faiths approve. There is no civil marriage in Israel. Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 by the United Nations states.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

Israel violates that democratic right.

The United States has a majority of white Protestants. However, last year they elected a black man as president and a Catholic as vice-president. Can you envision a non-Jew being president or prime minister of Israel? In discrimination against blacks and Catholics the United States was really not democratic. However, with that election they have gone further on the road to democracy.

Dear David,

You wrote: “What is the point of working for a one state solution when that goal is not attainable?” I think a one state solution is attainable. However, it would mean the end of Israel as a Jewish state. I assume some Israelis agree with me. In the Knesset there has been discussion of a bill that would make advocacy of the end of Israel as a Jewish state subject to criminal sanction. There would not be discussion of such a law unless a significant number of Israelis supported that position.

I used to think Israel could be both Jewish and democratic. I no longer think so. I am against Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu or other states which are based on part of the population.

I have a high regard for the Jewish state. It has restored the dignity of an oppressed people. It has contributed greatly in science and the arts.

However, I also have a high regard for democracy, and I have made a choice for democracy

#davidf

I suggest your are confusing two concepts - democracy and discrimination.

On your definition no country could be described as being democratic since one can find examples of discrimination against minority groups on the grounds of ethnicity or religion in I believe all generally recognized democracies such as France, England, the USA or Australia.

What countries would you regard as being democratic?

You can push the one state solution to get rid of Israel or even the two state solution to create a new Arab State between Jordan and Israel but neither in my opinion can eventuate as the result of negotiations. The only possibly attainable solution by negotiations remains the allocation of sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza between Jordan, Israel and possibly Egypt.

We obviously have to agree to disagree. That is for me what democracy is all about. At least we can engage in a civil discussion free of fear about what we say, free of censorship and knowing we will not be picked up and incarcerated for what we say. Then we can all have a vote and opt for the argument that attracts us the most and accept that the result when announced has not been rigged. When you think of what is happening in Iran at present, we have much to be thankful for - as imperfect as our system might be seen by many to be deficient.