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Who says that Israel is a democracy?

The mantra is that Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East. It's a myth of course! Just ask the 25% of Israel's population, the Palestinians. Worse still there are countless laws on the statute book in Israel which actually discriminate against the Palestinian population in Israel - that is, within the so-called Green Line.

Another nail in the coffin of an open society in Israel is reported on in this piece "Rights groups attack Israeli bill to shut down military critics" in The Guardian:

"Israeli human rights groups say they are deeply concerned about a newly proposed bill that could shut down any organisation that investigates and mounts legal challenges to abuses by the military.

The bill was introduced in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, yesterday with the support of at least 17 MPs from different parties. If it became law it would prevent any organisation from being registered, or would close down existing groups if they were found to be passing information "to foreign entities" or were "involved in legal proceedings abroad against senior Israeli government officials or IDF officers for war crimes".

Rights groups said the bill, an amendment to the law of associations, was the latest in a series of efforts to curb their activity in the wake of Israel's war in Gaza. Several groups produced evidence suggesting the Israeli Defence Forces had committed serious violations of international law during the three-week war and gave evidence to the UN inquiry led by the South African judge Richard Goldstone."

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