🚀 go-pugleaf

>> de.moc.ra.cy \di-'ma:k-r*-se-\ n [MF democratie, fr. LL democratia, fr. Gk
>>    de-mokratia, fr.] de-mos + -kratia -cracy 1a: government by the people; esp
>>    : rule of the majority 1b: a government in which the supreme power is
>>    vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a
>>    system of representation usu. involving periodically held free elections
>>
>> In what sense is Israel not a democracy?  Only in the sense that it
>> does not allow the advocacy of the violent overthrow of its
>> government.
>>
>> The United States has a similar prohibition.  In fact, here we call such
>> advocacy treason.
>>
>> dan
>
>Well, according to the above definition every country in the middle east (except
>the kingdoms) are democracies.
>Lebanon conforms to that rule.
>Syria conforms to that rule.
>Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Lybia, Iraq, Yemen etc...
>
>If the president stays the same then that does not mean that it is not a
>democracy.
>
I cannot recall free elections in any of the counties you mention in the
past 30 years. recently they held an election in Algeria and everybody
knows what happened after that. (a military coup cancelled the results).

The last elections in Syria were very typical: Assad got ~99% of the
votes and was the only candidate.

In Israel as in the United states/Britain/France/India (a third world
country) the elections are free, there is a seperation of authorities,
freedom of the press, independent court system.

A great proof of democracy is the possibility of civilizied chanfe of
givernment, this has occured twice in the last 15 years.

>Really why do people keep repeating the slogan "Israel the only democracy" ? Is
>it because they want to lie to Americans and convince them that their taxes are
>protecting the "only democracy" because if Israel was not the only democracy then
>how would the US administration justify all this aid ?

Becuase it's true. I wish we were one democracy among many in the
region , thus we had peace 40 years ago.

David.
--
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  David Ben-Ami (irc: bigdav)      |   "I can resist anything but Temptation"
  s2780369@Techst02.Technion.Ac.Il |       Oscar Wilde
  davidba@Carmel.Technion.Ac.Il  davidba@Moav.Techniona.Ac.Il