Israeli intolerance shows up on Internet, in Knesset, on the street

Los Angeles Times - Edmund Sanders- Racism, homophobia and religious discrimination seem to be more prevalent, taking the form of threats and even a government motion. But one journalist says the trend is just a sign of 'growing pains.'

Reporting from Jerusalem — The intent of the anonymous Internet video was unambiguous: "This person should be killed — and soon," read a message underneath a photo of Israel's deputy state prosecutor, Shai Nitzan.

His alleged offense? "Betraying" his Jewish roots by opening a criminal inquiry into racist threats and hate speech expressed on two Israel-based Facebook pages with statements in Hebrew such as "Death to Arabs."

It was the latest, and most overtly violent, sign of what many here are calling a wave of intolerance toward people of different races, religions, orientations and viewpoints.

From rabbinical prohibitions against renting homes to "non-Jews" to government crackdowns on left-wing activists, Israelis are grappling with their nation's identity and character.

Across the political spectrum, some see the struggle as a threat to Israel's democratic ideals. Opposition leader Tzipi Livni, of the centrist Kadima party, warned that "an evil spirit has been sweeping over the country." Defense Minister Ehud Barak said a "wave of racism is threatening to pull Israeli society into dark and dangerous places."

Faced with a Cabinet move to force non-Jewish prospective citizens to declare loyalty to a "Jewish state," government minister Dan Meridor parted with fellow members of the conservative Likud Party in opposing the motion. After the motion won Cabinet approval, he said, "This is not the Israel we know."

A recent Israel Democracy Institute poll found nearly half of Jewish Israelis don't want to live next door to Arabs. But the list of unwanted neighbors didn't stop there. More than one-third didn't want to live next to foreigners or the mentally ill, and nearly one in four said they wouldn't want to share a street with gays or the ultra-Orthodox.

"A Time to Hate," was the headline in the newspaper Haaretz this month. Some have compared the hostile climate to 1995, shortly before a right-wing fanatic assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Read more