The relatively free Arab press has followed with admiration the trial and imprisonment of former PM Ehud Olmert, and published a few articles praising Israeli democracy and condemning the corrupt, tyrannical Arab regimes that, as they put it, embezzle their own countries’ funds and oppress their own citizens without ever being brought to account, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported.
Hassan Ahmad Al-Shubaki, director of Al-Jazeera in Jordan, wrote in the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad that the news of Olmert’s imprisonment puts the Arabs to shame, in light of the corruption that is rife in their own regimes. He suggested—albeit only implicitly—they should follow Israel’s example.
London daily Al-Hayat’s Majed Kayali listed a number of high-ranking Israeli officials who went to prison, were removed from office, or were investigated, and called on Arabs to stop denying that Israel is a genuinely democratic state. Israel’s democracy strengthens it and ensures its continued supremacy over the Arabs whose regimes are corrupt and tyrannical, he wrote. He then went ahead to emphasize that all those nice things did not mean Israel is a legitimate state, because its democracy is meant only for the Jews.
Ah well, that score of Arab MKs means nothing in London, apparently.
“The most important thing is that this country is run in modern democratic ways, as a state of institutions, laws, and a constitution, in accordance with the liberal democratic method that is based on separation of powers and transition of government, and in which the citizens are free and equal,” Majed Kayali wrote. “This, in fact, is what sets it apart from our regimes, and ensures its continued development, stability, and supremacy. What this means is that this [Israeli supremacy] relies on more than just its military might and its alliance with the West. This, despite all the criticism that we have regarding the meaning of freedom and equality in an imperialist nation that champions settlements, mixes religion and nationalism, and draws many of its laws and ideologies from Jewish ritual…”
He noted that “it is precisely this aspect – that it is a state of institutions, laws, and citizen [rights] – that our nations lack and that the tyrannical regimes have made sure that we are denied, on the pretext of confronting Israel on the reality of the absence of a [Palestinian] state… In Israel, which has separation of powers, a president, a prime minister, ministers, MKs, and officers are prosecuted for sex or corruption scandals – even scandals involving just a few thousand dollars – while we have not even the most basic rights and liberties, and accept regimes that export [our] resources, squander our income, kill [their own citizens] en masse, and even bring in foreign armies and militias to kill, expel, and besiege their own peoples.”
Al-Shubaki, in an article titled, “Nothing Like The Olmert Affair Ever Happened Here,” wrote, “This news (of Olmert’s imprisonment) and its circumstances puts us [Arabs] to shame, in light of our ongoing lies about the integrity [in our ranks] – because there are six Arab countries on the list of the world’s most corrupt nations, and in them accountability is never demanded [from anyone]… [Our] countries become farms; their residents are a cheap labor force, and the crops all go to the farm’s owners. This is ugly and criminal, but it is common in most Arab countries…”
For the full copies of both articles click to “Following Imprisonment of Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for Corruption, Arab Writers Praise Israel’s Democracy and Rule Of Law.”