Democracy Netanyahu Style

Licia Corbella tries to draw a comparison between protests at an Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu address, and another in Saudi Arabia.

Two young women protesters — one in the United States the other in Saudi Arabia. One disrupts the most powerful people in the world during a joint session of Congress in the midst of a live televised speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the other disturbs no one, she simply drives her family in a car. One is merely ushered out of the gallery, the other is arrested and held in jail.

And yet both events serve to perfectly punctuate the truth behind Netanyahu’s eloquent 45-minute speech.

Corbella doesn't get out much, because while Netanyahu called the protest "real democracy", some people in Israel might like to see a bit of democracy themselves.

A demonstration against the settler takeover of East Jerusalem was held in the neighborhood of Ras al-Amud yesterday afternoon. The demonstration was organized by members of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity group, an Israeli led nonviolent protest movement based in Jerusalem. Days before the demonstration, a new and illegal Jewish settlement was inaugurated in Ras al-Amud with name of Ma’ale HaZeitim.

Yesterday’s demonstration was a nonviolent exercise of the right to protest the illegal Israeli act of creating new settlements in occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli police reacted with excessive and violent force against the chanting Jewish protesters. For the first time, police used electronic stun guns against protesters who, locked arm in arm and sitting peacefully, refused to move from the entrance to the settlement.

And even if the Israeli PM missed the stun gun attacks, surely he saw what happened at the G-20 in Toronto, when Canadian citizens faced some of the worst human rights abuses this country has seen in a long time.

And maybe he might like to answer to why he thinks it's OK to kidnap children. Or beg our own PM to ignore the American president's call for peace.

There's a real double standard here when it comes to "democracy".