a Lemming
Posted on 07/11/2007 4:34:55 PM PDT by Nachum
Former Knesset member said Israel should not be state for Jews
JERUSALEM – Politicians, Jewish leaders and commentators here have been lashing out at a leftist former Knesset member, international Jewish leader and senior activist of Israel's "peace camp" who called for Israel to cease being a Jewish state.
One Knesset member demanded Avraham Burg, who once was considered a potential candidate for prime minister and was a leading member of Israel's leftist Labor party, should lose his plot in a section of Israel's national cemetery reserved for the country's leaders.
Burg recently published a book, "Defeating Hitler," in which he repeatedly compared various Israeli Jewish policies to Nazism.
"To define the state of Israel as a Jewish state is the key to its end. A Jewish state is explosive. It's dynamite," said Burg in an interview about the book with Israel's Haaretz newspaper.
Burg was Israel's Knesset speaker and was considered by some a hopeful for prime minister. A scion of one of Israel's founding families, Burg also served as chairman of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization, both of which are major Jewish organizations.
Burg said Israel's Law of Return, which allows all Jews seeking sanctuary in Israel to become citizens, is similar to Nazi rule even though it was created in response to Nazi crimes. The law helped Jews escape persecution in countries such as Germany, Russia and Yemen.
"The Law of Return is an apologetic law. It is the mirror image of Hitler. I don't want Hitler to define my identity," he said.
He said Israelis should obtain foreign passports, and Israel should model itself after the European Union and become a multinational state. He urged the Israeli government to allow the EU more influence in its affairs.
Burg also said Israel should learn from the assimilation and inter-marriage of Jews in the U.S., where Jewish individuals marrying non-Jews has become a major phenomenon.
He also criticized what he called Israelis' "closed conception" of religion, which he stated is "orthodox, not humanist and not universal." He said other alternatives to Judaism must be offered.
Burg now is a citizen of France. He retired from Israeli politics after it was disclosed he may have engaged in election corruption and vote tampering while trying to become chairman of the Labor party. He also was accused of illicit business practices.
His comments have drawn fury from some politicians and commentators here.
Isi Leibler, a Jerusalem Post columnist and a veteran Jewish leader, said Burg "defamed Israel and Zionism" and incited anti-Semitism.
"[Burg's] crude attacks are merely a rehash of the standard, cliche-ridden tracts churned out by those seeking to delegitimize the Jewish state. But by virtue of his former positions, Burg's defamation of Israel will undoubtedly become a crucial weapon for anti-Semites and all who seek the demise of the Jewish state," wrote Leibler in a column yesterday.
Pointing out Burg wears a yalmuka, or Jewish religious skull cap, Liebler wrote he was worried Burg's Judaism would be exploited by "those seeking Israel's destruction."
"He will assume the role of an icon for the global anti-Israeli establishment and all anti-Semites. He will be overwhelmed with speaking engagements and, with or without his psychedelic (yalmuka), will be wined and dined and achieve star billing at cocktail receptions sponsored by those seeking an end to the Jewish state."
Some commentators here stated Burg betrayed his Orthodox Jewish parents. His father, Yosef Burg, was a long-serving Israeli politician and a rabbi.
But one U.S. Jewish leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told WND Yosef Burg, too, displayed anti-religious sentiment.
"While he was minister of internal affairs, Yosef Burg deliberately stopped crucial excavations on the Temple Mount that the archaeologists said could have yielded huge results important for Judaism," said the Jewish leader.
"Burg was also instrumental in denying Jewish rights to the Mount," the leader said.
The leader said while one of Israel's chief rabbis was on his deathbed, he confided in him "not to trust the Burgs. They are anti-Jewish, both father and son."
The Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – was liberated by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War, but the administration of the site was given by Israeli leaders to the waqf, or Muslim trust. Currently Jews and Christians can only ascend the mount during certain hours of the day and they are barred from praying there or bringing holy objects. Muslims are usually allowed to the site any time and maintain several mosques on the Mount.
Knesset Member Otniel Schneller said after the former politician's comments about Israel and Zionism, Avraham Burg must be prevented, through legislation if necessary, from being buried in a section of the Jerusalem cemetery on Mount Herzl reserved for national leaders.
"He should look for a grave in another country," Schneller said.
France - yes, full of communists, socialists and nazi-sympathizers, plus islamofascists. He would be right at home.
A Jewish Russian emigre named Leonid Tarrisuk once told me in an interview, regarding Russian emigrants who complained about America, that “We too have our asses.”
Leonid was right. Unfortunately we have too many of these leftist a*holes. Why, God, Why?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
And well-placed.
If you are a leftist and nationalism=Fascism=Nazism, then this is quite logical. For years these people have been making an unprioncipled exception for Israel. Now they have stopped.
Jeeze Louise....if I live to be 100, I will never be able to understand how any Jewish person could be anti-Israel/anti-Zionist. I suppose this Burg character would have been happier living some 60-70 years ago in Germany?!?!?!?!? Sheesh!
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