MONASTIRIAKOS: Forget intifada, only thing 'progressives' should globalize is liberal democracy
Once upon a time, “progressives” struggled for progress. Workers demanded an eight-hour workday from their employers. Suffragettes fought to obtain the right for women to vote. Civil rights activists marched on Washington for racial equality. The list goes on and on.
In December 2023, “progressives” are obsessed with freeing “Palestine” from “the river to the sea” and “globalizing the intifada.”
Intifada is the Arabic word for “shaking off.” It refers to two violent Palestinian uprisings against Israel.
The first of these rebellions saw the birth of Hamas. The second of these uprisings resulted in half a decade of terror attacks, including suicide bombings that killed and injured thousands of civilians.
The only thing “progressives” should want to globalize is liberal democracy. This political system is most amenable to peaceful coexistence between states. Rule of law, individual liberty and economic prosperity also thrive in liberal democracies.
Human beings are predisposed to tribalism and group think. Our actions are driven more by preconceived notions and self-preservation than they are by seeking the truth and serving the collective good.
Yet an integral part of the human experience revolves around confronting uncomfortable truths. For example, debunking the claim made by “progressives” that Israel is not a democracy but an apartheid state.
While discrimination persists in Israel as it does in the West, and Israeli communities often self-segregate as many of their Canadian counterparts also do, the rights of minorities are nonetheless protected by law in both countries.
Twenty per cent of Israel’s citizens are not Jewish. Yet all Israelis, irrespective of ethnic or religious background, could serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), join the........
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