rfenst wrote:If you support democracy then you will have to stand an applaud if the Muslim Brotherhood becomes the ruling party. Democracy is a bit overrated sometimes!
I think it is perfectly possible that Egypt could establish a brand of democracy just like the style in Israel.
In a related note:
In the latest of several similar incidents, police detained four women from the Women of the Wall activist organization at the Western Wall plaza Sunday morning for wearing prayer shawls.
The women were questioned for more than two hours and then brought to the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, where they were served with a restraining order forbidding them from entering the Western Wall plaza for 50 days.
Israeli law, upheld by the Supreme Court, stipulates that it is forbidden to conduct a religious ceremony “contrary to accepted practice” at a holy site, or one that may “hurt the feelings of other worshipers.”
This law is interpreted to include women performing religious practices at the Western Wall traditionally done by men in Orthodox Jewish practice, such as reading from a Torah scroll, wearing tefillin or a tallit, or blowing a shofar.
Approximately 50 women from the organization assembled in the women’s section of the plaza Sunday morning for the prayer service for the new month, many of whom wore prayer shawls, or tallitot, traditionally worn by men.
The four women who were detained were wearing black and white or plain white tallitot, whereas the rest of the group were wearing more colorful prayer shawls.
The police generally tolerate the wearing of the decorative tallitot by women, and only take exception to women wearing the black and white, blue and white or completely white shawls, which they view as being the preserve of male worshipers.
Israel's wonderful brand of democracy smells a lot like theocracy.
What you write about is unacceptable to most American Jews. In fact, we find it abhorrent. But, we are not Israeli and do not make or agree with those laws. Thankfully, IMO, centuries of such unfair religious law are changing, albeit slowly. Compared to our form of egalitarian, non-denominational democracy, Israeli law as stated above is antiquated and unlawful. But, I wonder how Israeli's feel about it. No sense complaining if they support such a law. But, Americans have an entirely different different history and the culture and the central theme of our nation is not the same as Israel's. The difference in women's' rights in Islam and perhaps Christianity haven't been brought up. I think you are just throwing this unpleasant fact out to heap criticism and keep the arguments going. It took this nation almost 200 years before blacks were allowed to vote and more than a century before women were allowed to vote. But, in time, we changed. So too will Israel.[/quote]
Not a big fan of Democracy myself, nor were the Founders. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch. What our Founders gave us was a Democraticly Elected Representative Republic. Read "The 5000 Year Leap" It's educational without being too dry. It cover point by point by point how the Founders arrived at the form of government we were given. note how I keep saying "they left to us" and "We were given". What we've made of it is a total mess, and bears only a superficial resemblance to what was intended. One of my favorite quotes was from Thomas jefferson in regards if someone should have been allowed to do some thing or other, and he said "If it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg, why should I care?" (paraphrased) There are TWO types of tyranny, the tyranny of the minority over the majority (think a small ruling party of nobles or Party Aperachiks (sp?) that make the decicions for the commoners or proliteriat, depending on which political lexicon you choose to use. A Democracy is evil, a Democracy says "there are fewer of you than us, and we vote you give us your stuff and you work as our slaves". You can bash Israel all you want, but there ARE a few Palestinian Arabs in the Knesset. How many jews are there on the ruling Council in Egypt? in Syria?, Saudi Arabia? Lebanon? Iraq?, Iran?, Libya? Morroco, Yemen, Oman? Baharain, UAE, Dubai? Go ahead, i'm sure it will take awhile for you to count them all!
(crickets chirping)
You think that maybe.... just MAYBE that MIGHT be indicative of the Israelis trying to have a government that is relevant to THEIR faith, and at the same time, tries to respect the sensibilities of others, as long as they aren't shooting rockets into their cities?
Take that one step further... you think that MAYBE that might be indicative that ALL those Arab countries have no concern whatsoever for anyones sensibilities OTHER than their own, and they have little if any tolerance for others?
OKAY ONE MORE STEP, now this is a BIG one, so get ready! you think Maybe.... POSSIBLY, THAT difference could make any comparison of moral equivalence between the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood backed government and Israels parlimentary system to be propagandistic and intellectually bankrupt? I'll let you go have a cigar now, you probably have a headache.
