Don’t support undemocratic Israel

To the editor:

The brief article, “Council condemns BDS,” piqued my interest in a few ways that may have been unintended.  Councilman Andrew Cohen is quoted as follows: “I think it bodes well that people should know … that progressive democrats can stand up for Israel.”  What caught my eye was the use of the small “d” for democrats.  First, from the context, it seems that Mr. Cohen was referring to the Democratic Party, in which case a capital D should have been used.  If, however, the small d democrats was intended, he is by definition wrong, since, despite all propagandistic claims to the contrary, Israel cannot be defined as a democratic state.  Any society that treats a portion of its citizens the way Israel treats the Palestinians is clearly not a democracy.

Second, there is the word progressive.  As it happens, there are many so-called progressives who make exceptions in their progressivism when it comes to Israel.  They generally favor liberal to progressive policies such as environmentalism, equal rights for all Americans, government regulation of corporate excess, and so on.  But when it comes to the brutality the Likud government inflicts on Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and elsewhere, along with persistent violations of international law by allowing - even promoting - settlements, their progressivism goes into hiding.

Finally, as for “stand(ing) up for Israel,” I’d urge Mr. Cohen and the Council to spend more time standing up for the people of the City of New York and the United States, rather than a foreign country.

Steve Siegelbaum