The Slow Coming of Democracy

Yesterday, I highlighted my complaint that there is discrimination in the way the press/media and the cultural elites relate to extremists of the Left and specifically, in a case of Arabs and supporters who screamed that a demo in downtown Um El-Fahm is terrible but they tmeselves managed to pull off a demo in downtown Jerusalem, shouting pro-Hezbollah slogans, without any problems or unruly reactions from passersby.

Another of my problems was that whereas Jewish activists were receiving expulsion orders and administrative orders, for example from today's news:

An order banning "Land of Israel Faithful" activist Yaron Tilhav from Judea and Samaria for three months was served on him early Friday morning at his residence in Peace House between Hevron and Kiryat Arba. Detectives from the Judea and Samaria police arrived at 2:00 am and surrounded Peace House while serving Tilhav.

The Land of Israel Faithful responded by saying that the restraining orders are not subject to public scrutiny, and are being carried out by "people working hand in hand with the government in fulfilling the political whims of [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert and [Defense Minister Ehud] Barak." Two residents of the Samarian Jewish outpost of Adi Ad and one from the Samarian Jewish community of Yitzhar are entering the final month of a similar three-month ban.

the "Wall" anarchists, etc. who acted with even more violence against Israeli security personnel were seemingly immune from these draconian devices of oppression.

Well, maybe there's a "change" in the coming:-

In the interest of issuing restraining orders against Israelis and foreigners "who disturb the peace" and "lead violent activity," the Israel Defense Forces has asked the Israel Security Agency (Shabak, Shin Bet) and the police to provide it with information on left-wing figures active in Judea and Samaria, according to the Haaretz daily...So far, such orders have only been issued against nationalist activists suspected of subversive activities. The army is focusing on a number of activists involved in violent protests against the security/separation barrier, those who ostensibly help Palestinian Authority Arabs harvest their olives and others. A number of leftists were seen in the area where an olive grove owned by a Jew was torched earlier this week.

Haaretz continues:

A document formulated by the IDF Central Command, entitled "Means of Operation Against Leftist Activists in the Area of Judea and Samaria" states, among other things, that the goal was to issue restraining orders against Israelis and foreigners "who disturb the peace" and "lead violent activity."...Among the activists the intelligence services were asked to provide information about is Yonatan Pollack of Anarchists Against the Fence.

Pollack said he was not surprised the army was seeking a restraining order against him. "On Sunday two weeks ago the Shin Bet called and summoned me to the police station on Dizengoff Street. They said they had had enough of my activities and if I kept it up they would take steps, either criminal or administrative ones. I told them that all my activities were open and if there was anything illegal, they were a matter for the police."

Pollack also said he presumed that "since there's a lot of talk now about restraining orders against right-wingers, they would use that against us to show balance, although there has almost never been a case of a left-wing activists suspected of violence and certainly not of violence like that of the right-wing activists."...

Haaretz also writes

The army further asked the police and the Shin Bet to keep their work on the matter secret.

and, so, now we know that someone from the inside opposes this policy and is leaking material to the media.

Democracy is slow in coming.