Tuesday, September 22, 2015

דיון מעניין על כלכלה ועל חברה

 המאמר הבא של ח"כ לשעבר ניצן הורוביץ פורסם ב"הארץ", 22 בספטמבר 2015
בעקבותיו פיתחנו דיון מעניין, שמובא בהמשך

התפכחות מהניאו-ליברליזם
ניצן הורוביץ


זו היתה ההבטחה הגדולה של תקופתנו: שפע, ובצדו שחרור מדאגות הקיום. ההתפכחות מרה וכואבת. שפע דווקא יש, עצום ורב: מזון, אנרגיה, חומרי גלם, ידע. אבל השפע מתעתע. ככל שהוא גדל, כך הוא נאגר בכיסי מעטים. והטכנולוגיה? במקום שתשחרר את האנושות מחרדות ועבודה קשה, היא רק מהדקת את האזיקים והפיקוח. ההתפכחות מהבטחת האושר של הקפיטליזם היא סיבת העומק להתערערות הביטחון הניכרת בכל היבשות

המזון מופק בשפע שכמוהו לא היה מעולם, אבל מיליוני בני אדם רעבים, ואילו בקצה השני, עודפי תוצרת עצומים מושמדים כדי להעלות מחירים. טכנולוגיה מופלאה מוטמעת בכל ענפי הייצור והשירותים, ואמורה להקל על העבודה, אבל הרוב הגדול עובד שעות ארוכות יותר בעבור גמול יחסי הולך ומצטמק. משאבי אנרגיה עצומים עומדים לרשות האנושות בזמינות חסרת תקדים; חומרי הגלם הם בהישג יד. לכאורה, אין קל, פשוט וזול מבניית בתים, אבל הדיור רק הולך ומתייקר. חלקים גדולים באוכלוסייה הופכים לצמיתי נדל״ן: כבולים רוב חייהם להלוואות חונקות

היסטוריונים אינם מופתעים. תהליכים דומים ביסודם גרמו לקריסת הסדר הדמוקרטי ועליית הפשיזם והנאציזם. מן החורבות העשנות שהותירו קמה מדינת הרווחה המודרנית, ששיפרה בדרמטיות את רמת החיים, ובמקביל יצקה יציבות למערכת הכלכלית באמצעות אמנות בינלאומיות, ובראשן הסכם ברטון־וודס מ–1944

הכלכלה הקיינסיאנית משלה בכיפה עד אמצע שנות ה–70. הישגיה הגדולים כבר נתפשו כמובנים מאליהם: חינוך ובריאות לכל, זכויות עובדים, דמוקרטיה. כאילו כך היה תמיד. מדינת הרווחה שקעה בסטגנציה, והחזירות שארבה מעבר לפינה יצאה למתקפת נגד: ניקסון ביטל את ברטון־וודס וקלע את מערכת המטבע הבינלאומית לחוסר יציבות מובנה, דרום אמריקה דיממה לרודנות ימנית, ועלייתם של תאצ׳ר בבריטניה ורייגן בארה״ב השלימה את התהליך. וכן, גם בישראל, ב–1977, התחולל מהפך

הניאו־ליברליזם נהנה מאז משלטון ללא מצרים: מפורר את השירותים החברתיים, מצמיח טייקונים ובעיקר נתפש כאמת מוחלטת שאין לערער עליה. קריסת בריה״מ הוצגה כהוכחה סופית לצדקתו, כאילו שלתועבה הסובייטית היה איזשהו קשר לסוציאל־דמוקרטיה. גם עכשיו מושמעת הקריאה הדמגוגית ״אתם רוצים צפון קוריאה?״ מול כל ניסיון לרסן את שלטון ההון

לאחר עשורים של הפרטה פרועה, מגלה גם מעמד הביניים שהוא מתפורר. כמו בשנות ה–30, נחשפת אי יכולתו המובנית של הקפיטליזם לנהל את המדינה רק באמצעות התחרות והשוק. כך התרחשה הקריסה הקולוסלית בארה״ב ב–2007, ואנחנו עדיין סובלים מפוסט־טראומה

גלי ההדף היכו בישראל לפני ארבע שנים. המונים יצאו לרחובות עקב יוקר המחיה — המזון, גן הילדים, הדיור. ״משהו פה דפוק מהיסוד. אנחנו עובדים כמו משוגעים, אבל יש לנו פחות ופחות כסף. איך נסתדר אם משהו יקרה לנו?״ שאלו ערב ערב במאהלים. החזירות שמנגד ניצלה את הפלגנות והעיוורון הפוליטי בשורות המחאה, יצאה לקרב מאסף וניצחה. אבל היא מפסידה במלחמה. אין לה פתרונות. תפלצת הנדל״ן, שוד הגז, השוקת השבורה של הפנסיות. ומעל הכל רובץ ענן כבד: הדאגה, החרדה הקיומית

לאן מוליכים את המועקה הנפשית הזאת? אל עוד חלום כוזב ואלים הרבה יותר: קיצוניות דתית, דחפים לאומניים, גזענות ותוקפנות. זה מה שמאחד בין הרפובליקאים בארה״ב, פוטין ברוסיה, משתוללי העולם הערבי ונתניהו בישראל. כולם חסידי ההון הבלתי מרוסן. אל מול אלה הגיעה שעתה של תפישת הרווחה לשוב לקידמת הבמה



שלחתי את המאמר לידידי, עם ההערות הבאות

לדעתי, מופת של תמצות והבעת דעה מנומקת
אה, וגמר חתימה טובה, למי שחטא השנה


להלן התגובות

Sunday, August 23, 2015

A chat I had: Boycott Israel

I had a little chat with a scholar presented in an email to me, as a "non-Jewish Scottish professor". Dr. Denis MacEoin is an expert in Middle Eastern affairs and was a senior editor of the Middle East Quarterly. He wrote this letter to his students, of The Edinburgh Student's Association to boycott all things Israeli, in which they claim Israel is under an apartheid regime.

Dr. MacEoin's blog: http://mid-eastplus.blogspot.co.il/



TO: The Committee Edinburgh University Student Association.

May I be permitted to say a few words to members of the EUSA?  I am an Edinburgh graduate (MA 1975) who studied Persian, Arabic and Islamic History in Buccleuch Place under William Montgomery Watt and Laurence Elwell Sutton, two of Britain 's great Middle East experts in their day.  I later went on to do a PhD at Cambridge and to teach Arabic and Islamic Studies at Newcastle University .  Naturally, I am the author of several books and hundreds of articles in this field.  I say all that to show that I am well informed in Middle Eastern affairs and that, for that reason, I am shocked and disheartened by the EUSAmotion and vote.

I am shocked for a simple reason: there is not and has never been a system of apartheid in Israel .  That is not my opinion, that is fact that can be tested against reality by any Edinburgh student, should he or she choose to visit Israel to see for themselves.  Let me spell this out, since I have the impression that those members of EUSA who voted for this motion are absolutely clueless in matters concerning Israel, and that they are, in all likelihood, the victims of extremely biased propaganda coming from the anti-Israel lobby.

Being anti-Israel is not in itself objectionable.  But I'm not talking about ordinary criticism of Israel.  I'm speaking of a hatred that permits itself no boundaries in the lies and myths it pours out.  Thus, Israel is repeatedly referred to as a "Nazi" state.  In what sense is this true, even as a metaphor?  Where are the Israeli concentration camps?  The einzatsgruppen?  The SS?  The Nuremberg Laws?  The Final Solution?  None of these things nor anything remotely resembling them exists in Israel, precisely because the Jews, more than anyone on earth, understand what Nazism stood for.

It is claimed that there has been an Israeli Holocaust in Gaza (or elsewhere).  Where?  When?  No honest historian would treat that claim with anything but the contempt it deserves.  But calling Jews Nazis and saying they have committed a Holocaust is as basic a way to subvert historical fact as anything I can think of.

Likewise apartheid.  For apartheid to exist, there would have to be a situation that closely resembled how things were in South Africa under the apartheid regime.  Unfortunately for those who believe this, a weekend in any part of Israel would be enough to show how ridiculous the claim is.

That a body of university students actually fell for this and voted on it is a sad comment on the state of modern education.  The most obvious focus for apartheid would be the country's 20% Arab population.  Under Israeli law, Arab Israelis have exactly the same rights as Jews or anyone else; Muslims have the same rights as Jews or Christians; Baha'is, severely persecuted in Iran, flourish in Israel, where they have their world center; Ahmadi Muslims, severely persecuted in Pakistan and elsewhere, are kept safe by Israel; the holy places of all religions are protected under a specific Israeli law.  Arabs form 20% of the university population (an exact echo of their percentage in the general population).

In Iran, the Bahai's (the largest religious minority) are forbidden to study in any university or to run their own universities: why aren't your members boycotting Iran?  Arabs in Israel can go anywhere they want, unlike blacks in apartheid South Africa.  They use public transport, they eat in restaurants, they go to swimming pools, they use libraries, they go to cinemas alongside Jews - something no blacks were able to do in South Africa.

Israeli hospitals not only treat Jews and Arabs, they also treat Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank.  On the same wards, in the same operating theatres.

In Israel , women have the same rights as men: there is no gender apartheid.  Gay men and women face no restrictions, and Palestinian gays often escape into Israel, knowing they may be killed at home.

It seems bizarre to me that LGBT groups call for a boycott of Israel and say nothing about countries like Iran , where gay men are hanged or stoned to death.  That illustrates a Mindset that beggars belief.

Intelligent students thinking it's better to be silent about regimes that kill gay people, but good to condemn the only country in the Middle East that rescues and protects gay people.  Is that supposed to be a sick joke?

University is supposed to be about learning to use your brain, to think rationally, to examine evidence, to reach conclusions based on solid evidence, to compare sources, to weigh up one view against one or more others.  If the best Edinburgh can now produce are students who have no idea how to do any of these things, then the future is bleak.

I do not object to well-documented criticism of Israel .  I do object when supposedly intelligent people single the Jewish state out above states that are horrific in their treatment of their populations.  We are going through the biggest upheaval in the Middle East since the 7th and 8th centuries, and it's clear that Arabs and Iranians are rebelling against terrifying regimes that fight back by killing their own citizens.

Israeli citizens, Jews and Arabs alike, do not rebel (though they are free to protest).  Yet Edinburgh students mount no demonstrations and call for no boycotts against Libya, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran.  They prefer to make false accusations against one of the world's freest countries, the only country in the Middle East that has taken in Darfur refugees, the only country in the Middle East that gives refuge to gay men and women, the only country in the Middle East that protects the Bahai's...  Need I go on?

The imbalance is perceptible, and it sheds no credit on anyone who voted for this boycott.  I ask you to show some common sense.  Get information from the Israeli embassy.  Ask for some speakers.  Listen to more than one side.  Do not make your minds up until you have given a fair hearing to both parties.  You have a duty to your students, and that is to protect them from one-sided argument.

They are not at university to be propagandized.  And they are certainly not there to be tricked into anti-Semitism by punishing one country among all the countries of the world, which happens to be the only Jewish state.  If there had been a single Jewish state in the 1930's (which, sadly, there was not), don't you think Adolf Hitler would have decided to boycott it?

Your generation has a duty to ensure that the perennial racism of anti-Semitism never sets down roots among you.  Today, however, there are clear signs that it has done so and is putting down more.  You have a chance to avert a very great evil, simply by using reason and a sense of fair play.  Please tell me that this makes sense.  I have given you some of the evidence.  It's up to you to find out more.

Yours sincerely,

Denis MacEoin



I wrote to Dr. MacEoin:

One can be a very well educated scholar, and yet be ignorant about the state of his own research.
Who said that Israel was a Nazi state? All we said was that there are some Judo-Nazis in Israel, which is true. Did the police manage to catch the (presumable Jewish) murderers of Ali (18 month old) and his father Saad Dawabsha? No. If the killers were Arabs, you can be sure they would have been caught in a few days.

Yes, PM Netanyahu visited the remaining of the Arab family, and promised to catch the killers. Being Israelis, we all know quite well what Netanyahu's promises are worth.

Israel is an apartheid state - I'm willing to be honest enough to admit that this is not a fact, but it's my own interpretation. But it's based on every reasonable standard. In my opinion, no counter-propaganda can refute this.

If this legitimate criticism of (not Israel, but the Israeli government) is regarded anti-Semitism, them I don't believe there is any anti-Semitism in the world, beyond the regular racism to any race other that the Jews.

I encourage Scottish students to go ahead and boycott everything Israeli, to save my country from its evil government. Thank you!

Cheers,
Avner E.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

My Dialogue with Abshalon, Part 2


March 3, 2015

Hello Avner

I did not respond immediately to your last letter because I thought to let you off for sometime.

A lot have been happening, so I think it already a proper time.

As we know, Netanyahu is supposed to speak tomorrow to Congress, so by the time you get this we shall know. I wonder what you think of this. I feel that he is trying to increase the pressure on the Obama to present a tough stand to Iran, but I do not think that  he has much chance to succeed. However I think it may be a good idea. In fact the dissatisfaction about the president actions across the board is growing, and Iran policy is just one of many, but is very important. I think that the EU countries are also very concerned, especially because having learned about the long range missiles that Iran is developing. Obama will be happy to get just a face saving decision, but he may be coming under a heavy pressure to get more. I think that he will be happy to leave this hot potato to his successor.

So what is happening in Israel about the elections? What is your impression about this? I understand that there is a lot and justified resentment about Netanyahu personal conduct. However I still think that he is locked on the Iranian issue, and he is right about this.

The economy in the US has improved, and I understand that this is mainly due to the developing oil industry. The prices of gas has increased recently, but this is mainly due to problems in the refineries in the US. This is rather a shame. So who is in fact behind all of the recent price hikes? Many people say it is a Saudi Arabia initiative. It does not make sense to me. I think that the fact that the American oil companies started to sell oil in realistic price is a main factor. What do you think?

On the light side: I read few months ago that scientist in Israel have managed to figure out the language of cows! I have been suspecting the those cows are just pretending to be standing close to each other pretending that they are just testing the grass. So now we now: they have been talking secrets all the time! However I have not heard anything since then. Is it possible that those crafty cows has realized that people are eavesdropping on them, so that they are more careful now? So what do you know about this? I have not seen any Facebook or Twitter pages in cows language. So what is happening?

I wonder how your Master in Education study is progressing? I think this is a great idea, and I think that completing this will be very rewarding and hopefully useful. I invested a whole year to get a certificate in Biotechnology. It was really very useful and interesting but I have not managed to translate it to a job. I hope it will be different for you.

So let me finish now, and I look forward to hear from you. I am not as busy as you and shall be very interested to read all that you write.

Regards

Abshalon




Apr 28, 2015
Hi Abshalon,

Yes, I'm very busy. Working and studying.
I enjoy my Masters studies very much. Not so much my work... but not complaining. Life is good, so far.

since the elections there have been more despair in the Liberal camp in Israel. I am not completely desperate, but something has changed in me. These last elections taught me (this is my opinion), that arguments cannot change the public's mind. There have been so many arguments against Netanyahu (and also, very few, in his favor). But still, he was elected.
I anticipated that we would be the next Prime Minister. But I also anticipated that the Avoda (Herzog) will join his coalition. Hasn't happened so far; I hope it it will not happen, but one can never know.

I think that now we (the Left) need to let Netanyahu rule with his most extremist allies, let then carry out their policy, and let the public judge them, based on (what I think will be the catastrophic) consequences. If I'm wrong - then everything is OK...

You know already that I don't share the same opinions with yourself about Iran and their prospect Bomb. This is OK...

In short, I think that Israel is in a slow process of suicide. So far, things look OK, especially for the upper classes in Israel (that includes myself). But this is like that man who is falling off the 80th floor, and while passing by the 40th floor he proclaims: so far, so good.

take care,
Avner

"Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn [your Ass?]" (Stephen Covey)

Cheers,
Avner E.


My Dialogue with Abshalon, Part 3

March 3, 2015

Hello Avner

I did not respond immediately to your last letter because I thought to let you off for sometime.

A lot have been happening, so I think it already a proper time.

As we know, Netanyahu is supposed to speak tomorrow to Congress, so by the time you get this we shall know. I wonder what you think of this. I feel that he is trying to increase the pressure on the Obama to present a tough stand to Iran, but I do not think that  he has much chance to succeed. However I think it may be a good idea. In fact the dissatisfaction about the president actions across the board is growing, and Iran policy is just one of many, but is very important. I think that the EU countries are also very concerned, especially because having learned about the long range missiles that Iran is developing. Obama will be happy to get just a face saving decision, but he may be coming under a heavy pressure to get more. I think that he will be happy to leave this hot potato to his successor.

So what is happening in Israel about the elections? What is your impression about this? I understand that there is a lot and justified resentment about Netanyahu personal conduct. However I still think that he is locked on the Iranian issue, and he is right about this.

The economy in the US has improved, and I understand that this is mainly due to the developing oil industry. The prices of gas has increased recently, but this is mainly due to problems in the refineries in the US. This is rather a shame. So who is in fact behind all of the recent price hikes? Many people say it is a Saudi Arabia initiative. It does not make sense to me. I think that the fact that the American oil companies started to sell oil in realistic price is a main factor. What do you think?

On the light side: I read few months ago that scientist in Israel have managed to figure out the language of cows! I have been suspecting the those cows are just pretending to be standing close to each other pretending that they are just testing the grass. So now we now: they have been talking secrets all the time! However I have not heard anything since then. Is it possible that those crafty cows has realized that people are eavesdropping on them, so that they are more careful now? So what do you know about this? I have not seen any Facebook or Twitter pages in cows language. So what is happening?

I wonder how your Master in Education study is progressing? I think this is a great idea, and I think that completing this will be very rewarding and hopefully useful. I invested a whole year to get a certificate in Biotechnology. It was really very useful and interesting but I have not managed to translate it to a job. I hope it will be different for you.

So let me finish now, and I look forward to hear from you. I am not as busy as you and shall be very interested to read all that you write.

Regards
Abshalon







Apr 28, 2015

Hi Abshalon,

Yes, I'm very busy. Working and studying.

I enjoy my Masters studies very much. Not so much my work... but not complaining. Life is good, so far.

since the elections there have been more despair in the Liberal camp in Israel. I am not completely desperate, but something has changed in me. These last elections taught me (this is my opinion), that arguments cannot change the public's mind. There have been so many arguments against Netanyahu (and also, very few, in his favor). But still, he was elected.

I anticipated that we would be the next Prime Minister. But I also anticipated that the Avoda (Herzog) will join his coalition. Hasn't happened so far; I hope it it will not happen, but one can never know.

I think that now we (the Left) need to let Netanyahu rule with his most extremist allies, let then carry out their policy, and let the public judge them, based on (what I think will be the catastrophic) consequences. If I'm wrong - then everything is OK...

You know already that I don't share the same opinions with yourself about Iran and their prospect Bomb. This is OK...

In short, I think that Israel is in a slow process of suicide. So far, things look OK, especially for the upper classes in Israel (that includes myself). But this is like that man who is falling off the 80th floor, and while passing by the 40th floor he proclaims: so far, so good.

take care,
Avner

"Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn [your Ass?]" (Stephen Covey)

Cheers,
Avner E.