On Israeli Politics

Juan Cole continues talking about the harassment and character assasinations that Likud-symphathizers subjected people like himself to. He also makes a number of general comments, including this one:

I remember when in Israel talking to these leftish academics about politics. I had once met Shulamit Aloni here in Ann Arbor, and I said I admired here. My Israeli colleagues were appalled that I should speak so well of what they thought of as a paternalist party like Meretz, and wanted to move me substantially further to the left. That is an aspect of the real Israel, a place where the full range of political views is debated. It is completely unlike the discourse on Israel in the United States, where anyone who departs from the Likud line is punished and pilloried.

It is important to remember that the land-grabbing and antisemite-calling group of Israelis which makes most headlines is only one of many voices. Read Haaretz for more insight into the internal debates.