In an extraordinary editorial sure to arouse controversy, the New York Times expresses concern that Israel’s greatest strengths “as a democratic state committed to liberal values” are “in danger of being lost.”

In a Sunday editorial entitled “Israel’s Embattled Democracy” appearing in the prestigious Review section, The Times, which has had a testy relationship with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, describes him as a “disappointing, risk-averse leader” whose “dependence on hard-line parties has manifested itself in aggressive settlement building and resistance to serious peace talks with the Palestinians.”

Lamenting the breakup of Israel’s national unity government over the issue of army enlistment of the ultra-Orthodox, the paper expresses regret for the loss of Kadima’s “moderating force.”

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It cites demographic changes and quotes experts who claim, “that an influx of Jews from the former Soviet Union and a high birthrate in the ultra-Orthodox community mean that many Israelis have a cultural mistrust of the democratic values on which the state was founded.“

For more, go to Haaretz.com

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