</image> <image source="map"></image> <label>Type</label> <label>Level</label> <label>Location</label> <label>Inhabitants</label> </infobox>The State of Israel is a liberal...ish...colonalist, capitalist state located in Western Asia, bordering the other states of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It also the only state that is built on the principles of Zionism (well, there is one interesting region of Russia), an ideology that desires the reclamation of the Levant to build a Jewish homeland, violently, if necessary. Support for Israel is an extremely divisive issue, with plenty of passionate supporters and opponents on each side (forgive us for the awful centrist take).
The Good
- In the area it is in, Israel is the most progressive and democratic country. It does have a degree of multi-culturalism, a welfare state, LGBT protections and women's rights that are far stronger than its neighbours.
- Israel has assassinated a number of Nazis and protected Jews from anti-semitic attacks across the world. As anti-fascists and anti-anti-semites, we can appreciate this.
The Bad
Main Article: Criticism of Israel
- Israel is a liberal, capitalist and colonialist state, all of which are things opposed by libertarian socialists.
- Israel engages in various ways the oppression of Palestinian people and attacks on Palestine itself.
- Israel is a massive participant in the global arms trade and supporter of authoritarian and violent governments all over the world.
- Israel has committed multiple war crimes against the people of Palestine, Egypt and even International activists.
- Israel does not recognise the Armenian Genocide as a genocide.
Bad Criticism of Israel
See Also: Jewish Conspiracy Theories
Any attempt to criticise Israel which does the following should be considered "bad faith" criticism of Israel:
- Any effort to associate all Jews with Israel or the concept of being Jewish. Numerous Jews inside and outside of Israel are critical of the country.
- Any effort to associate all flavours of Zionism with Israel. There are forms of Zionism which did not call for the current levels of violence seen in Israel today.
- Any effort to imply Israel controls the world or even other countries. Not only are multiple countries outwardly anti-Israel but even close allies like the USA have opposed Israeli interests before. Notably in 1956 and 1996.
Bad Defenses of Israel
In contrast, a number of arguments used to defend Israel are quite bad, the most notable being the idea that Israel is uniquely singled out for criticism and this is a sign of anti-semitism. While there definitely are anti-semitic critics of Israel, this does not make all critics of Israel anti-semitic. Indeed, a lot of left-wing western criticism of Israel stems from the fact that western governments back Israel strongly in contrast to the common rhetoric of promoting human rights. These people are also critical of the west for its support of regimes like Saudi Arabia.
Libertarian Socialist Organisations
Note: Given the Zionist outlook of many of these organisations, some would not call these libertarian socialist regardless of their practices of self-management