In dig at Egypt, PM says neighbors unlikely to embrace true democracy soon
Forces sweeping the region are 'not exactly Jeffersonian,' Netanyahu tells Independence Day bash, but 'freedom will prevail'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced thinly veiled criticism of Egypt’s new ruler on Tuesday, saying Israel’s neighbors affected by the Arab Spring are unlikely to become “genuine” democracies in the near future.
“Real democracy is not merely about holding popular elections. It is about what happens between elections,” Netanyahu said. “It means ensuring that no one is above the law. It means protecting free speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion. It means upholding the rights of women, minorities, gays, children, everyone.”
If the nations of the Arab world were to uphold both popular sovereignty and individual rights, they could join the US and Israel in being “genuine democracies,” he said in a recorded video message screened during the Independence Day reception hosted by US Ambassador Daniel Shapiro.
“Now, will this happen? In the near term, I think we’ll all agree, there’s ample reason for skepticism,” Netanyahu said. “The forces currently [rising] throughout the region are not exactly…how shall I put it? They’re not exactly Jeffersonians.”
Earlier in his remarks, he had quoted Thomas Jefferson’s famous introduction to the Declaration of Independence.
“But in the long term, in the long term I believe there’s reason for hope,” Netanyahu said, adding that the spread of information technology will make it increasingly difficult for despots “to keep young minds closed, cloistered in darkness.”
“Ultimately, the power of freedom is bound to prevail. Ultimately, people throughout the Middle East will enjoy the rights that we in free societies too often take for granted,” he said.
Last week, Mohammed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, was sworn in as Egypt’s new president. He is the Arab world’s first freely elected Islamist leader. Netanyahu sent Morsi a letter last week, saying that he expects the new government in Cairo to respect the peace treaty with Israel.
Shapiro on Tuesday evening hosted a lavish Independence Day celebration attended by some 3,000 guests, among them President Shimon Peres and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.