From Skokie to Um-el-Fahm

When members of the National Socialist Party of America (the Nazi Party) declared their intention to march through the predominantly-Jewish Chicago suburb of Skokie in 1977, Jewish groups vociferously denounced the "attempted re-enactment of the Nazi nightmare."And while the American Nazis claimed the right of free speech in accordance with the First Amendment, the Jews and their supporters claimed that their right to live without intimidation and harassment did override the Nazis’ right to freedom of speech and expression.Eventually, after exhaustive legal actions by both sides, the Nazis were allowed to parade in Skokie.Ironically, the American Nazi group never did march in Skokie as its leader, Frank Collin, himself the son of a Jewish Holocaust survivor, decided at the last moment that the court verdict was a big victory for freedom of speech and that this was good enough for the group.The reason I am invoking this story, which took place 35 years ago, is because the government of Israel is finding itself today in the shoes of the American Nazi group, while the Arabs of Israel are forced to play the role of the people of Skokie.

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