They're a Weird Mob

Australian PM Tony Abbott has described Israel as a "bastion of liberal pluralism and democratic freedoms." (PM pledges to stand by Israel, The Australian Jewish News, 15/11/12)

As Judge Judy might have said, 'Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining':

"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been condemned by family members and religious groups over his son's [Yair] alleged romance with a non-Jewish Norwegian woman... Mr Netanyahu's brother-in-law, Hagai Ben-Artzi, took to the airways to denounce the relationship. Dr Ben-Artzi, the brother of the PM's wife, Sara, said: 'You should know that if he does such a thing, if he doesn't break off the relationship, then he is spitting on the graves of his grandmother and grandfather who loved him so much and raised him.'... Orthodox Judaism strongly opposes marriage between Jews and gentiles, which it regards as a threat to the survival of the Jewish people. Aryah Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, told a conservative radio station that if the reports were true it was a matter of national import. 'I try not to raise personal criticism, but if, heaven forbid, this is true, it is no longer a personal matter - it is a symbol of the Jewish people,' he said. 'I have friends who invest tens of millions, hundreds of millions, to fight assimilation throughout the world. If, heaven forbid, this is true, woe is us. I hope it is not true.' Marriage in Israel is performed under the auspices of the religious community to which the couple adheres, meaning interfaith couples must go abroad if they wish to marry, or convert to the same faith. The rate of Israeli intermarriage, however, is small, unlike in many Jewish communities around the world. Alarm bells are frequently raised about the half of American Jews who marry outside their faith. Lehava, a far-right group that works 'to prevent assimilation in the Holy Land,' wrote an open letter to Mr Netanyahu urging him to intervene to end the relationship, noting that 'your grandchildren will not be Jewish.'... It added that if Yair were to marry a gentile, he would join the 6 million Jews lost in the Holocaust." (Outrage in Israel as PM's son dates gentile, Catherine Philip, The Times/The Australian, 31/1/14)

Meanwhile, the comment thread following the Israeli news report Lehava 'Hotline' to help prevent intermarriage (David Lev, israelnationalnews.com, 9/9/13), pulsates with liberal pluralist opinion and respect for democratic rights:

"Intermarriage is not only with Arabs! Even more dangerous are the xtians who come here with the single purpose of stealing Jewish souls. Look into the numbers that have been assimilated by these people who smile and buy their way into the country." Sara, Jerusalem

"Do we even want to save Jewish girls who marry arabs? How truly Jewish can a girl even be if she allows herself to be seduced by an arab, and then marries him? Islam is a savage, primitive religion which says that HaShem is actually allah, muhammad was greater than Moshe..." Samuel Fistel, USA

"Don't forget the men that marry non-Jews... the internet brides and the young men traveling after the army very often bring back their new brides, of course non-Jewish. Their children are not Jewish and are creating a problem for those that want to be sure they are marrying a Jew... Read Ezra, this is not a new problem. Eliezer, Betar Illit