Liberal Democracy and the Limits of Tolerance: Essays in Honor and Memory of Yitzhak Rabin

315 Pages·2000·23 MB·English

by  Raphael Cohen-Almagor

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Liberal Democracy and the
Limits of Tolerance

Liberal Democracy and the
Limits of Tolerance
Essays in Honor and Memory
of Yitzhak Rabin
Edited by
Raphael Cohen-Almagor
Ann Arbor
THE liNIvERSITr OF MICHIGAN PREss
Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2000
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States of America by
The University of Michigan Press
Manufactured in the United States of America
@ Printed on acid-free paper
2003 2002 2001 2000 4 3 2 1
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise,
without the written permission of the publisher.
A elP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Liberal democracy and the limits of tolerance: essays in honor
and memory ofYitzhak Rabin / edited by Raphael Cohen-Almagor.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-472-11016-0 (acid-free paper)
1. Freedom of speech. 2. Freedom of the press. 3. Toleration.
I. Cohen-Almagor, Raphael. II. Rabin, Yitzhak. III. Title.
JC591 .L52 2000
323.44'3-dc21 99-050595
ISBN13 978-0-472-11016-2 (cloth)
ISBN13 978-0-472-02391-2 (electronic)
Contents
Acknowledgments .......................................... vii
Introduction
Raphael Cohen-Almagor .................................... 1
The Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin
Mrs. Lea Rabin .......................................... 24
The Cost of Communicative Tolerance
Frederick Schauer ........................................ 28
Protest and Tolerance: Legal Values and the
Control of Public-Order Policing
David Feldman ........................................... 43
Freedom of Speech and Political Violence
Owen Fiss ............................................... 70
Boundaries of Freedom of Expression before
and after Prime Minister Rabin's Assassination
Raphael Cohen-Almagor ................................... 79
The Dual Threat to Modern Citizenship:
Liberal Indifference and Nonconsensual Violence
Harvey Chisick ........................................... 99
The Paradox of Israeli Civil Disobedience and
Political Revolt in Light of the Jewish Tradition
Sam Lehman-Wi/zig ...................................... 114
Should Hate Speech Be Free Speech?
John Stuart Mill and the Limits of Tolerance
L. W Sumner ........................................... 133
vi Contents
Holocaust Denial, Equality, and Harm:
Boundaries of Liberty and Tolerance in a Liberal Democracy
Irwin Cotler ............................................ 151
The Regulation of Racist Expression
Richard Moon .......................................... 182
Freedom of the Press and Terrorism
Joseph Eliot Magnet ...................................... 200
Reporting on Political Extremists in the
United States: The Unabomber, the Ku Klux Klan,
and the Militias
David E. Boeyink ........................................ 215
Pragmatic Liberalism and the Press in Violent Times
Edmund B. Lambeth ...................................... 232
Protecting Wider Purposes: Hate Speech,
Communication, and the International Community
David Goldberg .......................................... 251
Riding the Electronic Tiger: Censorship in Global,
Distributed Networks
J. Michael Jaffe ......................................... 275
Contributors ............................................. 295
Index of Court Cases ....................................... 299
Index ................................................... 301
Acknowledgments
In early 1996, I began to think of organizing an international conference to
tackle the intricate question of how democracies should deal with intoler
ance and political extremism. The idea was twofold: to bring together
some of the leading scholars in Israel and abroad to reflect together on this
issue and to enable them to enrich one another, and the public at large,
with their careful consideration and insights. No less importantly, I
wanted to cherish Prime Minister Rabin's memory and to dedicate this
conference to the very idea that brought about his tragic fate: the promo
tion of peace between Israel and its neighbors. I also wanted to emphasize
the idea of promoting peace among Israeli citizens themselves. How can
we establish peace with our neighbors if we are unable to live peacefully
with one another?
This book assembles some of the essays that were presented at the
international conference that commemorated one year since Prime Minis
ter Rabin's assassination. The conference was entitled "Ethics, Law, and
Communication in an Era of Political Violence and Extremism: An Exam
ination of the Boundaries of Liberty and Tolerance in Liberal Democra
cies." It was held at the University of Haifa on 28-31 January 1997.
I wish to thank my colleagues at the University of Haifa who shared
the same concerns and welcomed the initiative. The Dean of Social Sci
ences, Professor Baruch Nevo, and the Rector of the University, Professor
Mordechai Shechter, not only encouraged me but actively supported this
enterprise. Vice-President for Development Ms. Yael Metser and Coordi
nator of the University's Israeli Desk Ms. Shulamit Yarkoni both pro
vided invaluable help at every stage of the organization of this event. In
addition, the Haifa Research Authority, especially Dean Aharon Ben
Ze'ev, Secretary of the Social Sciences Faculty Ms. Shoshi Landman, and
my loyal personal assistants, Dafna Gold-Malchior and Keren Eyal, pro
vided valuable support after the conference. Without their goodwill,
advice, and service, this volume could never have been"assembled.
Finally, I am most grateful to the editors of the University of Michi
gan Press for their hard and skillful work.

Introduction
Raphael Cohen-Almagor
Preliminaries
Democracy in its modern, liberal formation is a young phenomenon. It
was crystallized only after the Second World War. The idea that govern
ments would be elected through popular vote alarmed and frightened the
nineteenth-century decision makers. Now we are so accustomed to the
idea of democracy that we tend to forget how young and fragile it is.
One of the problems of any political system is that the principles that
underlie and characterize it might also, through their application, endan
ger it and bring about its destruction. Democracy, in its liberal form, is no
exception. Moreover, because democracy is a relatively young phenome
non, it lacks experience in dealing with pitfalls involved in the working of
the system. This is what I call the "catch" of democracy.
Some explanation is required to clarify the meaning of "the catch of
democracy." Any political system-theocratic, liberal, Marxist, Leninist,
Maoist, etc.-is based on a given set of principles. The working of these
principles is designed to promote values that those systems hold dear.
However, these same principles might endanger the very foundations of
the political systems. The case is clear when authoritarian systems are pon
dered. People want to free themselves and break the coercive bonds. But
the same risk is also involved in the working of liberal-democratic princi
ples.1
Like every young phenomenon, democracy needs to develop gradu
ally, with great caution and care. Since democracies lack experience, they
are uncertain with regard to the appropriate means to be utilized in order
to fight down explicit antidemocratic and illiberal practices. Quite surpris
ingly, literature about how democracies should cope with violence and
political extremism is scarce. Abundant literature exists about the pros of
democracy, the value ofliberty, the virtue oftolerance.2 Much less in com
parison is devoted to the intricate issue of the appropriate boundaries of
liberty and tolerance.