Israel the Most Democratic Nation in Middle East, Says Freedom House Report

By Mike Griffith, Staff Writer 

Israel tops all Middle Eastern countries in its respect for political rights, civil liberties, and freedom of the press, according to the widely respected, non-partisan group Freedom House, which recently released its annual ratings on the state of freedom around the world.

In each of these three categories, Freedom House rated Israel significantly higher than any other Middle Eastern country.  In fact, and not surprisingly, it rated Israel as the only free country in the region.  It rated Morocco, Jordan, Yemen, and Lebanon as "partly free." 

African-American political analyst Star Parker says the following about the Freedom House 2009 report:

Freedom House is a widely respected non-partisan organization that publishes annual reports on the state of freedom around the world.

They rate the state of freedom on a scale of 1-7, with 1 being most free.

According to the latest Freedom House data, released this past January, in the area of "political rights", Israel rates a 1. On "civil liberties", Israel gets a 2.

And Israel’s Arab neighbors? On "political rights", Egypt ranks 6, Jordan 5, Syria 7, and Lebanon 5. On "civil liberties", Egypt ranks 5, Jordan 5, Syria 6, and Lebanon 4.

Oil rich Saudi Arabia, to whose king the President of the United States bowed deeply at the waist, ranks 7 in "political rights" and 6 in "civil liberties."

Freedom House also reports on freedom of the press. Of 18 countries in the Middle Eastern/North African area, they report only one country with a free press. Israel. Eleven of these countries have no free press, including Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. Egypt and Lebanon are rated partly free.

Despite being the youngest country in the region, Israel’s per capita gross domestic product is five times higher than the average of all its neighbors. Also, despite having no great endowment of natural resources, its GDP per capita, at $24,097, is higher than Saudi Arabia’s, $22, 296, which has, by far, the world’s largest oil production and reserves. ("Obama Middle East Policy Shows Change in Values," April 27, 2009, http://townhall.com/columnists/StarParker/2009/04/27/obama_middle_east_policy_shows_change_in_values?page=full&comments=true)

The full Freedom House report can be found here:

Freedom in the World 2009 Survey Release

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