Arab Spring elections boost democracy, and Israeli fears(Haaretz)

– “As in the other election campaigns in the Middle East that have taken place since the Arab Spring, the Egyptian parliamentary elections that begin Monday are expected to result in victory for an Islamic party – in this case, the one affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The wave of revolutions, which began a year ago next month, have so far resulted in a wave of successes for Islamic parties: Justice and Development in Morocco, Ennahda (Renaissance) in Tunisia, and now Freedom and Justice, the party of Egypt’Ss Muslim Brotherhood. It looks like Freedom and Justice will become the largest party in both chambers of the Egyptian legislature once all the rounds of the election are over, in March.

More than a few enthusiastic words of praise have been written about the Arab Spring – both in the Arab world and, at least at first, in the West. It must be acknowledged, however, that political Islam, the emerging alternative to the ousted regimes, does not look overly promising – certainly not through Israeli eyes. These political movements are not all the same, however.”

Read more…