PRAY FOR THEM : Israel = Discrimination

One year has elapsed since Israeli parliament has adopted a racist law defining Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. Have you seen articles in even respected independent newspapers in Europe criticising that apartheid law. No! Is it surprising? No!

It is important to convey to our young readers (as often as possible what Israel stands for) that Israel is in truth not a democratic State (elections held regularly are not the solely yardstick to say whether a State is democratic or not) But a racist State for all intents and purposes. The Jewish nation State law was voted by a majority of votes at the Knesset – 62 votes to 55!
What is the law about?

  • The law makes hebrew the country’s national language.
  • Allows the establishment of Jewish communities for Jews only within the illegal occupied territories as being in the interests of the State of Israel.
  • Strips Arabic language as an official language. Arabic language was downgraded but can still be used within the State of Israel. Many critics believe that the extreme sionists will continue to pressurize the legislators to remove Arabic language completely from any official dealing.
  • It stipulates that an undivided Jerusalem (major provocation to the Palestinians) is the capital of Israel.
  • It also states that “Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self determination in it”. It is apposite to note the key provoking words :
  • “Historic homeland of the Jewish people.
  • Exclusive right meaning can do anything it wishes.
  • National self determination which is in fact an affront to common sense.

The law in fact marginalises more than ever the 1.8 million Palestinian citizens of Israel .Apartheid law which turns the Palestinians as second class citizens. ADALAH, the legal centre for Arab minority rights in Israel rightly described the law as “a bid to advance” ethnic superiority by promoting racist policies. By defining sovereignty and democratic self rule as belonging solely to the Jewish people-WHEREVER THEY LIVE AROUND THE WORLD-

Israel has made discrimination a constitutional value and has professed its commitment to favouring Jewish supremacy as the bedrock institutions.” Israel’s Palestinian population comprises mainly the descendants of those who remained on their own lands and luckily avoided the ethnic cleansing campaign where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to leave their homes.

How far Israel is moving to the far right is encapsulated by the clauses which were dropped at the last minute because they would have given Israel a bad name. The rejected clauses would have enshrined in law the establishment of Jewish only communities and instructed courts to rule not according to law of the land but according to Jewish ritual law. They said the Jewish ritual law would have been used only when there were no legal precedency in other words every time.

Is there another discriminatory law against the Palestinians? Yes and not one but over 65 (sixty five according to ADALAH) Israeli laws that discriminate against Palestinian citizens in Israel and Palestinian residents of the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) simply on the legal footing that they are Palestinians. Some examples of the discriminatory laws:

  1. Palestinians have no right to acquire or lease land.
  2. The absentees’ property law of 1950 denied any right to the Palestinian refugees who were expelled after 29th November 1947 and all their lands, houses, bank accounts and any other property. No rights! But Israel has a law which is called LAW OF RETURN (1950) gave Jews (and only Jews) from anywhere in the world the right to become in a few seconds Israeli citizens with full support of the State.
  3. No right of residency to Palestinians specially those living in Jerusalem. And those who have the right to reside in Jerusalem can see that right revoked without any from or recourse. Furthermore in march 2018 Israel passed a law allowing full powers to the interior minister to revoke the residency rights of any Palestinian in Jerusalem on the grounds of a “BREACH OF LOYALTY” to Israel. The interior minister can even strip the residency status of any Palestinian who is only perceived or deemed to be a threat. It goes without saying that this particular law does not apply to the Jews.
  4. No right to commemorate Nakba. The Nakba law was introduced in 2011 to stop the Palestinians to mourn the ethnic cleansing of 1948 and the creation of the State of Israel. So Palestinians have no right to celebrate their history and culture.
  5. No right to family life. The ban on family unifications was introduced during the second intifada in 2000.
  6. In 1952 Israel authorized the world Zionist organisation (some people will try to convince you that this is not true… check it from the Israeli parliament website). The Jewish agency and other Zionist organisations which existed at the beginning of last century to function in Israel as quasi state institutions with full rights and powers to advance the goals of the Zionist organisation. The Knesset gave to the JEWISH NATIONAL FUND quasi-governmental powers to purchase lands and the lands bought cannot be transferred.
  7. In 2011 the Knesset even passed a law prohibiting anyone from calling for a boycott of Israel, its institutions or any person because of their affiliation with Israel. The Nazis passed more than 400 law against the Jews after coming into power in 1933. The Nazis began a program of “Aryanisation” to strip Jews of their rights “and today sadly Israel is doing the same thing against the Palestinians. Israel has only goal: JUDEANIZE all of the land of historic Palestine…

Yes judeanize… and then greater Israel.

RAMA VALAYDEN