Today is the 12th day of Israel's murderous attacks on Gaza.
The Palestinian body count is 336, 70 of whom are kids. This has become a murderous spree of killing for the zionist terrorist army, supported by government of this racist colonial entity and by their people , many of whom have been turning increasingly into blood thirsty mobs urging the murder of Palestinian
On the eve of Abu Khudair’s lynching, Member of Knesset (Israel’s parliament) and government faction whip Ayelet Shaked issued a call over Facebook to ethnically cleanse the land, declaring “the entire Palestinian people is the enemy.” She advocated their complete destruction, “including its elderly and its women,” adding that these must be slaughtered, otherwise they might give birth to more “little snakes.”
... Since the beginning of July, raging crowds of Jewish Israelis just like these have marched through Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Nazareth and Beer Sheva, chanting “Death to Arabs” and “Death to Leftists,” swarming and attacking vulnerable victims. While a tiny contingent of radical Israelis have formed a loose “anti-fascist” network that tries to patrol city streets and prevent additional lynchings, they are extremely few in numbers and cannot be everywhere at all times.
While Israeli leaders unleash conscripted soldiers to bombard Gaza, they dispatch ultra-nationalist vigilantes to conquer cities inside Israel. With the incitement to murder Palestinians (and the few Israeli allies they have) continue unabated, it seems to be only a matter of time before the bubbling bloodlust boils overs into a bloodbath.
I am sure that you, the people behind Archinect, are well aware of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, this racist colonial entity that has been described by Moshé Machover as being far worse than the south african apartheid system: "talk of Israeli ‘apartheid’ serves to divert attention from much greater dangers. For, as far as most Palestinians are concerned, the Zionist policy is far worse than apartheid. Apartheid can be reversed. Ethnic cleansing is immeasurably harder to reverse; at least not in the short or medium term."
The global BDS movement is a peaceful movement that has been, in the face of Israeli racist, oppressive and genocidal policies against the Palestinians, garnering great traction around the world as people everywhere are increasingly grasping the nature of the Zionist establishment that is called Israel. Through a deliberate, effective boycotting Israeli products, academics, businesses, items of interest, the movement contributes to the economic and moral isolation of Israel.
“In light of Israel’s persistent violations of international law, and Given that, since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions have condemned Israel’s colonial and discriminatory policies as illegal and called for immediate, adequate and effective remedies, and Given that all forms of international intervention and peace-making have until now failed to convince or force Israel to comply with humanitarian law, to respect fundamental human rights and to end its occupation and oppression of the people of Palestine, and In view of the fact that people of conscience in the international community have historically shouldered the moral responsibility to fight injustice, as exemplified in the struggle to abolish apartheid in South Africa through diverse forms of boycott, divestment and sanctions..."
I notice that there are Israeli businesses being hosted within Archinect's firm listings (for example). As are listings of Israeli universities within the academic section. I highly urge Archinect, the people behind it, Paul, the editors, the writers....to desist from ignoring your responsibilities apropos taking a stand against this racist entity and to remove all Israeli related material from Archinect. You, like everyone else has that responsibility, because you have the knowledge and you have the right of choice. To ignore this is to be complacent and to be regressive.
As a virtual space that spans the social, the professional and the academic, as a gathering of professionals including architects, designers, artists, engineers and others, as a gathering of minds that by implication suggests a progressive humanist endeavor, please instate an anti-zionist, anti-israeli policy (that covers israeli academics, businesses, media, etc) in the spirit of the BDS movement.
Alternative
Oct 2, 14 7:12 pm
Iranian officials have also vowed to wipe Israel off the map. Bibi sucks-- don't get it twisted-- but he's not totally off on this one.
TEHRAN — Iran's conservative new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Wednesdaythat Israel must be "wiped off the map" and that attacks by Palestinians would destroy it, the ISNA press agency reported.
Ahmadinejad was speaking to an audience of about 4,000 students at a program called "The World Without Zionism," in preparation for an annual anti-Israel demonstration on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
His tone was reminiscent of that of the early days of Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. Iran and Israel have been bitter enemies since then, and anti-Israel slogans have been common at rallies.
Senior officials had avoided provocative language over the past decade, but Ahmadinejad appears to be taking a more confrontational tone than Iranian leaders have in recent years.
The deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed revenge against Israel for its ongoing military incursion into Gaza, which has already killed hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis.
“You [people of Israel] are trees without any roots which were planted in the Islamic lands by the British,” Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami said at this week’s Friday prayer sermon in Tehran, Fars News Agency reported. That statement referred to the Balfour Declaration, which led to the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire after World War I and the eventual creation of the state Israel in 1948.
“We will chase you house to house and will take revenge for every drop of blood of our martyrs in Palestine,” Salami said. “and this is the beginning point of Islamic nations awakening for your defeat.”
The deputy commander promised that Palestine will no longer remain calm and cited a statement by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic regime: “Imam [Khomeini] with the statement that Israel must be wiped from the face of the Earth gave a true message to the world. This message enlightened the Muslims and became the concept on the streets of Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.”
Alternative
Oct 2, 14 7:29 pm
Also, Orhan, you're Turkish. Should we talk about Turkish human rights abuses against Kurd separatists while we're at it? Has the Turkish government been justified or unjustified in its actions related to Kurdish separatists?
And, if you don't mind, please answer the following hypothetical: had Kurdish separatists launched missiles toward Turkish cities, what would have been the appropriate response by the Turkish government?
Alternative
Oct 2, 14 7:48 pm
Let me qualify the above inquiries saying that I am a proponent of both Palestinian and Kurdish rights, but recognize that sovereigns needs to make difficult decisions related to national security, hence the hypothetical.
Orhan Ayyüce
Oct 2, 14 8:37 pm
Turkish Government should do everything in its power to make Kurdish rights a priority which they are doing at the moment, I believe it and I am a supporter of all that. Do you think I automatically support everything Turkish Government does?
And, did you know one of the presidential candidates in most recent elections last month was the ex mayor of Diyarbakir and a member of Kurdish party. That's is light years ahead of Palestinians place in Israeli society. Read about municipal offices and parliamentary seats outspoken Kurdish politicians hold in Turkey before you assume. They don't have apartheid in Turkey.
It just proves that you are an ignorant block who better fart than talk about things beyond your capacity and knowledge. Go read NY Post and watch Fox News, they are just about your territory.
Orhan Ayyüce
Oct 2, 14 8:40 pm
Btw, you ask a lot of questions about me and my nationality etc... Who the fuck are you? Can you talk about yourself a little? Your name, nationality, religion, family situation, city you live in..?
If you want to stay anonymous do not ask me anymore personal questions. Understood?
Alternative
Oct 2, 14 10:19 pm
12 of the 120 members of the Israeli members of the Knesset at Arab or Druze. How does that amount to an apartheid system?
2nd October 2014 | International Solidarity Movement | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
“The child are having problems concentrating on their school work due to their emotional state and the stress due to the daily attacks by the occupation forces, which are continuously escalating.” Stated Hebron teacher, Shukri Zaroo, to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
Children in al-Khalil (Hebron) are forced to pass through a military checkpoint each morning and afternoon in order to reach and leave their schools. International activists try to monitor these military checkpoints, both to document the events and to stand with the children.
ISM activists monitor the Salaymeh checkpoint (29) each school day morning and afternoon. Since school began on August 24th, this is what the ISM activists have witnessed: (continue to source)
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the United States for the UN General Assembly on Sunday, the Israeli government press office emailed journalists a list of supposed experts to contact on various issues related to his visit.
All those listed hail from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, a hotbed of right wing nationalism in Israeli academia.
Appearing twice on the Israeli government-approved list is Mordechai Kedar, a professor of Arabic literature at Bar-Ilan University who recently advocated for the Israeli army to use rape as a tool of war.
The Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center field teams have documented full or partial damages to 75 kindergartens and day-care centers caused during the 51 day Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip this summer.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 12:03 am
Not a word on the material that I posted about Hamas.
Nearly a month after Israel’s military offensive against the Gaza Strip ended in an indefinite ceasefire on 26 August, Israeli forces continue to shoot at and detain Palestinian fishermen.
The Israeli military has captured ten fishermen and confiscated four fishing boats, while firing live ammunition in dozens of attacks on both the sea and shore of the besieged coastal enclave.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 12:18 am
I'm genuinely asking for dialogue.
chatter of clouds
Oct 3, 14 12:25 am
Sorry Alternative, don't have much time. Maybe some other time.
Published Wednesday 01/10/2014 (updated) 02/10/2014 10:36
(MaanImages/File)
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli military vehicles entered the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday and soldiers opened fire towards Palestinian agricultural areas, locals told Ma'an.
Twelve military vehicles entered Gaza from a gate east of the town of al-Fukhari in the Khan Younis district, witnesses said.
The vehicles reportedly crossed some 200 meters into the Strip, and soldiers scanned the area before shooting towards Palestinian farms in an apparent ceasefire violation.
These incidents are considered to be breaches of the ceasefire deal, which was signed between the Palestinian factions and the Israeli occupation authorities with Egyptian mediation on 26 August - File photo
Israel occupation forces positioned at the borders of the Gaza Strip shot on Monday a Palestinian teenager in the city of Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza Strip, Filistine Online news reported.
Citing Palestinian medical sources, Filistine Online said that Jalal Abu Jarad, aged 16, was shot in the left foot when he was working on his father's farm in the Bedouin Village in Beit Lahia.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 12:31 am
Apparently you're not interested. But one can hope.
Published Wednesday 01/10/2014 (updated) 02/10/2014 13:13
JENIN (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces arrested 21 Palestinians in the West Bank overnight and clashed with locals, sources said Wednesday.
In the Salfit district, Israeli forces detained ten Palestinians.
The Fatah movement said in a statement that six of its activists were arrested in Qarawat Bani Hassan in the district, saying they were detained for protest action during the recent Israeli assault on Gaza.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 12:37 am
You're just silencing any opposition. How is this productive?
The statement concludes with the academics adding their 'voices to those of the Palestinian resistance in appealing for an immediate lifting of the blockade on Gaza'
More than 50 academics at the University of Cambridge have signed a statement condemning Israel's recent attack on Gaza, and urging a lifting of the blockade and "justice for the Palestinian people".
Signatories to the statement, published Sunday, include experts from a variety of disciplines. The motivation, according to the professors, is "a responsibility – whether as practitioners of our various subjects, as employees of this University, as academics, or just as human beings – to speak out against the recent actions and posture of the Israeli state".
The statement highlights the death and destruction caused by Israel's "bombardment", including hundreds of child fatalities and "entire families" wiped out – atrocities that "occur against the background of decades of Israeli occupation and illegal expansion".
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 12:50 am
You're just developing a record of intellectual cowardice.
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG), along with several other prominent legal groups, is urging the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to “initiate her own investigation” into “crimes committed and ongoing during and immediately before Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.”
In a letter written in August, during the last week of Israel’s 51 days of attacks on the Gaza Strip, NLG president Azadeh Shahshahani states that “Israel’s clearly disproportionate use of force against the 1.8 million residents of Gaza appears to have little to do with any claim of security, but seems to be calculated to exact revenge against Palestinian civilians.”
The letter lists specific examples of numerous violations of the Rome Statute, the ICC’s core treaty which defines international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.
The NLG and endorsing organizations also write that the international court’s investigation “should include whether certain US officials have aided and abetted the commission of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity in Gaza.”
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 1:00 am
Aren't you interested in engaging with the other side?
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 1:02 am
You're also re-posting links from the earlier thread.
Orhan Ayyüce
Oct 3, 14 3:58 am
dude, not that i have a lot of secrets but if you don't share personal information with others then don't "ask" others to give it to you. that is plainly snide and passive agressive behavior.
-----------------
anyway, do the palestinians in israel have the same rights as the israelis? can they freely travel? go to same schools? have israeli passports? serve in israeli military? do they have constitutional rights? can they vote? are their rights protected? are they equals in every legal sense? are their lands protected under law? can they be elected to anywhere from local governments to highest of the office like the president's?
well guess what, kurds in turkey don't have any of those restrictions and as turkish citizens they have every right like the rest of the population including the jewish citizens who were given home under the ottoman empire rescuing them from spanish persecution and other european slaughters since 14th century.
unfortunately the brutal and illegal treatment of palestinians by israel didn't go very well with the public opinion in turkey and many other countries..
----------------
i don't know if you and others realize this but the very existence of israel is in grave danger, not because of kassams or hamas, any other thing or extreme forces in the region who are not accountable to anybody but rapidly changing world opinion on treatment of palestinians.
i support the non violent boycott of israel so they can wake up and realize they have to behave in a civilized manner and stop extremely inhumane treatment of palestinians for their own good. it would be sad to see highly educated, intelligent, talented and creative people like jews to lose those qualities and change their character from those to a brutally disturbed psychopathically militaristic society.
actually tammuz and i have been the most meaningful friends of israeli people here but it takes open minds to realize that.
old saying goes something like this, "the real friends give the hardest to take advise."
though it means nothing and it doesn't apply to barbaric acts and powers that are in place who do not care about others and steal their lands, dehumanize them, kill mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, the entire families, ruin their homes, mass destroy their humanity in every sense and lie to the world to cover up their crimes. and yes, that is an accurate description that is documented in this thread by all accounts.
to people who are turning deaf ear to those accounts in a denial and blaming the messenger but not the message, individually and probably you are not bad people per se, i have many proofs of that in this forum, but don't let this blind guilt eat your soul.
in the light of documented events and despicable acts, speaking up for palestinian people and criticizing the injustice does not and should not automatically make you an enemy of israeli or jewish people. creating evil enemies.., that is the business model aipac and their media thrive on and want you to believe. they have their special interests and greedy eyes on the prize. the oppression does not last forever. it falls, change hands and starts again.
this vicious cycle can be changed.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 7:53 am
anyway, do the palestinians in israel have the same rights as the israelis? can they freely travel? go to same schools? have israeli passports? serve in israeli military? do they have constitutional rights? can they vote? are their rights protected? are they equals in every legal sense? are their lands protected under law? can they be elected to anywhere from local governments to highest of the office like the president's?
yes to all, with the exception to the first question ("are there equal rights?"). i would have also answered no if you asked whether blacks had equal rights in the US, or whether Kurds had equal rights in Turkey, whether Polynesians had equal rights in Australia, or Filipinos had equal rights in Gulf nations.
In Israel, there is pervasive discrimination in israel but their rights are essentially the same under the law. there is, however, de facto discrimination which is not unlike many other countries in the world. I'm copying a an excerpt from Wikipedia b/c it's a decent summary. I am NOT saying that the system is perfect-- it is HIGHLY flawed.
There is obviously Jewish extremism that is bad for Jews and Palestinians alike. Note that the judiciary has taken steps to block unlawfully discriminatory laws, but has sustained certain restrictions on Arab immigration to Israel based on national security concerns. These restrictions can be overriden pursuant to certain contributions to Israel.
Reminder: naturalized US citizens must pledge their allegiance to the USA and agree to take arms in support of the nation before they are eligible for citizenship.
There are three mainstream Arab parties in Israel: Hadash (a joint Arab-Jewish party with a large Arab presence), Balad, and the United Arab List, which is a coalition of several different political organizations including the Islamic Movement in Israel. In addition to these, there is Ta'al. All of these parties primarily represent Arab-Israeli and Palestinian interests, and the Islamic Movement is an Islamist organization with two factions: one that opposes Israel's existence, and another that opposes its existence as a Jewish state. Two Arab parties ran in Israel's first election in 1949, with one, the Democratic List of Nazareth, winning two seats. Until the 1960s all Arab parties in the Knesset were aligned with Mapai, the ruling party.
Ahmad Tibi, leader of the Arab party Ta'al currently serves as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset
Palestinian Arabs sat in the state's first parliamentary assembly; as of 2011, 13 of the 120 members of the Israeli Parliament are Arab citizens, most representing Arab political parties, and one of Israel's Supreme Court judges is a Palestinian Arab.[119]
Some Arab Members of the Knesset, past and present, are under police investigation for their visits to countries designated as enemy countries by Israeli law. This law was amended following MK Mohammad Barakeh's trip to Syria in 2001, such that MKs must explicitly request permission to visit these countries from the Minister of the Interior. In August 2006, Balad MKs Azmi Bishara, Jamal Zahalka, and Wasil Taha visited Syria without requesting nor receiving such permission, and a criminal investigation of their actions was launched. Former Arab Member of Knesset Mohammed Miari was questioned 18 September 2006 by police on suspicion of having entered a designated enemy country without official permission. He was questioned "under caution" for 2.5 hours in thePetah Tikva station about his recent visit to Syria. Another former Arab Member of Knesset, Muhammad Kanaan, was also summoned for police questioning regarding the same trip.[120] In 2010, six Arab MKs visited Libya, an openly anti-Zionist Arab state, and met with Muammar al-Gaddafi and various senior government officials. Gaddafi urged them to seek a one-state solution, and for Arabs to "multiply" in order to counter any "plots" to expel them.[121]
According to a study commissioned by the Arab Association of Human Rights entitled "Silencing Dissent," over the past three years, eight of nine of these Arab Knesset members have been beaten by Israeli forces during demonstrations.[122] Most recently according to the report, legislation has been passed, including three election laws [e.g., banning political parties], and two Knesset related laws aimed to "significantly curb the minority [Arab population] right to choose a public representative and for those representatives to develop independent political platforms and carry out their duties".[123]
Representation in the civil service sphere
In the public employment sphere, by the end of 2002, 6.1% of 56,362 Israeli civil servants were Arab.[124] In January 2004, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared that every state-run company must have at least one Arab citizen of Israel on its board of directors.[125]
Representation in political, judicial and military positions
Arab Israeli CaptainAmos Yarkoni, born Abd el-Majid Hidr.
Raleb Majadele, the first non-Druze Arab minister in Israel's history
Cabinet:Nawaf Massalha, an Arab Muslim, has served in various junior ministerial roles, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, since 1999.[126]Until 2001, no Arab had been included in a Prime Minister's cabinet, or invited to join any political coalition. In 2001, this changed, when Salah Tarif, a Druze Arab citizen of Israel, was appointed a member of Sharon's cabinet without a portfolio. Tarif was later ejected after being convicted of corruption.[127] In 2007 the first non-Druze Arab minister in Israel's history, Raleb Majadele, was appointed a minister without portfolio, and a month later appointed minister for Science, Culture and Sport.[55][128] The appointment of Majadele was criticized by far-right Israelis, some of whom are also within the Cabinet, but this drew condemnation across the mainstream Israeli political spectrum.[56][129] Meanwhile Arab lawmakers called the appointment an attempt to "whitewash Israel's discriminatory policies against its Arab minority".[130][131]
Knesset: Arab citizens of Israel have been elected to every Knesset, and currently hold 12 of its 120 seats. The first female Arab MP was Hussniya Jabara, a Muslim Arab from central Israel, who was elected in 1999.[132]
Supreme Court:Abdel Rahman Zuabi, a Muslim from northern Israel, was the first Arab on the Israeli Supreme Court, serving a 9-month term in 1999. In 2004, Salim Joubran, a Christian Arab from Haifa descended from Lebanese Maronites, became the first Arab to hold a permanent appointment on the Court. Joubran's expertise lies in the field of criminal law.[133]George Karra, a Christian Arab from Jaffa has served as a Tel Aviv District Court judge since 2000. He was the presiding judge in the trial of Moshe Katsav. In 2011, he was nominated as a candidate for the Israeli Supreme Court.[134]
Foreign Service:Ali Yahya, an Arab Muslim, became the first Arab ambassador for Israel in 1995 when he was appointed ambassador to Finland. He served until 1999, and in 2006 was appointed ambassador to Greece. Other Arab ambassadors include Walid Mansour, a Druze, appointed ambassador to Vietnam in 1999, and Reda Mansour, also a Druze, a former ambassador to Ecuador. Mohammed Masarwa, an Arab Muslim, was Consul-General inAtlanta. In 2006, Ishmael Khaldi was appointed Israeli consul in San Francisco, becoming the first Bedouin consul of the State of Israel.[135]
Israel Defense Forces: Arab Generals in the IDF include Major General Hussain Fares, commander of Israel's border police, and Major General Yosef Mishlav, head of the Home Front Command and current Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.[citation needed] Both are members of theDruze community. Other high-ranking officers in the IDF include Lieutenant Colonel Amos Yarkoni (born Abd el-Majid Hidr/ عبد الماجد حيدر) from the Bedouin community, a legendary officer in the Israel Defense Forces and one of six Israeli Arabs to have received the IDF's third highest decoration, the Medal of Distinguished Service.
Israeli Police: In 2011, Jamal Hakroush became the first Muslim Arab deputy Inspector-General in the Israeli Police. He has previously served as district commander of two districts.[136]
Jewish National Fund: In 2007, Ra'adi Sfori became the first Arab citizen of Israel to be elected as a JNF director, over a petition against his appointment. The court upheld the JNF's appointment, explaining, "As this is one director among a large number, there is no chance he will have the opportunity to cancel the organization's goals."[137]
Other political organizations and movements
Abna el-Balad
Abnaa el-Balad[138] is a political movement that grew out of organizing by Arab university youth, beginning in 1969.[139][140] It is not affiliated with the Arab Knesset party Balad. While participating in municipal elections, Abnaa al-Balad firmly reject any participation in the Israeli Knesset. Political demands include " the return of all Palestinian refugees to their homes and lands, [an] end [to] the Israeli occupation and Zionist apartheid and the establishment [of] a democratic secular state in Palestine as the ultimate solution to the Arab-Zionist conflict."[141]
High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel
The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel is an extra-parliamentary umbrella organization that represents Arab citizens of Israel at the national level.[142] It is "the top representative body deliberating matters of general concern to the entire Arab community and making binding decisions."[143] While it enjoys de facto recognition from the State of Israel, it lacks official or de jure recognition from the state for its activities in this capacity.[142]
Ta'ayush
Ta'ayush is "a grassroots movement of Arabs and Jews working to break down the walls of racism and segregation by constructing a true Arab-Jewish partnership."[144]
Amendment 9 to the 'Basic Law: The Knesset and the Law of Political Parties', states that a political party "may not participate in the elections if there is in its goals or actions a denial of the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people, a denial of the democratic nature of the state, or incitement to racism."[145][146] A number of attempts were done to disqualify Arab parties based on this rule, however as of 2010, all such attempts were either rejected by the Israeli Central Elections Committee or overturned by the Israeli Supreme Court.
Progressive List for Peace
An Israeli Central Elections Committee ruling which allowed the Progressive List for Peace to run for the Knesset in 1988 was challenged based on this amendment, but the committee's decision was upheld by the Israeli Supreme Court, which ruled that the PLP's platform calling for Israel to become "a state of all its citizens" does not violate the ideology of Israel as the State of the Jewish people, and thus section 7(a) does not apply.[147]
Balad
In December 2002, Azmi Bishara and his party, Balad, which calls for Israel to become "a state of all its citizens," were banned by the Israeli Central Elections Committee, for refusing to recognize Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state"[148] and making statements promoting armed struggle against it. The Supreme Court overruled the decision in January 2003.[149] Bishara served as a Knesset member from 1996 to 2007. He reportedly told an audience in Lebanon in December 2005 that Arab citizens "[...]are like all Arabs, only with Israeli citizenship forced upon them [...] Return Palestine to us and take your democracy with you. We Arabs are not interested in it".[150] Bishara resigned his Knesset office and left the country in 2007 amidst news that criminal charges were being laid against him. He has been charged with espionage and money laundering, stemming from allegations that he gave Hizbullah information on strategic targets that should be attacked with rockets during the 2006 Lebanon War, in exchange for large amounts of money.[151]
United Arab List – Ta'al and Balad
In 2009, United Arab List – Ta'al and Balad were disqualified, on grounds that they do not recognize the State of Israel and call for armed conflict against it.[152] The Supreme Court of Israeloverturned the Committee's decision by a majority of eight to one.[153]
Legal and political status
Israel's Declaration of Independence called for the establishment of a Jewish state with equality of social and political rights, irrespective of religion, race, or sex.[154]
The rights of citizens are guaranteed by a set of basic laws (Israel does not have a written constitution).[155] Although this set of laws does not explicitly include the term "right to equality", the Israeli Supreme Court has consistently interpreted "Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty"[156] and "Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation (1994)"[157] as guaranteeing equal rights for all Israeli citizens.[158]
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that "Arab Israelis are citizens of Israel with equal rights" and states that "The only legal distinction between Arab and Jewish citizens is not one of rights, but rather of civic duty. Since Israel's establishment, Arab citizens have been exempted from compulsory service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)."[159] Druze and Circassians are drafted into the Israeli army, while other Arabs may serve voluntarily; however, only a very small number of Arabs choose to volunteer for the Israeli army[160]).
Many Arab citizens feel that the state, as well as society at large, not only actively limits them to second-class citizenship, but treats them as enemies, impacting their perception of the de jureversus de facto quality of their citizenship.[161] The joint document The Future Vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel, asserts: "Defining the Israeli State as a Jewish State and exploiting democracy in the service of its Jewishness excludes us, and creates tension between us and the nature and essence of the State." The document explains that by definition the "Jewish State" concept is based on ethnically preferential treatment towards Jews enshrined in immigration (the Law of Return) and land policy (the Jewish National Fund), and calls for the establishment of minority rights protections enforced by an independent anti-discrimination commission.[162]
A 2004 report by Mossawa, an advocacy center for Palestinian-Arab citizens of Israel, states that since the events of October 2000, 16 Arabs had been killed by security forces, bringing the total to 29 victims of "institutional violence" in four years.[163] Ahmed Sa'adi, in his article on The Concept of Protest and its Representation by the Or Commission, states that since 1948 the only protestors to be killed by the police have been Arabs.[164]
Yousef Munayyer, an Israeli citizen and the executive director of The Jerusalem Fund, wrote that Palestinians only have varying degrees of limited rights in Israel. He states that although Palestinians make up about 20 percent of Israel's population, less than 7 percent of the budget is allocated to Palestinian citizens. He describes the 1.5 million Arab citizens of Israel as second-class citizens while four million more are not citizens at all. He states that a Jew from any country can move to Israel but a Palestinian refugee, with a valid claim to property in Israel, cannot. Munayyer also described the difficulties he and his wife faced when visiting the country.[165]
Arabic and Hebrew as official languages
Israeli road signs in Arabic, Hebrew and English
Arabic is one of Israel's official languages, and the use of Arabic increased significantly following Supreme Court rulings in the 1990s. Government ministries publish all material intended for the public in Hebrew, with selected material translated into Arabic, English, Russian, and other languages spoken in Israel. There are laws that secure the Arab population's right to receive information in Arabic. Some examples include a portion of the public television channels' productions must be in Arabic or translated into Arabic, safety regulations in working places must be published in Arabic if a significant number of the workers are Arabs, information about medicines or dangerous chemicals must be provided in Arabic, and information regarding elections must be provided in Arabic. The country's laws are published in Hebrew, and eventually English and Arabic translations are published.[60]Publishing the law in Hebrew in the official gazette (Reshumot) is enough to make it valid. Unavailability of an Arabic translation can be regarded as a legal defense only if the defendant proves he could not understand the meaning of the law in any conceivable way. Following appeals to the Israeli Supreme Court, the use of Arabic on street signs and labels increased dramatically. In response to one of the appeals presented by Arab Israeli organizations,[which?] the Supreme Court ruled that although second to Hebrew, Arabic is an official language of the State of Israel, and should be used extensively. Today most highway signage is trilingual (Hebrew, Arabic, and English).
Many Arab villages lack street signs of any kind and the Hebrew name is often used.[166][167] The state's schools in Arab communities teach in Arabic according to a specially adapted curriculum. This curriculum includes mandatory lessons of Hebrew as foreign language from the 3rd grade onwards. Arabic is taught in Hebrew-speaking schools, but only the basic level is mandatory. In the summer of 2008, there was an unsuccessful attempt of right-wing lawmakers to strip Arabic of its status alongside Hebrew as an official language of the state.[168]
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 7:54 am
though it means nothing and it doesn't apply to barbaric acts and powers that are in place who do not care about others and steal their lands, dehumanize them, kill mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, the entire families, ruin their homes, mass destroy their humanity in every sense and lie to the world to cover up their crimes. and yes, that is an accurate description that is documented in this thread by all accounts.
Hamas has a role in this, too, and neither you nor Tammuz wish to engage on that point, despite all of the evidence presented.
Non Sequitur
Oct 3, 14 8:25 am
Alternative, many have posted this over and over and neither TAMMUZ or Orhan care to address it. It's a "the end justifies the means" type of narrow mindedness, and then they wonder why so many ridicule their opinion.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 9:02 am
I'm aware, Non Sequitur, I'm just hoping other posters will engage with both sides of a giant problem-- but a problem that I hope to see resolved within our lifetimes.
I've had this open while working for the past day, because it seems like their strategy is just to silence any opposing viewpoint.
Orhan resorts to insults in lieu of advancing arguments. Tammuz refuses to engage with documentary evidence that undermines his points.
Supreme Court of Israel, Jerusalem. (Photo: Wikimedia)
Yesterday, Israel’s Supreme Court dismissed a petition by Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel effectually facilitating the Judaization of more Palestinian owned land inside Israel. According to Adalah, the court’s decision holding up Israel’s Admissions Committees Law, “entrenches racial segregation; 434 small communities in Israel, or 43% of all residential areas, will be allowed to close their doors to Palestinian Arab citizens of the state.” Much of the land in question was originally confiscated from Palestinian refugees, and the court’s decision will result in the continued concentration and containment of the Palestinian population in Israel.
In March 2011, the Knesset passed two racist laws, the “Nakba Law” and the “Admissions Committees Law”, the latter granting legal legitimacy to “admission committees” in small towns, many agricultural, with fewer than 400 families in the Naqab and the Galilee to “have the full discretion to accept or reject individuals who wish to live in these towns.” The committees consisting of town residents include a member of the Jewish Agency, the World Zionist Organization, or other “quasi” government representative are able, in practice, to “filter out Arab Palestinian applicants and others
Continued refusal to engage with issues raised about Hamas.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 9:40 am
Note, also, Tammuz-- the decision was 5 to 4. It's not as though these laws are being passed in Israel with blanket approval among all Jewish citizens. I also agree that the law and the Supreme Court decision is bad, just as I think the US Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act decisions are completely insane and will undermine democratic participation among black citizens. But I don't think that the US is an apartheid state.
From the very link you provided:
Here’s yesterday’s press release from Adalah:
(Haifa, Israel) Today, 17 September 2014, in a 5 to 4 decision, an expanded panel of the Israeli Supreme Court decided to dismiss a petition brought by Adalah three years ago against the “Admissions Committees Law”. The law allows for hundreds of Israeli Jewish communities in the Naqab (Negev) in the south and in the Galilee in the north to reject applicants for housing based on the criteria of “social suitability” and the “social and cultural fabric” of the town.
The cited link in the above article (The historical context of the Israeli land and planning law regime) makes for an interesting read, tackling the issue of colonizing Palestine in its history by way of confiscation of land, planning policy and fabricated laws tailored to result in :
"...a continuation of the confiscation of Palestinian land, the ‘Judaization’ of that land, and the resulting containment and concentration of the Palestinian population in Israel as described above. These policies are in clear violation of Israel’s obligations under International Human Rights Law. They are also contrary to the Apartheid Convention which prohibits measures “designed to divide the population along racial lines by the creation of separate reserves and ghettos for the members of a racial group or groups” as well as “the expropriation of landed property belonging to a racial group or groups.” "
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 9:51 am
You are right. These are problems. Violence perpetuated by Hamas is also part of the problem.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 9:51 am
Are you a PhD student?
chatter of clouds
Oct 3, 14 10:10 am
Below is an interesting example of what credible official Palestinian owners of land are having to suffer
For Daoud Nassar, 43, the story hits very close to home, both literally and figuratively. The Nassar family owns about 100 acres of land in the Gush Etzion region, near the Palestinian village of Nahalin. Standing on the hilltop of his farm, Nassar can see the settlements of Gva’ot, Neve Daniel, Beitar Illit, Rosh Tzurim and El’Azar. Nassar’s land was declared state property in 1991 and the legal battle of ownership has been ongoing ever since.
The Israeli Civil Administration initially dismissed as evidence the family’s official ownership documents, which were drawn up in 1924, during the Ottoman Period. After appealing the decision, the family was left empty-handed in 2002 when the court decided their land would be taken without further explanation.
The Nassars appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to force the Military Court to provide an explanation. After several extensions of the Supreme Court’s deadline, the State Attorney justified its decision by arguing that the satellite photo of the Nassar farm taken in 1991 did not exactly match the map drawn up in 1924 and that one of the four boundary names had been changed.
Eager to prove that the documents were authentic, the family hired Josef Kraus, an Israeli land surveyor from the Civil Administration. He travelled to Istanbul and London to verify their documents and presented his report in 2004. In this report, he directly tied the Nassars to their land, but at a heavy financial cost of $70,000.
The Israeli State Attorney’s Office did not deny the facts of the report, but rather decided to give the Nassars the opportunity to reregister their land. This process, which started in 2007, is still ongoing. In the meantime, the family has spend an astonishing $145,000 on legal costs and forced land surveys.
“They (the Israeli authorities) keep postponing the case, until today. We are still trying to reregister,” Daoud Nassar told Palestine Monitor. He is prepared to go “all the way legally.”
“I have faith in what we do, but that does not mean things will be achieved here (on short notice). We hope for the best but prepare for the worst,” he said.
And on 19 May things got worse indeed, when hundreds of the family’s grape and apricot trees were bulldozed by the Israeli military, only weeks before the harvest. The damage is an estimated $15,000 according to an engineer from the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture that surveyed the land on Nassar’s request.
“We found (demolition) papers on the land late March, saying the trees were planted on state land. We appealed to the court and our appeal was accepted and signed by the military authorities on the 12th of May,” explained Nassar. He added that because the case was pending, the destruction of the trees is considered illegal according to Israeli law. The family appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court, so that “this illegal action (would not) go unpunished”. The Israeli military authorities are set to respond to the accusations by 15 September.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 10:25 am
I agree that this is unfair and wrong and I wish them the best in their appeal.
There are more than 50 Israeli laws that discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel in all areas of life, including their rights to political participation, access to land, education, state budget resources, and criminal procedures. Some of the laws also violate the rights of Palestinians living in the 1967 OPT and Palestinian refugees.
unfortunately "discrimination" is not always a bad thing....as your examples prove. Discouraging the primitive and violent culture being perpetuated by Hamas and tolerated by palestine is something that everyone should join in supporting. The Palestinian people are reaping what they sow, pure and simple. They are a violent and archaic people that do not want to assimilate or cooperate with the world around them. They do not want to "fit in" or have others "fit in" around them. The preservation of the Palestine people, at this point, is more likely as an exhibit in a museum or a chapter in a history book about primitive terrorism.
While i admire your commitment to the current propaganda strategy, it too reflects the rather "behind-the-times" mentality of the Palestine people. No amount of spin can obscure the reality of the Palestine people's actions and the violent goals of Hamas. This tactic is least effective against an American public that knows full well the attitude and role Palestine has in the modern world, and currently it is a dismal one.
Your mistake, as well as Palestine's mistake, is that you truly believe that it is everyone else that needs to change for you...but alas, the opposite is true....and all of us sincerely hope that this realization will occur among the Palestinian people before it is too late.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 10:42 am
I agree that certain laws are facially discriminatory but serve a national security purpose that other Western nations have similarly adopted. See responses above.
Moreover, most of the laws on these lists are proposed bills, not enacted laws.
Finally, the Israeli Supreme Court has a long history of invalidating discriminatory laws. Some of them have been approved by the Court, and that's screwed up, but there is engagement among moderate Israelis, especially Israeli lawyers, about their validity. There are extremist and racist Israeli Jews, without question, but it's unfair to characterize all Israeli Jews as such.
Now what of violence perpetuated by Hamas within densely populated civilian zones? Are you still too "busy" to address that issue, Tammuz?
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 10:48 am
I'd also ask why you're so fixated on Israeli actions and not other abuses against Palestinians in Arab countries in the region? They're arguably more egregious.
I've provided links for Jordan and Lebanon. I can pull information on Egypt, if you'd like.
According to Human Rights Watch, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live in "appalling social and economic conditions." They labor under legal restrictions that bar them from employment in at least 25 professions, "including law, medicine, and engineering," a system that relegates them to the black market for labor. And they are "still subject to a discriminatory law introduced in 2001 preventing them from registering property."[2] The discrimination Palestinians "suffer" when they apply for jobs in Lebanon has been compared to the "apartheid mentality" used by the ruling Sunni family of Bahrain towards its majority Shi'ite population.[4] Unlike Lebanon however Bahrain does not have any laws to bar Shi'ite from employment.
Israeli Arab Journalist Khaled Abu Toameh and other commentators accuse Lebanon of practicing apartheid against Palestinian Arabs who have lived in Lebanon as stateless refugees since 1948.[4][5][6][7][8] According to Human Rights Watch, "In 2001, Parliament passed a law prohibiting Palestinians from owning property, a right they had for decades. Lebanese law also restricts their ability to work in many areas. In 2005, Lebanon eliminated a ban on Palestinians holding most clerical and technical positions, provided they obtain a temporary work permit from the Labor Ministry, but more than 20 high-level professions remain off-limits to Palestinians. Few Palestinians have benefited from the 2005 reform, though. In 2009, only 261 of more than 145,679 permits issued to non-Lebanese were for Palestinians. Civil society groups say many Palestinians choose not to apply because they cannot afford the fees and see no reason to pay a portion of their salary toward the National Social Security Fund, since Lebanese law bars Palestinians from receiving social security benefits."[9]
In one of his series of articles accusing the government of Lebanon of practicing "apartheid" against the resident Palestinian community, journalist Khaled Abu Toameh describes the "special legal status" as "foreigners" assigned uniquely to Palestinians, "a fact which has deprived them of health care, social services, property ownership and education. Even worse, Lebanese law bans Palestinians from working in many jobs. This means that Palestinians cannot work in the public services and institutions run by the government such as schools and hospitals. Unlike Israel, Lebanese public hospitals do not admit Palestinians for medical treatment or surgery."[10] Journalist Ben-Dror Yemini describes Palestinians in Lebanon as living "under various restrictions that could fill a chapter on Arab apartheid against the Palestinians. One of the most severe restrictions is a ban on construction. This ban is enforced even in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, bombed by the Lebanese army in 2007.[11] Calling on Lebanon to change the systematic discrimination against his people, Palestinian journalist Rami George Khouricompared Lebanese treatment of Palestinians to the "Apartheid system" of South Africa.[12]
Hazem Jamjoum: What legal status was afforded Palestinians who came under Jordanian control after the 1948 Nakba?
Anis Kassim: On 19 May 1948, the Jordanian army entered the area of central Palestine that the Zionist forces were unable to occupy, and began the process of legally incorporating central Palestine into the Jordanian Kingdom. As part of this process, on 20 December 1949, the Jordanian Council of Ministries amended the 1928 Citizenship Law such that all Palestinians who took refuge in Jordan, or who remained in the western areas controlled by Jordan at the time of the law’s entry into force, became full Jordanian citizens for all legal purposes. The law did not discriminate between Palestinian refugees displaced from the areas that Israel occupied in 1948 and those of the area that the Jordanian authorities renamed the “West Bank” in 1950.
On one hand, this citizenship was forced upon the Palestinians who did not really have much of a say in the matter. On the other, this was a welcome move because it saved those Palestinians the hardship of living without citizenship.
HJ: How was the process for the revocation of citizenship complex?
AK: First of all, I should note that the law itself has not been officially amended, so what I am about to describe is still what is officially in effect today. First of all, the Jordanian Constitution, adopted in 1952, states that citizenship is a matter to be regulated by a law, and the Jordanian Citizenship Law was indeed adopted in 1954, replacing that of 1928 and its amendment. According to this law, it is possible to revoke the citizenship of a Jordanian citizen who is in the civil service of a foreign authority or government. The citizen must be notified by the Jordanian government to leave that service and, if the citizen does not comply, the Council of Ministries is the body with the authority that is able to decide to revoke his citizenship. Even if the Council does decide to revoke the citizenship, this decision must then be ratified by the King, and even then, the citizen whose citizenship was revoked has the right to challenge the Council of Ministries’ decision in the Jordanian High Court, and it is this court’s decision that is binding and final. These procedures are being completely ignored when the citizenship of a Jordanian of Palestinian origin is revoked.
HJ:Did the status of Palestinians in Jordan change after the 1967 War with the Israeli occupation of the West Bank?
AK: No. their status remained as Jordanian citizens.
HJ:When did the differentiation between Palestinian citizens of Jordan begin?
AK: Today we can speak of five kinds of Palestinian citizens of Jordan. The first differentiation came in the early 1980s, when the Jordanian government was concerned that Israeli policies and practices aimed to squeeze out the Palestinian inhabitants of the occupied West Bank; to empty out the Palestinian territories to replace them with Jewish settlers. The Jordanian government then created the first real differentiation between its Palestinian citizens by issuing differentiated cards.
Those who lived habitually in the West Bank were issued green cards, while those who habitually lived in Jordan but had material and/or family connections in the West Bank were issued yellow cards. The sole purpose of these cards at the time was so that the Jordanian authorities at the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge—the only crossing point between Jordan and the occupied West Bank—could monitor the movement of these card holders, enabling the Jordanian authorities to know how many Palestinian West Bankers had crossed into Jordan, and to ensure that they returned, essentially a kind of statistical device. Indeed, this was a wise policy in terms of countering the Zionist plans to continue the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. The major turning point came with the Jordanian disengagement (fak al-irtibat) from the West Bank on 31 July 1988.
HJ:What was the disengagement?
AK: Since 1948, when central Palestine came under Jordanian control, the Jordanian government has claimed the West Bank as part of the kingdom. By 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had come to be recognized on an Arab and, to some extent, international level as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, but the Israelis and Americans were still refusing to recognize the PLO, let alone to officially communicate with it. Jordan’s King Hussein shrewdly took the decision to disengage from the West Bank as a message to the United States and Israel that if they were going to negotiate with anyone over the fate of Palestinians in the West Bank, it should be with the PLO. In the famous speech he delivered on 31 July 1988 [1] in which he declared the disengagement—and we have to remember that this was during the most intense period of the first Intifada— King Hussein stated that the purpose of the disengagement was to support the Palestinians’ struggle for self determination by relinquishing his claim to that territory.
HJ:How was the disengagement a “turning point” for Palestinians’ status as Jordanian citizens?
AK: When the disengagement was declared, the color of the cards (yellow and green), that had been used as a statistical device, became the criteria for determining the citizenship status of a citizen. The government issued instructions to the effect that those who habitually lived in the West Bank, that is green card holders, on 31 July 1988 were “Palestinian citizens,” while those who were living in Jordan or abroad were Jordanian. Put another way, over one-and-a-half million Palestinians went to bed on 31 July 1988 as Jordanian citizens, and woke up on 1 August 1988 as stateless persons.
HJ: You previously mentioned that we can speak of five kinds of Palestinian citizens of Jordan. What are the different kinds of status among Palestinians citizen of Jordan currently?
AK: The first category we can call hyphenated Palestinian-Jordanians. These are Palestinians who were in Jordan on the date of the disengagement with no material connection to the West Bank or Gaza Strip, or who were Jordanian citizenship holders abroad. These are regarded as Jordanians for all legal purposes.
The Palestinians in the second category are the green card holders whose citizenship was revoked by the government orders that I described earlier.
The Palestinians in the third category are the yellow card holders, who kept their citizenship after the disengagement, but many of whom have more recently faced the revocation of their Jordanian citizenship rights.
The fourth category is that of blue card holders. These are 1967 Palestinians refugees from the occupied Gaza Strip who are in Jordan and who were never given citizenship rights. They are in a very miserable position because, since they are not Jordanian, they cannot enjoy any of the benefits of citizenship in this country: they cannot access public schools or health services, they cannot get driving licenses, they cannot open bank accounts, or purchase land. They are mostly concentrated in the refugee camps in the Jerash area, specifically the one called “Gaza Refugee Camp,” which is generally known as the worst of the refugee camps in Jordan in terms of living conditions. To build a tiny house in the camp, they need to get several permits from several government departments. While they receive some modest support from UNRWA, any support that comes from the rest of the society has to be approved by Jordanian security authorities.
The fifth, and newest, of the categories is that of Jerusalem residents. These have always been a special case: the Israelis consider them permanent residents of Israel without any citizenship rights, while for Jordan they are citizens whose status was not affected by the disengagement. The problem now is that the Israelis, as part of their ongoing ethnic cleansing project, are revoking the residency rights of Palestinians in Jerusalem who cannot prove that their “center of life” is in that city, to use the terms of the Israeli High Court. The Jordanian government has yet to officially take a position on the Jordanian citizenship rights of these Jerusalemite Palestinian citizens of Jordan whose residency in Jerusalem has been revoked by Israel. This is now another emerging problem.
HJ: You mentioned that yellow card holders have been facing the revocation of their Jordanian citizenship in recent years. Can you expand on this?
AK: The main institution that handles this issue is the Follow-up and Inspection Department (al-mutaba’a wa al-taftish) of the Jordanian Ministry of Interior. To understand what’s happening you need to understand that the way Jordanian citizenship works since 1992 is that every citizen must have a “national number” (raqam watani). Anyone who does not have this number is not a citizen.
In recent years, the Follow-up and Inspection Department has been expanding on the scope of its authority in interpreting the 1988 government regulations dealing with the revocation of Palestinians’ Jordanian citizenship. We need to keep in mind also that these regulations were never made public, and that in fact no policy, let alone law, dealing with the revocation of Palestinians’ citizenship in Jordan has ever officially been made public. Originally, as I described, 31 July 1988 was treated as a cut-off date, if you were a green card holder in the West Bank, your citizenship was revoked, and otherwise you remained a citizen. The Department has since expanded to the revocation of citizenship from others under other pretexts.
For instance, many Palestinian citizens of Jordan were able to acquire Israeli-issued West Bank residency permits through such procedures as family reunification since 1967. Of course, part of Israel’s ethnic cleansing policies manifested as revocation of West Bank residency permits over the years under various pretexts. For example, at one point West Bank residency permit holders who were away from the West Bank for more than three years had their residency revoked by the Israelis. The Follow-up and Inspection Department of the Jordanian Interior Ministry has revoked national numbers (i.e. citizenship) from many Palestinians who had their West Bank residency permits revoked by the Israelis under the pretext that these people should have kept these residency permits, and that the Palestinian should go and get the Israelis to reissue them their West Bank residency permits.
Another example is that of PLO or Palestinian Authority (PA) employees. Even though a Jordanian citizen can work for any other government, many Palestinian citizens of Jordan who have taken jobs in PA institutions have been stripped of their national numbers. A more recent example is that of the Jordanian parliamentary elections [November 2010]. Many of the Palestinians who went to register as voters were sent to the Follow-up and Inspection Department, where they had their national numbers revoked.
Ultimately, however, it is difficult to discern a particular logic to the post-1988 revocations. In some cases, one person or group within the family has their citizenship revoked, while others in the same family remain citizens. With regards to employment in the PLO or PA, there are PA parliamentarians and ministers with Jordanian national numbers, while some Palestinian citizens of Jordan, for example, have had their citizenship revoked for working for a PA-owned company or civil institution. We can only say that so far it seems very arbitrary. I should also add that this wave of citizenship revocation means that yellow card holders live with the perpetual fear of any interaction with the government bureaucracy, since this could result in being sent to the Follow-up and Inspection Department and having their citizenship revoked.
HJ:Is there a way to know how many Palestinians have had their Jordanian citizenship revoked since 1988?
AK: No, these numbers are kept secret by the Jordanian Ministry of Interior and are not made public. There are various estimates, but these numbers vary. The most well-known of these is that of the Human Rights Watch report that stated that over 2700 Palestinians citizens of Jordan had their citizenship revoked between 2004 and 2008, but this number is based on a journalistic article in a Jordanian newspaper, and so, in addition to not giving information on the years before or after the period, are not to be taken as authoritative.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 10:50 am
Orhan, please explain how Turkey is "light years" ahead of Israel in terms of minority rights. The country still refuses to acknowledge the Armenian genocide.
Israel has constructed a systematic policy of propaganda, 'hasbara', that depends on its citizens - the extension and 'mouthpiece' of the state - to act as its voice. But this rationalisation of Israeli policy rests on shaky foundations.
Israeli warplanes pound Gaza. Demotix/Mahmoud Essa. All rights reserved.
“The explanation”is a calculated translation of the Hebrew term ‘hasbara’, that describes the systematic policy of propaganda that bleeds throughout Israeli society. To rationalise its every action and inaction, even its citizens, when travelling abroad, are encouraged to act as mouthpieces of the state. The hasbara machine is most dynamic in the crescendos of the illegal occupation and blockade such as we have seen unravelling before us over the last month. But it moves beyond mere silencing tactics, equating criticism of it’s government with anti-Semitism or exceptionalising suffering. It is not enough however, to say that Hasbara manipulates the truth to manufacture consent. A recent article in the Independent, ‘The Secret report that helps Israel hides facts’, is both revealing and indicting. Whilst it still remains that Israeli spokespersons have not been taken to task on this document, the following statements, by no means exhaustive but familiar to many, canonise and characterise the reasoning of statesmen, military personnel and impassioned advocates.
“Israel has a right to defend itself”
Derived from its democratic mandate that the government has (and by extension the army) an obligation to defend its citizens, this is perhaps the most regurgitated of the hasbara mantra. It’s undoing, however, is that the very same argument can be extended to the democratically elected Hamas government in Gaza. Failure to accept this argument is a failure to accept the virtue of democracy. What is perhaps most startling about this claim is not only that it undermines the right, recognised under international law, for occupiedpeoples to resist, but for Israeli PR, it toys with people’s ignorance, advocating the idea of ‘self-defence’ and an association with being the weaker party.
“Hamas is indiscriminately firing rockets into Israel”
And as a result, it is deliberately targeting civilians and causing their deaths. The current death toll, in which Palestinians outnumber Israelis circa twenty to one, would illustrate a different story. At a conservative estimate, 70 percent of the deaths in the Gaza Strip are civilians. Of the 50 Israelis, the heavy majority are combatants. Based on these figures, it would suggest something very much to the contrary, that in actual fact, Israel’s military execution is indiscriminate. This embodies one of the great successes of the Hasbara program, establishing rocket attacks causa prima, that seek to rationalise much of its disproportionate conduct.
“Hamas is bent on escalation and uses human shields”
Channel 4 recently conducted a fact check on the claims that Hamas uses human shields and hides its missiles in civilian buildings. It concludes that claims that Hamas coerces its citizens as human shields are entirely misleading; many simply decide to either stay in their homes (indicative of the Palestinian ‘sumud’, regardless of warnings from the IDF, or are simply not given enough warning, with others believing that staying indoors is safer). The report also cites that someclaims of weapons being stored near civilian facilities may be true but accepts that, dense as the Gaza strip is, it is also inevitable. But perhaps more explanatorily illuminating are the inferences of the Channel 4 report; it entertains a well-known debate amongst public international lawyers on the law of force and ‘asymmetric warfare’.
International law, perhaps wrongly, assumes a liberal idea of sameness, entirely decontextualized, entirely de-situated, entirely de-historicised, of the legal parties to a conflict, maintaining that they must adhere to the same standards despite huge disparities in their respective abilities to fight conventional wars. Think of these rules as thresholds rather than laws. Certainly, this is a potential slippery slope, but Hamas not only have to fight a ‘war‘, they have to do so under the assumption that it has the military urbanity of a properly formed state. We can perhaps ‘forgive’ a government of a state that does not legally exist, given that Israel, one of the most powerful armies in the world, the largest recipient of US aid and a regional nuclear hegemon, ‘struggles’ with maintaining such legal integrity. Let us not forget that the Zionist militias, Irgun, Haganah and Stern Gang - the same groups that killed British officers in the King David Hotel bombing, that would later integrate into the IDF, employed similar tactics. And although the IDF’s ‘Neighbour Procedure’, which used Palestinian civilians as human shields, was banned by the Supreme Court in 2005, this was a deeply contested decision by executive ministers.
“Hamas want to see the evaporation of the Israeli state”
Such reasoning from the hasbara tool kit locks its victim into a circle, forever frustrated, supplanted covertly by that inexorable and inescapable axiom that ‘one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’. Despite the democratic aspirations of the Palestinians being realised in 2006, Hamas’ democratic legitimacy has been undermined by the ‘single most democratic state in the Middle East.’ How Israel can expect anything near its recognition when it refuses to recognise the democratic will of the people it illegally occupies, is beyond belief. Accompanying this paradoxical logic, is an exercise in hyperbole, presupposed by some sense of parity between Israel and its foe, embedded in a narrative in which it is in a perpetual state of existential crisis.
“Hamas rejected the Ceasefire”
Fair ceasefires are often the fruits of an even war. The recent ceasefire rejections stipulated nothing about the crippling Israeli blockade (referred to as ‘collective punishment’ by avowed Zionist, Judge Richard Goldstone) or opening up the crossings in Rafah to allow essential food, medical and building supplies in. Indeed, in 2008, the Egyptian-brokered ‘tahdia’ ceasefire was violated when Israel failed to comply with the conditions of easing the (illegal) blockade. The truth is, Hamas, as a crucial party to the negotiations, was ignored by both the governments of Egypt and Israel. But, as with everything that dictates this affair, Israel’s occupation and blockade, is conveniently evaded. Instead, it is justified as a security measure to prevent further attacks.
“The real crisis is in Syria and Iraq”
The Arab Awakening has provided ample ammunition for hasbara’s ‘deflection strategy’. Mitchell Barak, former adviser to Shimon Peres, speaking on Al-Jazeera’s Inside Story, provided a masterclass demonstration that has characterised this approach on both a macro and micro-level; indeed, a short chat with any national or student Palestine advocacy group will tell you that they are often met with similar rebuttals. Another brief, but by no means insignificant point, is that Israel’s Islamaphobic rhetoric homogenizes Islamic political thought, suggesting Hamas, Hezbollah and Isis are in the same boat.
“If there have been war crimes, we’ll investigate it”
Words of commendation, a partial (though hollow) admission of guilt, a determination to reflect, introspect, potentially own up to mistakes, can absolve even the most oppressive and domineering of us. Herein lies another facet of the hasbara strategy; rhetoric and tokenism. It humanises the Israeli narrative, infusing it with humility and re-enforcing its claim as the most ‘moral army in the world’. Making concessions (particularly ones that will most likely not be pursued) is infinitely effective in manufacturing consent. But Israel’s latest rejection of an independent UNHRC inquiry into violations in the latest Gaza invasion is more representative of their intentions.
Contingency plan: Hamas is a terrorist organisation
Much is said about Hamas’ outdated charter, one which has been contradicted and rejected by its own leaders. The reality is that it exists as merely a relic, one which few Gazans pay little attention to; but one which creates alarm and panic from a party whose threat is embellished. But If we really want to talk about charters that are currently threatening a just peace, pay a visit to the charters of Likud and Yesh Atid, the two largest parties in the Knesset, which both support the settlement of ‘Judea and Samaria.’
We may say that, amongst other things, hasbara is characterised by a few manoeuvres and methods; trying to create a sense of symmetry in the conflict (what we may call ‘mirroring’), diverting attention away from its own war crimes by incorporating other suffering (‘deflection’) and imbuing its own policy with unsubstantiated and populist humility (‘tokenism’).
Extracting all the politics from this, taken purely on the empirical data, the death tolls, casualties, the representation of women and children in these figures, and the respective military capabilities of the sides (Palestine has no army, aviation or naval force), at the very least, one must come to the conclusion that this is not a ‘battle of equals.’ It is by some Herculean effort, that Israel is able to preach to the unconverted that, in the face of insurmountable evidence to the contrary, that there is a level playing field in this ‘conflict’. They may even convince you that this is a ‘war.’
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 11:52 am
Curious to know when you'll acknowledge Hamas's role in this senseless violence.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 11:58 am
Hamas broke the last 11 ceasefires.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 12:00 pm
You won't even dignify evidence that Hamas has placed missile launchers in civilian residential areas. As a Palestinian, doesn't that alarm you?
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 12:14 pm
Also, Tammuz, the opinion piece you've posted negates that this is a "war." But in outrightly supporting Hamas's murder of allegedPalestinian informants, you've justified it on the grounds that Hamas is doing what it needs to do in "times of war."
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 12:31 pm
There are also open fields in Gaza. Why aren't weapons placed there?
Orhan Ayyüce
Oct 3, 14 1:14 pm
Let's give israeli army nobel peace price for everything they did for Gazan women, children and civilians.
Let's give awards to Israeli military for humanely letting people know that they are going to be blown away in seconds and be free of further pain and suffering by Hamas.
Let's give Israeli government a human rights award for so diligently defending and protecting Palestinian rights and freedom, especially for building concrete walls around them so they are protected from all evil and they don't have to go anywhere for survival.
Let's give Israeli authorities architecture and planning awards for building significant settlements on rather difficult hillsides and and lands gifted by God to immigrant Jews from Russia and Brooklyn.
Let's give environmental awards to Israeli forces clearing to land from invasive olive orchards and other invasive and edible plants.
Let's give several science awards to Israeli nutrition experts for successfully coming up with minimum calorie intake calcs Palestinians live by and making two gallons of water available for each Palestinian.
Let's give Israeli prison designers awards for building the world's largest open air prison in Gaza and remodeling it every few years.
Hey Mo, do we have any awards left? There are few more we should hand out to democratic and fair Israeli lawmakers.
Did I forget anybody?
Oh, them Turks and Jordanians and Egyptians and other Arab countries.., I just wish they go to hell for killing all the people and destroying lives in Gaza.
Long live Israel, the fairest democracy in the face of earth, the real supporters of human rights and shit.
And thank you dude, alternative, for opening our eyes to real data we have been missing and ignoring all this time.
Alternative
Oct 3, 14 1:18 pm
Nobody's advocating for a Nobel Peace Prize, Orhan-- I'm well aware of Israel's flaws. Debate is not your strong point. I pity your students.
Orhan Ayyüce
Oct 3, 14 1:25 pm
i don't even pity you. And I don't teach false debate.
Today is the 12th day of Israel's murderous attacks on Gaza.
The Palestinian body count is 336, 70 of whom are kids. This has become a murderous spree of killing for the zionist terrorist army, supported by government of this racist colonial entity and by their people , many of whom have been turning increasingly into blood thirsty mobs urging the murder of Palestinian
........................................................................................................
From Israeli calls for Palestinian blood ring at fever pitch :
On the eve of Abu Khudair’s lynching, Member of Knesset (Israel’s parliament) and government faction whip Ayelet Shaked issued a call over Facebook to ethnically cleanse the land, declaring “the entire Palestinian people is the enemy.” She advocated their complete destruction, “including its elderly and its women,” adding that these must be slaughtered, otherwise they might give birth to more “little snakes.”
... Since the beginning of July, raging crowds of Jewish Israelis just like these have marched through Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Nazareth and Beer Sheva, chanting “Death to Arabs” and “Death to Leftists,” swarming and attacking vulnerable victims. While a tiny contingent of radical Israelis have formed a loose “anti-fascist” network that tries to patrol city streets and prevent additional lynchings, they are extremely few in numbers and cannot be everywhere at all times.
While Israeli leaders unleash conscripted soldiers to bombard Gaza, they dispatch ultra-nationalist vigilantes to conquer cities inside Israel. With the incitement to murder Palestinians (and the few Israeli allies they have) continue unabated, it seems to be only a matter of time before the bubbling bloodlust boils overs into a bloodbath.
............................................................................................................
I am sure that you, the people behind Archinect, are well aware of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, this racist colonial entity that has been described by Moshé Machover as being far worse than the south african apartheid system: "talk of Israeli ‘apartheid’ serves to divert attention from much greater dangers. For, as far as most Palestinians are concerned, the Zionist policy is far worse than apartheid. Apartheid can be reversed. Ethnic cleansing is immeasurably harder to reverse; at least not in the short or medium term."
The global BDS movement is a peaceful movement that has been, in the face of Israeli racist, oppressive and genocidal policies against the Palestinians, garnering great traction around the world as people everywhere are increasingly grasping the nature of the Zionist establishment that is called Israel. Through a deliberate, effective boycotting Israeli products, academics, businesses, items of interest, the movement contributes to the economic and moral isolation of Israel.
As you might know, there is also the US Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel , whose mission statement states the following:
“In light of Israel’s persistent violations of international law, and Given that, since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions have condemned Israel’s colonial and discriminatory policies as illegal and called for immediate, adequate and effective remedies, and Given that all forms of international intervention and peace-making have until now failed to convince or force Israel to comply with humanitarian law, to respect fundamental human rights and to end its occupation and oppression of the people of Palestine, and In view of the fact that people of conscience in the international community have historically shouldered the moral responsibility to fight injustice, as exemplified in the struggle to abolish apartheid in South Africa through diverse forms of boycott, divestment and sanctions..."
I notice that there are Israeli businesses being hosted within Archinect's firm listings (for example). As are listings of Israeli universities within the academic section. I highly urge Archinect, the people behind it, Paul, the editors, the writers....to desist from ignoring your responsibilities apropos taking a stand against this racist entity and to remove all Israeli related material from Archinect. You, like everyone else has that responsibility, because you have the knowledge and you have the right of choice. To ignore this is to be complacent and to be regressive.
As a virtual space that spans the social, the professional and the academic, as a gathering of professionals including architects, designers, artists, engineers and others, as a gathering of minds that by implication suggests a progressive humanist endeavor, please instate an anti-zionist, anti-israeli policy (that covers israeli academics, businesses, media, etc) in the spirit of the BDS movement.
Iranian officials have also vowed to wipe Israel off the map. Bibi sucks-- don't get it twisted-- but he's not totally off on this one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/world/africa/26iht-iran.html?_r=0 (from 2005)
TEHRAN — Iran's conservative new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Wednesdaythat Israel must be "wiped off the map" and that attacks by Palestinians would destroy it, the ISNA press agency reported.
Ahmadinejad was speaking to an audience of about 4,000 students at a program called "The World Without Zionism," in preparation for an annual anti-Israel demonstration on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
His tone was reminiscent of that of the early days of Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. Iran and Israel have been bitter enemies since then, and anti-Israel slogans have been common at rallies.
Senior officials had avoided provocative language over the past decade, but Ahmadinejad appears to be taking a more confrontational tone than Iranian leaders have in recent years.
* * *
http://dailycaller.com/2014/07/27/iran-general-we-will-hunt-down-israelis-house-to-house/ (2014)
The deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed revenge against Israel for its ongoing military incursion into Gaza, which has already killed hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis.
“You [people of Israel] are trees without any roots which were planted in the Islamic lands by the British,” Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami said at this week’s Friday prayer sermon in Tehran, Fars News Agency reported. That statement referred to the Balfour Declaration, which led to the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire after World War I and the eventual creation of the state Israel in 1948.
“We will chase you house to house and will take revenge for every drop of blood of our martyrs in Palestine,” Salami said. “and this is the beginning point of Islamic nations awakening for your defeat.”
The deputy commander promised that Palestine will no longer remain calm and cited a statement by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic regime: “Imam [Khomeini] with the statement that Israel must be wiped from the face of the Earth gave a true message to the world. This message enlightened the Muslims and became the concept on the streets of Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.”
Also, Orhan, you're Turkish. Should we talk about Turkish human rights abuses against Kurd separatists while we're at it? Has the Turkish government been justified or unjustified in its actions related to Kurdish separatists?
And, if you don't mind, please answer the following hypothetical: had Kurdish separatists launched missiles toward Turkish cities, what would have been the appropriate response by the Turkish government?
Let me qualify the above inquiries saying that I am a proponent of both Palestinian and Kurdish rights, but recognize that sovereigns needs to make difficult decisions related to national security, hence the hypothetical.
Turkish Government should do everything in its power to make Kurdish rights a priority which they are doing at the moment, I believe it and I am a supporter of all that. Do you think I automatically support everything Turkish Government does?
And, did you know one of the presidential candidates in most recent elections last month was the ex mayor of Diyarbakir and a member of Kurdish party. That's is light years ahead of Palestinians place in Israeli society. Read about municipal offices and parliamentary seats outspoken Kurdish politicians hold in Turkey before you assume. They don't have apartheid in Turkey.
It just proves that you are an ignorant block who better fart than talk about things beyond your capacity and knowledge. Go read NY Post and watch Fox News, they are just about your territory.
Btw, you ask a lot of questions about me and my nationality etc... Who the fuck are you? Can you talk about yourself a little? Your name, nationality, religion, family situation, city you live in..?
If you want to stay anonymous do not ask me anymore personal questions. Understood?
12 of the 120 members of the Israeli members of the Knesset at Arab or Druze. How does that amount to an apartheid system?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arab_members_of_the_Knesset
I don't understand why you think I'm ignorant, but okay.
I post anonymously by choice. You choose to share your biographical information with the world. Different strokes, different folks.
I think you're angry that I'm offering cogent points against your views. No need to hurl insults. At least maintain some civility.
From Two arrests, three detentions and over 100 tear gas grenades used against children in Hebron since the school year began
in Features, Hebron, Reports, Video October 2, 2014
2nd October 2014 | International Solidarity Movement | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
“The child are having problems concentrating on their school work due to their emotional state and the stress due to the daily attacks by the occupation forces, which are continuously escalating.” Stated Hebron teacher, Shukri Zaroo, to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
Children in al-Khalil (Hebron) are forced to pass through a military checkpoint each morning and afternoon in order to reach and leave their schools. International activists try to monitor these military checkpoints, both to document the events and to stand with the children.
ISM activists monitor the Salaymeh checkpoint (29) each school day morning and afternoon. Since school began on August 24th, this is what the ISM activists have witnessed: (continue to source)
(Hatem Omar / Maan Images)
From Israeli government promotes rape advocate as expert on Palestinians
Submitted by Rania Khalek on Wed, 10/01/2014 - 02:43
300914_aj_00_1.jpg
Israel promotes apologists for the kind of violence that leveled Gaza City’s Shujaiya neighborhood as “experts,” including one advocating rape.
(Ali Jadallah / APA images)
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the United States for the UN General Assembly on Sunday, the Israeli government press office emailed journalists a list of supposed experts to contact on various issues related to his visit.
All those listed hail from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, a hotbed of right wing nationalism in Israeli academia.
Appearing twice on the Israeli government-approved list is Mordechai Kedar, a professor of Arabic literature at Bar-Ilan University who recently advocated for the Israeli army to use rape as a tool of war.
From The Israeli offensive on Gaza caused full or partial damages to 75 kindergartens and day-care centers
in Gaza, In the Media September 21, 2014
21st September 2013 | Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center in Palestine | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
The Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center field teams have documented full or partial damages to 75 kindergartens and day-care centers caused during the 51 day Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip this summer.
Not a word on the material that I posted about Hamas.
From Israel forces Gaza fishermen to undress in attack violating ceasefire deal
Joe Catron
The Electronic Intifada
Gaza Strip
23 September 2014
070814_mo_00_10.jpg
Palestinian fishermen unload their catch at the Gaza City seaport on 7 August.
(Mohammed Asad / APA images)
Nearly a month after Israel’s military offensive against the Gaza Strip ended in an indefinite ceasefire on 26 August, Israeli forces continue to shoot at and detain Palestinian fishermen.
The Israeli military has captured ten fishermen and confiscated four fishing boats, while firing live ammunition in dozens of attacks on both the sea and shore of the besieged coastal enclave.
I'm genuinely asking for dialogue.
Sorry Alternative, don't have much time. Maybe some other time.
From From Israeli military vehicles enter Gaza, soldiers open fire at farms
Published Wednesday 01/10/2014 (updated) 02/10/2014 10:36
(MaanImages/File)
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli military vehicles entered the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday and soldiers opened fire towards Palestinian agricultural areas, locals told Ma'an.
Twelve military vehicles entered Gaza from a gate east of the town of al-Fukhari in the Khan Younis district, witnesses said.
The vehicles reportedly crossed some 200 meters into the Strip, and soldiers scanned the area before shooting towards Palestinian farms in an apparent ceasefire violation.
Israeli troops shoot Palestinian teen in Gaza
Tuesday, 30 September 2014 11:56
These incidents are considered to be breaches of the ceasefire deal, which was signed between the Palestinian factions and the Israeli occupation authorities with Egyptian mediation on 26 August - File photo
Israel occupation forces positioned at the borders of the Gaza Strip shot on Monday a Palestinian teenager in the city of Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza Strip, Filistine Online news reported.
Citing Palestinian medical sources, Filistine Online said that Jalal Abu Jarad, aged 16, was shot in the left foot when he was working on his father's farm in the Bedouin Village in Beit Lahia.
Apparently you're not interested. But one can hope.
From Israeli forces arrest 21 Palestinians overnight, clash with locals
Published Wednesday 01/10/2014 (updated) 02/10/2014 13:13
JENIN (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces arrested 21 Palestinians in the West Bank overnight and clashed with locals, sources said Wednesday.
In the Salfit district, Israeli forces detained ten Palestinians.
The Fatah movement said in a statement that six of its activists were arrested in Qarawat Bani Hassan in the district, saying they were detained for protest action during the recent Israeli assault on Gaza.
You're just silencing any opposition. How is this productive?
From Dozens of Cambridge academics condemn Israel's attack on Gaza
Tuesday, 30 September 2014 11:13
The statement concludes with the academics adding their 'voices to those of the Palestinian resistance in appealing for an immediate lifting of the blockade on Gaza'
More than 50 academics at the University of Cambridge have signed a statement condemning Israel's recent attack on Gaza, and urging a lifting of the blockade and "justice for the Palestinian people".
Signatories to the statement, published Sunday, include experts from a variety of disciplines. The motivation, according to the professors, is "a responsibility – whether as practitioners of our various subjects, as employees of this University, as academics, or just as human beings – to speak out against the recent actions and posture of the Israeli state".
The statement highlights the death and destruction caused by Israel's "bombardment", including hundreds of child fatalities and "entire families" wiped out – atrocities that "occur against the background of decades of Israeli occupation and illegal expansion".
You're just developing a record of intellectual cowardice.
From ICC already has authority to investigate Israel for war crimes, legal group says
Submitted by Nora Barrows-Fr... on Mon, 09/29/2014 - 20:37
140929-kids-shujaiya.jpg
Palestinian children walk past destroyed houses in Shujaiya, eastern Gaza, which was heavily bombed by Israel in July and August.
(Mohammed Talatene / APA images)
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG), along with several other prominent legal groups, is urging the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to “initiate her own investigation” into “crimes committed and ongoing during and immediately before Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.”
In a letter written in August, during the last week of Israel’s 51 days of attacks on the Gaza Strip, NLG president Azadeh Shahshahani states that “Israel’s clearly disproportionate use of force against the 1.8 million residents of Gaza appears to have little to do with any claim of security, but seems to be calculated to exact revenge against Palestinian civilians.”
The letter lists specific examples of numerous violations of the Rome Statute, the ICC’s core treaty which defines international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.
The NLG and endorsing organizations also write that the international court’s investigation “should include whether certain US officials have aided and abetted the commission of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity in Gaza.”
Aren't you interested in engaging with the other side?
You're also re-posting links from the earlier thread.
dude, not that i have a lot of secrets but if you don't share personal information with others then don't "ask" others to give it to you. that is plainly snide and passive agressive behavior.
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anyway, do the palestinians in israel have the same rights as the israelis? can they freely travel? go to same schools? have israeli passports? serve in israeli military? do they have constitutional rights? can they vote? are their rights protected? are they equals in every legal sense? are their lands protected under law? can they be elected to anywhere from local governments to highest of the office like the president's?
well guess what, kurds in turkey don't have any of those restrictions and as turkish citizens they have every right like the rest of the population including the jewish citizens who were given home under the ottoman empire rescuing them from spanish persecution and other european slaughters since 14th century.
unfortunately the brutal and illegal treatment of palestinians by israel didn't go very well with the public opinion in turkey and many other countries..
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i don't know if you and others realize this but the very existence of israel is in grave danger, not because of kassams or hamas, any other thing or extreme forces in the region who are not accountable to anybody but rapidly changing world opinion on treatment of palestinians.
i support the non violent boycott of israel so they can wake up and realize they have to behave in a civilized manner and stop extremely inhumane treatment of palestinians for their own good. it would be sad to see highly educated, intelligent, talented and creative people like jews to lose those qualities and change their character from those to a brutally disturbed psychopathically militaristic society.
actually tammuz and i have been the most meaningful friends of israeli people here but it takes open minds to realize that.
old saying goes something like this, "the real friends give the hardest to take advise."
though it means nothing and it doesn't apply to barbaric acts and powers that are in place who do not care about others and steal their lands, dehumanize them, kill mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, the entire families, ruin their homes, mass destroy their humanity in every sense and lie to the world to cover up their crimes. and yes, that is an accurate description that is documented in this thread by all accounts.
to people who are turning deaf ear to those accounts in a denial and blaming the messenger but not the message, individually and probably you are not bad people per se, i have many proofs of that in this forum, but don't let this blind guilt eat your soul.
in the light of documented events and despicable acts, speaking up for palestinian people and criticizing the injustice does not and should not automatically make you an enemy of israeli or jewish people. creating evil enemies.., that is the business model aipac and their media thrive on and want you to believe. they have their special interests and greedy eyes on the prize. the oppression does not last forever. it falls, change hands and starts again.
this vicious cycle can be changed.
anyway, do the palestinians in israel have the same rights as the israelis? can they freely travel? go to same schools? have israeli passports? serve in israeli military? do they have constitutional rights? can they vote? are their rights protected? are they equals in every legal sense? are their lands protected under law? can they be elected to anywhere from local governments to highest of the office like the president's?
yes to all, with the exception to the first question ("are there equal rights?"). i would have also answered no if you asked whether blacks had equal rights in the US, or whether Kurds had equal rights in Turkey, whether Polynesians had equal rights in Australia, or Filipinos had equal rights in Gulf nations.
In Israel, there is pervasive discrimination in israel but their rights are essentially the same under the law. there is, however, de facto discrimination which is not unlike many other countries in the world. I'm copying a an excerpt from Wikipedia b/c it's a decent summary. I am NOT saying that the system is perfect-- it is HIGHLY flawed.
There is obviously Jewish extremism that is bad for Jews and Palestinians alike. Note that the judiciary has taken steps to block unlawfully discriminatory laws, but has sustained certain restrictions on Arab immigration to Israel based on national security concerns. These restrictions can be overriden pursuant to certain contributions to Israel.
Reminder: naturalized US citizens must pledge their allegiance to the USA and agree to take arms in support of the nation before they are eligible for citizenship.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_citizens_of_Israel#Legal_and_political_status
Politics
Arab political parties
There are three mainstream Arab parties in Israel: Hadash (a joint Arab-Jewish party with a large Arab presence), Balad, and the United Arab List, which is a coalition of several different political organizations including the Islamic Movement in Israel. In addition to these, there is Ta'al. All of these parties primarily represent Arab-Israeli and Palestinian interests, and the Islamic Movement is an Islamist organization with two factions: one that opposes Israel's existence, and another that opposes its existence as a Jewish state. Two Arab parties ran in Israel's first election in 1949, with one, the Democratic List of Nazareth, winning two seats. Until the 1960s all Arab parties in the Knesset were aligned with Mapai, the ruling party.
A minority of Arabs join and vote for Zionist parties; in the 2006 elections 30% of the Arab vote went to such parties, up from 25% in 2003,[115] though down on the 1999 (30.5%) and 1996 elections (33.4%).[116] Left-wing parties (i.e. Labor Party and Meretz-Yachad, and previously One Nation) are the most popular parties amongst Arabs, though some Druze have also voted for right-wing parties such as Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu, as well as the centrist Kadima.[117][118]
Representation in the Knesset
Ahmad Tibi, leader of the Arab party Ta'al currently serves as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset
Palestinian Arabs sat in the state's first parliamentary assembly; as of 2011, 13 of the 120 members of the Israeli Parliament are Arab citizens, most representing Arab political parties, and one of Israel's Supreme Court judges is a Palestinian Arab.[119]
Some Arab Members of the Knesset, past and present, are under police investigation for their visits to countries designated as enemy countries by Israeli law. This law was amended following MK Mohammad Barakeh's trip to Syria in 2001, such that MKs must explicitly request permission to visit these countries from the Minister of the Interior. In August 2006, Balad MKs Azmi Bishara, Jamal Zahalka, and Wasil Taha visited Syria without requesting nor receiving such permission, and a criminal investigation of their actions was launched. Former Arab Member of Knesset Mohammed Miari was questioned 18 September 2006 by police on suspicion of having entered a designated enemy country without official permission. He was questioned "under caution" for 2.5 hours in thePetah Tikva station about his recent visit to Syria. Another former Arab Member of Knesset, Muhammad Kanaan, was also summoned for police questioning regarding the same trip.[120] In 2010, six Arab MKs visited Libya, an openly anti-Zionist Arab state, and met with Muammar al-Gaddafi and various senior government officials. Gaddafi urged them to seek a one-state solution, and for Arabs to "multiply" in order to counter any "plots" to expel them.[121]
According to a study commissioned by the Arab Association of Human Rights entitled "Silencing Dissent," over the past three years, eight of nine of these Arab Knesset members have been beaten by Israeli forces during demonstrations.[122] Most recently according to the report, legislation has been passed, including three election laws [e.g., banning political parties], and two Knesset related laws aimed to "significantly curb the minority [Arab population] right to choose a public representative and for those representatives to develop independent political platforms and carry out their duties".[123]
Representation in the civil service sphere
In the public employment sphere, by the end of 2002, 6.1% of 56,362 Israeli civil servants were Arab.[124] In January 2004, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared that every state-run company must have at least one Arab citizen of Israel on its board of directors.[125]
Representation in political, judicial and military positions
Arab Israeli Captain Amos Yarkoni, born Abd el-Majid Hidr.
Raleb Majadele, the first non-Druze Arab minister in Israel's history
Cabinet: Nawaf Massalha, an Arab Muslim, has served in various junior ministerial roles, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, since 1999.[126]Until 2001, no Arab had been included in a Prime Minister's cabinet, or invited to join any political coalition. In 2001, this changed, when Salah Tarif, a Druze Arab citizen of Israel, was appointed a member of Sharon's cabinet without a portfolio. Tarif was later ejected after being convicted of corruption.[127] In 2007 the first non-Druze Arab minister in Israel's history, Raleb Majadele, was appointed a minister without portfolio, and a month later appointed minister for Science, Culture and Sport.[55][128] The appointment of Majadele was criticized by far-right Israelis, some of whom are also within the Cabinet, but this drew condemnation across the mainstream Israeli political spectrum.[56][129] Meanwhile Arab lawmakers called the appointment an attempt to "whitewash Israel's discriminatory policies against its Arab minority".[130][131]
Knesset: Arab citizens of Israel have been elected to every Knesset, and currently hold 12 of its 120 seats. The first female Arab MP was Hussniya Jabara, a Muslim Arab from central Israel, who was elected in 1999.[132]
Supreme Court: Abdel Rahman Zuabi, a Muslim from northern Israel, was the first Arab on the Israeli Supreme Court, serving a 9-month term in 1999. In 2004, Salim Joubran, a Christian Arab from Haifa descended from Lebanese Maronites, became the first Arab to hold a permanent appointment on the Court. Joubran's expertise lies in the field of criminal law.[133] George Karra, a Christian Arab from Jaffa has served as a Tel Aviv District Court judge since 2000. He was the presiding judge in the trial of Moshe Katsav. In 2011, he was nominated as a candidate for the Israeli Supreme Court.[134]
Foreign Service: Ali Yahya, an Arab Muslim, became the first Arab ambassador for Israel in 1995 when he was appointed ambassador to Finland. He served until 1999, and in 2006 was appointed ambassador to Greece. Other Arab ambassadors include Walid Mansour, a Druze, appointed ambassador to Vietnam in 1999, and Reda Mansour, also a Druze, a former ambassador to Ecuador. Mohammed Masarwa, an Arab Muslim, was Consul-General inAtlanta. In 2006, Ishmael Khaldi was appointed Israeli consul in San Francisco, becoming the first Bedouin consul of the State of Israel.[135]
Israel Defense Forces: Arab Generals in the IDF include Major General Hussain Fares, commander of Israel's border police, and Major General Yosef Mishlav, head of the Home Front Command and current Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.[citation needed] Both are members of theDruze community. Other high-ranking officers in the IDF include Lieutenant Colonel Amos Yarkoni (born Abd el-Majid Hidr/ عبد الماجد حيدر) from the Bedouin community, a legendary officer in the Israel Defense Forces and one of six Israeli Arabs to have received the IDF's third highest decoration, the Medal of Distinguished Service.
Israeli Police: In 2011, Jamal Hakroush became the first Muslim Arab deputy Inspector-General in the Israeli Police. He has previously served as district commander of two districts.[136]
Jewish National Fund: In 2007, Ra'adi Sfori became the first Arab citizen of Israel to be elected as a JNF director, over a petition against his appointment. The court upheld the JNF's appointment, explaining, "As this is one director among a large number, there is no chance he will have the opportunity to cancel the organization's goals."[137]
Other political organizations and movements
Abna el-Balad
Abnaa el-Balad[138] is a political movement that grew out of organizing by Arab university youth, beginning in 1969.[139][140] It is not affiliated with the Arab Knesset party Balad. While participating in municipal elections, Abnaa al-Balad firmly reject any participation in the Israeli Knesset. Political demands include " the return of all Palestinian refugees to their homes and lands, [an] end [to] the Israeli occupation and Zionist apartheid and the establishment [of] a democratic secular state in Palestine as the ultimate solution to the Arab-Zionist conflict."[141]
High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel
The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel is an extra-parliamentary umbrella organization that represents Arab citizens of Israel at the national level.[142] It is "the top representative body deliberating matters of general concern to the entire Arab community and making binding decisions."[143] While it enjoys de facto recognition from the State of Israel, it lacks official or de jure recognition from the state for its activities in this capacity.[142]
Ta'ayush
Ta'ayush is "a grassroots movement of Arabs and Jews working to break down the walls of racism and segregation by constructing a true Arab-Jewish partnership."[144]
Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages
The Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages is a body of unofficial representatives of the unrecognized villages throughout the Negev region in the south.
Attempts to ban Arab political parties
Amendment 9 to the 'Basic Law: The Knesset and the Law of Political Parties', states that a political party "may not participate in the elections if there is in its goals or actions a denial of the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people, a denial of the democratic nature of the state, or incitement to racism."[145][146] A number of attempts were done to disqualify Arab parties based on this rule, however as of 2010, all such attempts were either rejected by the Israeli Central Elections Committee or overturned by the Israeli Supreme Court.
Progressive List for Peace
An Israeli Central Elections Committee ruling which allowed the Progressive List for Peace to run for the Knesset in 1988 was challenged based on this amendment, but the committee's decision was upheld by the Israeli Supreme Court, which ruled that the PLP's platform calling for Israel to become "a state of all its citizens" does not violate the ideology of Israel as the State of the Jewish people, and thus section 7(a) does not apply.[147]
Balad
In December 2002, Azmi Bishara and his party, Balad, which calls for Israel to become "a state of all its citizens," were banned by the Israeli Central Elections Committee, for refusing to recognize Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state"[148] and making statements promoting armed struggle against it. The Supreme Court overruled the decision in January 2003.[149] Bishara served as a Knesset member from 1996 to 2007. He reportedly told an audience in Lebanon in December 2005 that Arab citizens "[...]are like all Arabs, only with Israeli citizenship forced upon them [...] Return Palestine to us and take your democracy with you. We Arabs are not interested in it".[150] Bishara resigned his Knesset office and left the country in 2007 amidst news that criminal charges were being laid against him. He has been charged with espionage and money laundering, stemming from allegations that he gave Hizbullah information on strategic targets that should be attacked with rockets during the 2006 Lebanon War, in exchange for large amounts of money.[151]
United Arab List – Ta'al and Balad
In 2009, United Arab List – Ta'al and Balad were disqualified, on grounds that they do not recognize the State of Israel and call for armed conflict against it.[152] The Supreme Court of Israeloverturned the Committee's decision by a majority of eight to one.[153]
Legal and political status
Israel's Declaration of Independence called for the establishment of a Jewish state with equality of social and political rights, irrespective of religion, race, or sex.[154]
The rights of citizens are guaranteed by a set of basic laws (Israel does not have a written constitution).[155] Although this set of laws does not explicitly include the term "right to equality", the Israeli Supreme Court has consistently interpreted "Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty"[156] and "Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation (1994)"[157] as guaranteeing equal rights for all Israeli citizens.[158]
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that "Arab Israelis are citizens of Israel with equal rights" and states that "The only legal distinction between Arab and Jewish citizens is not one of rights, but rather of civic duty. Since Israel's establishment, Arab citizens have been exempted from compulsory service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)."[159] Druze and Circassians are drafted into the Israeli army, while other Arabs may serve voluntarily; however, only a very small number of Arabs choose to volunteer for the Israeli army[160]).
Many Arab citizens feel that the state, as well as society at large, not only actively limits them to second-class citizenship, but treats them as enemies, impacting their perception of the de jureversus de facto quality of their citizenship.[161] The joint document The Future Vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel, asserts: "Defining the Israeli State as a Jewish State and exploiting democracy in the service of its Jewishness excludes us, and creates tension between us and the nature and essence of the State." The document explains that by definition the "Jewish State" concept is based on ethnically preferential treatment towards Jews enshrined in immigration (the Law of Return) and land policy (the Jewish National Fund), and calls for the establishment of minority rights protections enforced by an independent anti-discrimination commission.[162]
A 2004 report by Mossawa, an advocacy center for Palestinian-Arab citizens of Israel, states that since the events of October 2000, 16 Arabs had been killed by security forces, bringing the total to 29 victims of "institutional violence" in four years.[163] Ahmed Sa'adi, in his article on The Concept of Protest and its Representation by the Or Commission, states that since 1948 the only protestors to be killed by the police have been Arabs.[164]
Yousef Munayyer, an Israeli citizen and the executive director of The Jerusalem Fund, wrote that Palestinians only have varying degrees of limited rights in Israel. He states that although Palestinians make up about 20 percent of Israel's population, less than 7 percent of the budget is allocated to Palestinian citizens. He describes the 1.5 million Arab citizens of Israel as second-class citizens while four million more are not citizens at all. He states that a Jew from any country can move to Israel but a Palestinian refugee, with a valid claim to property in Israel, cannot. Munayyer also described the difficulties he and his wife faced when visiting the country.[165]
Arabic and Hebrew as official languages
Israeli road signs in Arabic, Hebrew and English
Arabic is one of Israel's official languages, and the use of Arabic increased significantly following Supreme Court rulings in the 1990s. Government ministries publish all material intended for the public in Hebrew, with selected material translated into Arabic, English, Russian, and other languages spoken in Israel. There are laws that secure the Arab population's right to receive information in Arabic. Some examples include a portion of the public television channels' productions must be in Arabic or translated into Arabic, safety regulations in working places must be published in Arabic if a significant number of the workers are Arabs, information about medicines or dangerous chemicals must be provided in Arabic, and information regarding elections must be provided in Arabic. The country's laws are published in Hebrew, and eventually English and Arabic translations are published.[60]Publishing the law in Hebrew in the official gazette (Reshumot) is enough to make it valid. Unavailability of an Arabic translation can be regarded as a legal defense only if the defendant proves he could not understand the meaning of the law in any conceivable way. Following appeals to the Israeli Supreme Court, the use of Arabic on street signs and labels increased dramatically. In response to one of the appeals presented by Arab Israeli organizations,[which?] the Supreme Court ruled that although second to Hebrew, Arabic is an official language of the State of Israel, and should be used extensively. Today most highway signage is trilingual (Hebrew, Arabic, and English).
Many Arab villages lack street signs of any kind and the Hebrew name is often used.[166][167] The state's schools in Arab communities teach in Arabic according to a specially adapted curriculum. This curriculum includes mandatory lessons of Hebrew as foreign language from the 3rd grade onwards. Arabic is taught in Hebrew-speaking schools, but only the basic level is mandatory. In the summer of 2008, there was an unsuccessful attempt of right-wing lawmakers to strip Arabic of its status alongside Hebrew as an official language of the state.[168]
though it means nothing and it doesn't apply to barbaric acts and powers that are in place who do not care about others and steal their lands, dehumanize them, kill mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, the entire families, ruin their homes, mass destroy their humanity in every sense and lie to the world to cover up their crimes. and yes, that is an accurate description that is documented in this thread by all accounts.
Hamas has a role in this, too, and neither you nor Tammuz wish to engage on that point, despite all of the evidence presented.
Alternative, many have posted this over and over and neither TAMMUZ or Orhan care to address it. It's a "the end justifies the means" type of narrow mindedness, and then they wonder why so many ridicule their opinion.
I'm aware, Non Sequitur, I'm just hoping other posters will engage with both sides of a giant problem-- but a problem that I hope to see resolved within our lifetimes.
I've had this open while working for the past day, because it seems like their strategy is just to silence any opposing viewpoint.
Orhan resorts to insults in lieu of advancing arguments. Tammuz refuses to engage with documentary evidence that undermines his points.
From :
Israeli Supreme Court upholds law allowing housing discrimination against Palestinians
Israel/Palestine
Supreme Court of Israel, Jerusalem. (Photo: Wikimedia)
Yesterday, Israel’s Supreme Court dismissed a petition by Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel effectually facilitating the Judaization of more Palestinian owned land inside Israel. According to Adalah, the court’s decision holding up Israel’s Admissions Committees Law, “entrenches racial segregation; 434 small communities in Israel, or 43% of all residential areas, will be allowed to close their doors to Palestinian Arab citizens of the state.” Much of the land in question was originally confiscated from Palestinian refugees, and the court’s decision will result in the continued concentration and containment of the Palestinian population in Israel.
In March 2011, the Knesset passed two racist laws, the “Nakba Law” and the “Admissions Committees Law”, the latter granting legal legitimacy to “admission committees” in small towns, many agricultural, with fewer than 400 families in the Naqab and the Galilee to “have the full discretion to accept or reject individuals who wish to live in these towns.” The committees consisting of town residents include a member of the Jewish Agency, the World Zionist Organization, or other “quasi” government representative are able, in practice, to “filter out Arab Palestinian applicants and others
- See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2014/09/allowing-discrimination-palestinians#sthash.7Cwio1GD.dpuf
Continued refusal to engage with issues raised about Hamas.
Note, also, Tammuz-- the decision was 5 to 4. It's not as though these laws are being passed in Israel with blanket approval among all Jewish citizens. I also agree that the law and the Supreme Court decision is bad, just as I think the US Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act decisions are completely insane and will undermine democratic participation among black citizens. But I don't think that the US is an apartheid state.
From the very link you provided:
Here’s yesterday’s press release from Adalah:
(Haifa, Israel) Today, 17 September 2014, in a 5 to 4 decision, an expanded panel of the Israeli Supreme Court decided to dismiss a petition brought by Adalah three years ago against the “Admissions Committees Law”. The law allows for hundreds of Israeli Jewish communities in the Naqab (Negev) in the south and in the Galilee in the north to reject applicants for housing based on the criteria of “social suitability” and the “social and cultural fabric” of the town.
- See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2014/09/allowing-discrimination-palestinians#sthash.7Cwio1GD.kpjx6nmG.dpuf
I don't know if you read Hebrew, but here's a PDF of the decision: http://adalah.org/Public/files/Hebrew/Legal_Advocacy/Decisions/Decision_on_community_towns_september_2014.pdf
The cited link in the above article (The historical context of the Israeli land and planning law regime) makes for an interesting read, tackling the issue of colonizing Palestine in its history by way of confiscation of land, planning policy and fabricated laws tailored to result in :
"...a continuation of the confiscation of Palestinian land, the ‘Judaization’ of that land, and the resulting containment and concentration of the Palestinian population in Israel as described above. These policies are in clear violation of Israel’s obligations under International Human Rights Law. They are also contrary to the Apartheid Convention which prohibits measures “designed to divide the population along racial lines by the creation of separate reserves and ghettos for the members of a racial group or groups” as well as “the expropriation of landed property belonging to a racial group or groups.” "
You are right. These are problems. Violence perpetuated by Hamas is also part of the problem.
Are you a PhD student?
Below is an interesting example of what credible official Palestinian owners of land are having to suffer
From Israel to expand settlement bloc in West Bank ‘in response to terrorism’
An expensive legal battle
For Daoud Nassar, 43, the story hits very close to home, both literally and figuratively. The Nassar family owns about 100 acres of land in the Gush Etzion region, near the Palestinian village of Nahalin. Standing on the hilltop of his farm, Nassar can see the settlements of Gva’ot, Neve Daniel, Beitar Illit, Rosh Tzurim and El’Azar. Nassar’s land was declared state property in 1991 and the legal battle of ownership has been ongoing ever since.
The Israeli Civil Administration initially dismissed as evidence the family’s official ownership documents, which were drawn up in 1924, during the Ottoman Period. After appealing the decision, the family was left empty-handed in 2002 when the court decided their land would be taken without further explanation.
The Nassars appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to force the Military Court to provide an explanation. After several extensions of the Supreme Court’s deadline, the State Attorney justified its decision by arguing that the satellite photo of the Nassar farm taken in 1991 did not exactly match the map drawn up in 1924 and that one of the four boundary names had been changed.
Eager to prove that the documents were authentic, the family hired Josef Kraus, an Israeli land surveyor from the Civil Administration. He travelled to Istanbul and London to verify their documents and presented his report in 2004. In this report, he directly tied the Nassars to their land, but at a heavy financial cost of $70,000.
The Israeli State Attorney’s Office did not deny the facts of the report, but rather decided to give the Nassars the opportunity to reregister their land. This process, which started in 2007, is still ongoing. In the meantime, the family has spend an astonishing $145,000 on legal costs and forced land surveys.
“They (the Israeli authorities) keep postponing the case, until today. We are still trying to reregister,” Daoud Nassar told Palestine Monitor. He is prepared to go “all the way legally.”
“I have faith in what we do, but that does not mean things will be achieved here (on short notice). We hope for the best but prepare for the worst,” he said.
And on 19 May things got worse indeed, when hundreds of the family’s grape and apricot trees were bulldozed by the Israeli military, only weeks before the harvest. The damage is an estimated $15,000 according to an engineer from the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture that surveyed the land on Nassar’s request.
“We found (demolition) papers on the land late March, saying the trees were planted on state land. We appealed to the court and our appeal was accepted and signed by the military authorities on the 12th of May,” explained Nassar. He added that because the case was pending, the destruction of the trees is considered illegal according to Israeli law. The family appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court, so that “this illegal action (would not) go unpunished”. The Israeli military authorities are set to respond to the accusations by 15 September.
I agree that this is unfair and wrong and I wish them the best in their appeal.
what about violence perpetuated by Hamas?
Discriminatory Laws in Israel
Search
Keyword/Name:
Theme
Status Proposed Active
EnactedFrom To
Clear
עברית | عربي
There are more than 50 Israeli laws that discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel in all areas of life, including their rights to political participation, access to land, education, state budget resources, and criminal procedures. Some of the laws also violate the rights of Palestinians living in the 1967 OPT and Palestinian refugees.
You can also see Adalah's Brief on Discriminatory Laws and Bills Since 2009, and compiled Pending Discriminatory Bills in the 19th Israeli Knesset.
This database collects text, analyses, and legal action for present and proposed discriminatory laws in Israel and the OPT. Please explore:
TitleThemeEnacted
Civil Wrongs Law - Amendment No. 8 (Liability of the State) 1967 Occupied Territories2012
Criminal Procedure Law - Interrogating Suspects - Amendment No. 6Criminal Law and Procedures2012
Income Tax Ordinance - Amendment No. 191 1967 Occupied Territories2012
Israeli Prisons Ordinance Amendment No. 43 - Prisoner-Attorney Meet...Criminal Law and Procedures2012
Israeli Prisons Ordinance - Amendment No. 40 (Meetings with Lawyers) Criminal Law and Procedures2011
"Anti-Boycott Law" - Prevention of Damage to the State of Israel th...Civil and Political Rights2011
Foreign Property Ownership - Israel Lands Law (Amendment No. 3)Land and Planning Rights2011
"Admissions Committees Law" - Cooperative Societies Ordinance - Ame...Land and Planning Rights2011
Citizenship Law - Amendment No. 10Citizenship2011
"Nakba Law" - Amendment No. 40 to the Budgets Foundations Law Civil and Political Rights2011
"Foreign Government Funding Law" - Law on Disclosure Requirements f...Freedom of Association2011
Law to Strip Payments from a Current or Former Member of Knesset du...Economic Rights2011
Extension of Detention - Criminal Procedure Law (Suspects of Securi...Criminal Law and Procedures2010
"Negev Individual Settlements" - Negev Development Authority Law -...Land and Planning Rights2010
Absorption of Discharged Soldiers Law - Amendment No. 12Education2010
Land (Acquisition for Public Purposes) Ordinance - Amendment No. 10Land and Planning Rights2010
"Pardon Law" or "Amnesty Law" - Termination of Proceedings and Dele...Civil and Political Rights2010
Regional Councils Law (Date of General Elections) Special Amendment...Political Participation2009
Israel Land Administration Law - Amendment No. 7Land and Planning Rights2009
National Priority Areas - The Economic Efficiency Law - Legislative...Economic Rights2009
Child Vaccinations and Child Allowances - Economic Efficiency LawEconomic Rights2009
Absorption of Discharged Soldiers Law - Amendment No. 7: Benefits f...Education2008
Criminal Procedure Law - Interrogating Suspects - Amendment No. 4Criminal Law and Procedures2008
Criminal Procedure Law (Detainee Suspected of Security Offence) (Te...Criminal Law and Procedures2006
"Ban on Family Unification" - Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law...Citizenship2003
Law of Political Parties - Amendment No. 12 Political Participation2002
Use of Hebrew Date LawCulture and Language1998
Knesset Law Political Participation1994
Basic Law: The Government Criminal Law and Procedures1992
Second Authority for Television and Radio Law Culture and Language1990
The Golan Heights Law1967 Occupied Territories1981
Interpretation LawSources of Law1981
Public Lands Law (Eviction of Squatters)Land and Planning Rights1981
Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel1967 Occupied Territories1980
Foundations of Law ActSources of Law1980
Religious Jewish Services Law Religion1971
Law of Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi (1969) and Law of Mikve Israel Agricultu...Culture and Language1969
Protection of Holy Sites LawReligion1967
National Planning and Building Law -Limitation of Water, Electricit...Land and Planning Rights1965
National Planning and Building LawLand and Planning Rights1965
Broadcasting Authority Law Culture and Language1965
Basic Law: Israel LandsLand and Planning Rights1960
Israel Land Administration Law Land and Planning Rights1960
Basic Law: The Knesset Political Participation1958
Jewish National Fund Law Land and Planning Rights1953
State Education LawEducation1953
Land Acquisition Law (Actions and Compensation)Land and Planning Rights1953
World Zionist Organization-Jewish Agency (Status) Law Culture and Language1952
Entry into Israel Law Citizenship1952
Citizenship Law Citizenship1952
Law of ReturnCitizenship1950
Absentees’ Property Law Land and Planning Rights1950
State Stamp Law National Identity Symbols1949
Flag and Emblem Law National Identity Symbols1949
Law and Government Ordinance, Article 18AReligion1948
Defense Regulations (Times of Emergency), Regulation 125 (Closed Zo...Land and Planning Rights1945
Trade with the Enemy Ordinance Culture and Language1939
Rights of those who Performed Military or National Service Bill Military ServiceProposed
Civil Service Law (Appointments) - Amendment (Affirmative Action) B...Military ServiceProposed
Bill to amend the Citizenship Law imposing loyalty oath for persons...CitizenshipProposed
Bill to amend the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty and limit th...CitizenshipProposed
Shalit Bill - Preventing Visits Bill Criminal Law and ProceduresProposed
Shalit Bill - Restriction of Visitation for a Security Prisoner Bill Criminal Law and ProceduresProposed
Shalit Bill - Release of Captives and Kidnapped Persons Bill Criminal Law and ProceduresProposed
Shalit Bill - Imprisonment of Requested Prisoners Criminal Law and ProceduresProposed
Bill to Fight Terrorism Criminal Law and ProceduresProposed
Bill to Preserve the Rights of Builders in Judea and Samaria [the O...1967 Occupied TerritoriesProposed
Bill to Amend the Prohibition of Discrimination in Products, Servic...1967 Occupied TerritoriesProposed
"Universal Jurisdiction Bill" - Associations (Amutot) Law (Amendment Freedom of AssociationProposed
"NGO Loyalty to a Jewish and Democratic State Bill" - Preserving th...Freedom of AssociationProposed
“Bill on Foreign Funding of NGOs" - Bill on Income of Public Instit...Freedom of AssociationProposed
Regulation of Bedouin Settlement in the Negev BillLand and Planning RightsProposed
Contributors to the State BillMilitary ServiceProposed
Exemption of Discharged Soldiers from National Insurance Fees - Bil...Military ServiceProposed
Rewarding the Perseverance of Compulsory Military Service Soldiers ...Military ServiceProposed
Reduction of the Tax Rate that Applies to the Special Remuneration ...Military ServiceProposed
Encouragement of the Study of Engineering and Technology - Bill to ...Military ServiceProposed
Exemption of Lone Soldiers from Payment of Television Fee - Bill to...Military ServiceProposed
"The Goals of Education" – Bill to amend the State Education Law Education Military ServiceProposed
Immigration to Israel Bill CitizenshipProposed
Denial of the Right to Wages Earned on Election Day to an Individua...Political ParticipationProposed
Determination of the Qualifying Election Threshold – Bill to amend ...Political ParticipationProposed
Qualifying Election Threshold – Bill to amend Basic Law: the Knesset Political ParticipationProposed
Qualifying Election Threshold - Bill to amend of Basic Law: the Kne...Political ParticipationProposed
Increased Governance and Raising the Qualifying Election Threshold ...Political ParticipationProposed
Changing the System of Government – Bill to amend Basic Law: The Go...Political ParticipationProposed
Mandatory Recruitment - Bill to amend the Security Service LawMilitary ServiceProposed
Civil Service BillMilitary ServiceProposed
Exceptions to the Registration of an Association – Bill to Amend As...Freedom of AssociationProposed
Taxation of Income of Public Institutions that Receive a Donation f...Freedom of AssociationProposed
Defamation of IDF Soldiers – The "Jenin, Jenin Bill" - Bill to amen...Civil and Political RightsProposed
Bill to amend on Participation in an Act of War or Terrorism agains...Criminal Law and ProceduresProposed
Denial of Privileges from a Prisoner Belonging to a Terrorist Organ...Criminal Law and ProceduresProposed
Knesset Approval of Political Negotiations Relating to Jerusalem an...1967 Occupied TerritoriesProposed
Application of Israeli Law to all of the Jewish Settlements in the ...1967 Occupied TerritoriesProposed
Application of Israeli Law to Jewish Settlements in the Jordan Valley1967 Occupied TerritoriesProposed
Removal of Outposts1967 Occupied TerritoriesProposed
Liability of the State - Bill to amend the Civil Wrongs Law, Amendm...1967 Occupied TerritoriesProposed
Permanent Political Agreement in Judea and Samaria - Bill to amend ...1967 Occupied TerritoriesProposed
اقتراح قانون "خادمي الدولة" (275) – 2013Military ServiceProposed
Basic Law: Israel, Nation State of the Jewish People Bill – 2013Civil and Political RightsProposed
@tammuz
unfortunately "discrimination" is not always a bad thing....as your examples prove. Discouraging the primitive and violent culture being perpetuated by Hamas and tolerated by palestine is something that everyone should join in supporting. The Palestinian people are reaping what they sow, pure and simple. They are a violent and archaic people that do not want to assimilate or cooperate with the world around them. They do not want to "fit in" or have others "fit in" around them. The preservation of the Palestine people, at this point, is more likely as an exhibit in a museum or a chapter in a history book about primitive terrorism.
While i admire your commitment to the current propaganda strategy, it too reflects the rather "behind-the-times" mentality of the Palestine people. No amount of spin can obscure the reality of the Palestine people's actions and the violent goals of Hamas. This tactic is least effective against an American public that knows full well the attitude and role Palestine has in the modern world, and currently it is a dismal one.
Your mistake, as well as Palestine's mistake, is that you truly believe that it is everyone else that needs to change for you...but alas, the opposite is true....and all of us sincerely hope that this realization will occur among the Palestinian people before it is too late.
I agree that certain laws are facially discriminatory but serve a national security purpose that other Western nations have similarly adopted. See responses above.
Moreover, most of the laws on these lists are proposed bills, not enacted laws.
Finally, the Israeli Supreme Court has a long history of invalidating discriminatory laws. Some of them have been approved by the Court, and that's screwed up, but there is engagement among moderate Israelis, especially Israeli lawyers, about their validity. There are extremist and racist Israeli Jews, without question, but it's unfair to characterize all Israeli Jews as such.
Now what of violence perpetuated by Hamas within densely populated civilian zones? Are you still too "busy" to address that issue, Tammuz?
I'd also ask why you're so fixated on Israeli actions and not other abuses against Palestinians in Arab countries in the region? They're arguably more egregious.
I've provided links for Jordan and Lebanon. I can pull information on Egypt, if you'd like.
LEBANON:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinians_in_Lebanon
Discrimination[edit]
According to Human Rights Watch, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live in "appalling social and economic conditions." They labor under legal restrictions that bar them from employment in at least 25 professions, "including law, medicine, and engineering," a system that relegates them to the black market for labor. And they are "still subject to a discriminatory law introduced in 2001 preventing them from registering property."[2] The discrimination Palestinians "suffer" when they apply for jobs in Lebanon has been compared to the "apartheid mentality" used by the ruling Sunni family of Bahrain towards its majority Shi'ite population.[4] Unlike Lebanon however Bahrain does not have any laws to bar Shi'ite from employment.
Israeli Arab Journalist Khaled Abu Toameh and other commentators accuse Lebanon of practicing apartheid against Palestinian Arabs who have lived in Lebanon as stateless refugees since 1948.[4][5][6][7][8] According to Human Rights Watch, "In 2001, Parliament passed a law prohibiting Palestinians from owning property, a right they had for decades. Lebanese law also restricts their ability to work in many areas. In 2005, Lebanon eliminated a ban on Palestinians holding most clerical and technical positions, provided they obtain a temporary work permit from the Labor Ministry, but more than 20 high-level professions remain off-limits to Palestinians. Few Palestinians have benefited from the 2005 reform, though. In 2009, only 261 of more than 145,679 permits issued to non-Lebanese were for Palestinians. Civil society groups say many Palestinians choose not to apply because they cannot afford the fees and see no reason to pay a portion of their salary toward the National Social Security Fund, since Lebanese law bars Palestinians from receiving social security benefits."[9]
In one of his series of articles accusing the government of Lebanon of practicing "apartheid" against the resident Palestinian community, journalist Khaled Abu Toameh describes the "special legal status" as "foreigners" assigned uniquely to Palestinians, "a fact which has deprived them of health care, social services, property ownership and education. Even worse, Lebanese law bans Palestinians from working in many jobs. This means that Palestinians cannot work in the public services and institutions run by the government such as schools and hospitals. Unlike Israel, Lebanese public hospitals do not admit Palestinians for medical treatment or surgery."[10] Journalist Ben-Dror Yemini describes Palestinians in Lebanon as living "under various restrictions that could fill a chapter on Arab apartheid against the Palestinians. One of the most severe restrictions is a ban on construction. This ban is enforced even in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, bombed by the Lebanese army in 2007.[11] Calling on Lebanon to change the systematic discrimination against his people, Palestinian journalist Rami George Khouricompared Lebanese treatment of Palestinians to the "Apartheid system" of South Africa.[12]
JORDAN:
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9827/palestinian-refugees-in-jordan-and-the-revocation-
Hazem Jamjoum: What legal status was afforded Palestinians who came under Jordanian control after the 1948 Nakba?
Anis Kassim: On 19 May 1948, the Jordanian army entered the area of central Palestine that the Zionist forces were unable to occupy, and began the process of legally incorporating central Palestine into the Jordanian Kingdom. As part of this process, on 20 December 1949, the Jordanian Council of Ministries amended the 1928 Citizenship Law such that all Palestinians who took refuge in Jordan, or who remained in the western areas controlled by Jordan at the time of the law’s entry into force, became full Jordanian citizens for all legal purposes. The law did not discriminate between Palestinian refugees displaced from the areas that Israel occupied in 1948 and those of the area that the Jordanian authorities renamed the “West Bank” in 1950.
On one hand, this citizenship was forced upon the Palestinians who did not really have much of a say in the matter. On the other, this was a welcome move because it saved those Palestinians the hardship of living without citizenship.
HJ: How was the process for the revocation of citizenship complex?
AK: First of all, I should note that the law itself has not been officially amended, so what I am about to describe is still what is officially in effect today. First of all, the Jordanian Constitution, adopted in 1952, states that citizenship is a matter to be regulated by a law, and the Jordanian Citizenship Law was indeed adopted in 1954, replacing that of 1928 and its amendment. According to this law, it is possible to revoke the citizenship of a Jordanian citizen who is in the civil service of a foreign authority or government. The citizen must be notified by the Jordanian government to leave that service and, if the citizen does not comply, the Council of Ministries is the body with the authority that is able to decide to revoke his citizenship. Even if the Council does decide to revoke the citizenship, this decision must then be ratified by the King, and even then, the citizen whose citizenship was revoked has the right to challenge the Council of Ministries’ decision in the Jordanian High Court, and it is this court’s decision that is binding and final. These procedures are being completely ignored when the citizenship of a Jordanian of Palestinian origin is revoked.
HJ: Did the status of Palestinians in Jordan change after the 1967 War with the Israeli occupation of the West Bank?
AK: No. their status remained as Jordanian citizens.
HJ: When did the differentiation between Palestinian citizens of Jordan begin?
AK: Today we can speak of five kinds of Palestinian citizens of Jordan. The first differentiation came in the early 1980s, when the Jordanian government was concerned that Israeli policies and practices aimed to squeeze out the Palestinian inhabitants of the occupied West Bank; to empty out the Palestinian territories to replace them with Jewish settlers. The Jordanian government then created the first real differentiation between its Palestinian citizens by issuing differentiated cards.
Those who lived habitually in the West Bank were issued green cards, while those who habitually lived in Jordan but had material and/or family connections in the West Bank were issued yellow cards. The sole purpose of these cards at the time was so that the Jordanian authorities at the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge—the only crossing point between Jordan and the occupied West Bank—could monitor the movement of these card holders, enabling the Jordanian authorities to know how many Palestinian West Bankers had crossed into Jordan, and to ensure that they returned, essentially a kind of statistical device. Indeed, this was a wise policy in terms of countering the Zionist plans to continue the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
The major turning point came with the Jordanian disengagement (fak al-irtibat) from the West Bank on 31 July 1988.
HJ: What was the disengagement?
AK: Since 1948, when central Palestine came under Jordanian control, the Jordanian government has claimed the West Bank as part of the kingdom. By 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had come to be recognized on an Arab and, to some extent, international level as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, but the Israelis and Americans were still refusing to recognize the PLO, let alone to officially communicate with it. Jordan’s King Hussein shrewdly took the decision to disengage from the West Bank as a message to the United States and Israel that if they were going to negotiate with anyone over the fate of Palestinians in the West Bank, it should be with the PLO. In the famous speech he delivered on 31 July 1988 [1] in which he declared the disengagement—and we have to remember that this was during the most intense period of the first Intifada— King Hussein stated that the purpose of the disengagement was to support the Palestinians’ struggle for self determination by relinquishing his claim to that territory.
HJ: How was the disengagement a “turning point” for Palestinians’ status as Jordanian citizens?
AK: When the disengagement was declared, the color of the cards (yellow and green), that had been used as a statistical device, became the criteria for determining the citizenship status of a citizen. The government issued instructions to the effect that those who habitually lived in the West Bank, that is green card holders, on 31 July 1988 were “Palestinian citizens,” while those who were living in Jordan or abroad were Jordanian. Put another way, over one-and-a-half million Palestinians went to bed on 31 July 1988 as Jordanian citizens, and woke up on 1 August 1988 as stateless persons.
HJ: You previously mentioned that we can speak of five kinds of Palestinian citizens of Jordan. What are the different kinds of status among Palestinians citizen of Jordan currently?
AK: The first category we can call hyphenated Palestinian-Jordanians. These are Palestinians who were in Jordan on the date of the disengagement with no material connection to the West Bank or Gaza Strip, or who were Jordanian citizenship holders abroad. These are regarded as Jordanians for all legal purposes.
The Palestinians in the second category are the green card holders whose citizenship was revoked by the government orders that I described earlier.
The Palestinians in the third category are the yellow card holders, who kept their citizenship after the disengagement, but many of whom have more recently faced the revocation of their Jordanian citizenship rights.
The fourth category is that of blue card holders. These are 1967 Palestinians refugees from the occupied Gaza Strip who are in Jordan and who were never given citizenship rights. They are in a very miserable position because, since they are not Jordanian, they cannot enjoy any of the benefits of citizenship in this country: they cannot access public schools or health services, they cannot get driving licenses, they cannot open bank accounts, or purchase land. They are mostly concentrated in the refugee camps in the Jerash area, specifically the one called “Gaza Refugee Camp,” which is generally known as the worst of the refugee camps in Jordan in terms of living conditions. To build a tiny house in the camp, they need to get several permits from several government departments. While they receive some modest support from UNRWA, any support that comes from the rest of the society has to be approved by Jordanian security authorities.
The fifth, and newest, of the categories is that of Jerusalem residents. These have always been a special case: the Israelis consider them permanent residents of Israel without any citizenship rights, while for Jordan they are citizens whose status was not affected by the disengagement. The problem now is that the Israelis, as part of their ongoing ethnic cleansing project, are revoking the residency rights of Palestinians in Jerusalem who cannot prove that their “center of life” is in that city, to use the terms of the Israeli High Court. The Jordanian government has yet to officially take a position on the Jordanian citizenship rights of these Jerusalemite Palestinian citizens of Jordan whose residency in Jerusalem has been revoked by Israel. This is now another emerging problem.
HJ: You mentioned that yellow card holders have been facing the revocation of their Jordanian citizenship in recent years. Can you expand on this?
AK: The main institution that handles this issue is the Follow-up and Inspection Department (al-mutaba’a wa al-taftish) of the Jordanian Ministry of Interior. To understand what’s happening you need to understand that the way Jordanian citizenship works since 1992 is that every citizen must have a “national number” (raqam watani). Anyone who does not have this number is not a citizen.
In recent years, the Follow-up and Inspection Department has been expanding on the scope of its authority in interpreting the 1988 government regulations dealing with the revocation of Palestinians’ Jordanian citizenship. We need to keep in mind also that these regulations were never made public, and that in fact no policy, let alone law, dealing with the revocation of Palestinians’ citizenship in Jordan has ever officially been made public. Originally, as I described, 31 July 1988 was treated as a cut-off date, if you were a green card holder in the West Bank, your citizenship was revoked, and otherwise you remained a citizen. The Department has since expanded to the revocation of citizenship from others under other pretexts.
For instance, many Palestinian citizens of Jordan were able to acquire Israeli-issued West Bank residency permits through such procedures as family reunification since 1967. Of course, part of Israel’s ethnic cleansing policies manifested as revocation of West Bank residency permits over the years under various pretexts. For example, at one point West Bank residency permit holders who were away from the West Bank for more than three years had their residency revoked by the Israelis. The Follow-up and Inspection Department of the Jordanian Interior Ministry has revoked national numbers (i.e. citizenship) from many Palestinians who had their West Bank residency permits revoked by the Israelis under the pretext that these people should have kept these residency permits, and that the Palestinian should go and get the Israelis to reissue them their West Bank residency permits.
Another example is that of PLO or Palestinian Authority (PA) employees. Even though a Jordanian citizen can work for any other government, many Palestinian citizens of Jordan who have taken jobs in PA institutions have been stripped of their national numbers. A more recent example is that of the Jordanian parliamentary elections [November 2010]. Many of the Palestinians who went to register as voters were sent to the Follow-up and Inspection Department, where they had their national numbers revoked.
Ultimately, however, it is difficult to discern a particular logic to the post-1988 revocations. In some cases, one person or group within the family has their citizenship revoked, while others in the same family remain citizens. With regards to employment in the PLO or PA, there are PA parliamentarians and ministers with Jordanian national numbers, while some Palestinian citizens of Jordan, for example, have had their citizenship revoked for working for a PA-owned company or civil institution. We can only say that so far it seems very arbitrary. I should also add that this wave of citizenship revocation means that yellow card holders live with the perpetual fear of any interaction with the government bureaucracy, since this could result in being sent to the Follow-up and Inspection Department and having their citizenship revoked.
HJ: Is there a way to know how many Palestinians have had their Jordanian citizenship revoked since 1988?
AK: No, these numbers are kept secret by the Jordanian Ministry of Interior and are not made public. There are various estimates, but these numbers vary. The most well-known of these is that of the Human Rights Watch report that stated that over 2700 Palestinians citizens of Jordan had their citizenship revoked between 2004 and 2008, but this number is based on a journalistic article in a Jordanian newspaper, and so, in addition to not giving information on the years before or after the period, are not to be taken as authoritative.
Orhan, please explain how Turkey is "light years" ahead of Israel in terms of minority rights. The country still refuses to acknowledge the Armenian genocide.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide_denial
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/24/armenian-president-turkey-genocide-denial
From Mondoweiss
'Hasbara': an exercise in the impossible
Tanzil Chowdhury 29 August 2014
Israel has constructed a systematic policy of propaganda, 'hasbara', that depends on its citizens - the extension and 'mouthpiece' of the state - to act as its voice. But this rationalisation of Israeli policy rests on shaky foundations.
“The explanation” is a calculated translation of the Hebrew term ‘hasbara’, that describes the systematic policy of propaganda that bleeds throughout Israeli society. To rationalise its every action and inaction, even its citizens, when travelling abroad, are encouraged to act as mouthpieces of the state. The hasbara machine is most dynamic in the crescendos of the illegal occupation and blockade such as we have seen unravelling before us over the last month. But it moves beyond mere silencing tactics, equating criticism of it’s government with anti-Semitism or exceptionalising suffering. It is not enough however, to say that Hasbara manipulates the truth to manufacture consent. A recent article in the Independent, ‘The Secret report that helps Israel hides facts’, is both revealing and indicting. Whilst it still remains that Israeli spokespersons have not been taken to task on this document, the following statements, by no means exhaustive but familiar to many, canonise and characterise the reasoning of statesmen, military personnel and impassioned advocates.
“Israel has a right to defend itself”
Derived from its democratic mandate that the government has (and by extension the army) an obligation to defend its citizens, this is perhaps the most regurgitated of the hasbara mantra. It’s undoing, however, is that the very same argument can be extended to the democratically elected Hamas government in Gaza. Failure to accept this argument is a failure to accept the virtue of democracy. What is perhaps most startling about this claim is not only that it undermines the right, recognised under international law, for occupied peoples to resist, but for Israeli PR, it toys with people’s ignorance, advocating the idea of ‘self-defence’ and an association with being the weaker party.
“Hamas is indiscriminately firing rockets into Israel”
And as a result, it is deliberately targeting civilians and causing their deaths. The current death toll, in which Palestinians outnumber Israelis circa twenty to one, would illustrate a different story. At a conservative estimate, 70 percent of the deaths in the Gaza Strip are civilians. Of the 50 Israelis, the heavy majority are combatants. Based on these figures, it would suggest something very much to the contrary, that in actual fact, Israel’s military execution is indiscriminate. This embodies one of the great successes of the Hasbara program, establishing rocket attacks causa prima, that seek to rationalise much of its disproportionate conduct.
“Hamas is bent on escalation and uses human shields”
Channel 4 recently conducted a fact check on the claims that Hamas uses human shields and hides its missiles in civilian buildings. It concludes that claims that Hamas coerces its citizens as human shields are entirely misleading; many simply decide to either stay in their homes (indicative of the Palestinian ‘sumud’, regardless of warnings from the IDF, or are simply not given enough warning, with others believing that staying indoors is safer). The report also cites that some claims of weapons being stored near civilian facilities may be true but accepts that, dense as the Gaza strip is, it is also inevitable. But perhaps more explanatorily illuminating are the inferences of the Channel 4 report; it entertains a well-known debate amongst public international lawyers on the law of force and ‘asymmetric warfare’.
International law, perhaps wrongly, assumes a liberal idea of sameness, entirely decontextualized, entirely de-situated, entirely de-historicised, of the legal parties to a conflict, maintaining that they must adhere to the same standards despite huge disparities in their respective abilities to fight conventional wars. Think of these rules as thresholds rather than laws. Certainly, this is a potential slippery slope, but Hamas not only have to fight a ‘war‘, they have to do so under the assumption that it has the military urbanity of a properly formed state. We can perhaps ‘forgive’ a government of a state that does not legally exist, given that Israel, one of the most powerful armies in the world, the largest recipient of US aid and a regional nuclear hegemon, ‘struggles’ with maintaining such legal integrity. Let us not forget that the Zionist militias, Irgun, Haganah and Stern Gang - the same groups that killed British officers in the King David Hotel bombing, that would later integrate into the IDF, employed similar tactics. And although the IDF’s ‘Neighbour Procedure’, which used Palestinian civilians as human shields, was banned by the Supreme Court in 2005, this was a deeply contested decision by executive ministers.
“Hamas want to see the evaporation of the Israeli state”
Such reasoning from the hasbara tool kit locks its victim into a circle, forever frustrated, supplanted covertly by that inexorable and inescapable axiom that ‘one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’. Despite the democratic aspirations of the Palestinians being realised in 2006, Hamas’ democratic legitimacy has been undermined by the ‘single most democratic state in the Middle East.’ How Israel can expect anything near its recognition when it refuses to recognise the democratic will of the people it illegally occupies, is beyond belief. Accompanying this paradoxical logic, is an exercise in hyperbole, presupposed by some sense of parity between Israel and its foe, embedded in a narrative in which it is in a perpetual state of existential crisis.
“Hamas rejected the Ceasefire”
Fair ceasefires are often the fruits of an even war. The recent ceasefire rejections stipulated nothing about the crippling Israeli blockade (referred to as ‘collective punishment’ by avowed Zionist, Judge Richard Goldstone) or opening up the crossings in Rafah to allow essential food, medical and building supplies in. Indeed, in 2008, the Egyptian-brokered ‘tahdia’ ceasefire was violated when Israel failed to comply with the conditions of easing the (illegal) blockade. The truth is, Hamas, as a crucial party to the negotiations, was ignored by both the governments of Egypt and Israel. But, as with everything that dictates this affair, Israel’s occupation and blockade, is conveniently evaded. Instead, it is justified as a security measure to prevent further attacks.
“The real crisis is in Syria and Iraq”
The Arab Awakening has provided ample ammunition for hasbara’s ‘deflection strategy’. Mitchell Barak, former adviser to Shimon Peres, speaking on Al-Jazeera’s Inside Story, provided a masterclass demonstration that has characterised this approach on both a macro and micro-level; indeed, a short chat with any national or student Palestine advocacy group will tell you that they are often met with similar rebuttals. Another brief, but by no means insignificant point, is that Israel’s Islamaphobic rhetoric homogenizes Islamic political thought, suggesting Hamas, Hezbollah and Isis are in the same boat.
“If there have been war crimes, we’ll investigate it”
Words of commendation, a partial (though hollow) admission of guilt, a determination to reflect, introspect, potentially own up to mistakes, can absolve even the most oppressive and domineering of us. Herein lies another facet of the hasbara strategy; rhetoric and tokenism. It humanises the Israeli narrative, infusing it with humility and re-enforcing its claim as the most ‘moral army in the world’. Making concessions (particularly ones that will most likely not be pursued) is infinitely effective in manufacturing consent. But Israel’s latest rejection of an independent UNHRC inquiry into violations in the latest Gaza invasion is more representative of their intentions.
Contingency plan: Hamas is a terrorist organisation
Much is said about Hamas’ outdated charter, one which has been contradicted and rejected by its own leaders. The reality is that it exists as merely a relic, one which few Gazans pay little attention to; but one which creates alarm and panic from a party whose threat is embellished. But If we really want to talk about charters that are currently threatening a just peace, pay a visit to the charters of Likud and Yesh Atid, the two largest parties in the Knesset, which both support the settlement of ‘Judea and Samaria.’
We may say that, amongst other things, hasbara is characterised by a few manoeuvres and methods; trying to create a sense of symmetry in the conflict (what we may call ‘mirroring’), diverting attention away from its own war crimes by incorporating other suffering (‘deflection’) and imbuing its own policy with unsubstantiated and populist humility (‘tokenism’).
Extracting all the politics from this, taken purely on the empirical data, the death tolls, casualties, the representation of women and children in these figures, and the respective military capabilities of the sides (Palestine has no army, aviation or naval force), at the very least, one must come to the conclusion that this is not a ‘battle of equals.’ It is by some Herculean effort, that Israel is able to preach to the unconverted that, in the face of insurmountable evidence to the contrary, that there is a level playing field in this ‘conflict’. They may even convince you that this is a ‘war.’
Curious to know when you'll acknowledge Hamas's role in this senseless violence.
Hamas broke the last 11 ceasefires.
You won't even dignify evidence that Hamas has placed missile launchers in civilian residential areas. As a Palestinian, doesn't that alarm you?
Also, Tammuz, the opinion piece you've posted negates that this is a "war." But in outrightly supporting Hamas's murder of alleged Palestinian informants, you've justified it on the grounds that Hamas is doing what it needs to do in "times of war."
There are also open fields in Gaza. Why aren't weapons placed there?
Let's give israeli army nobel peace price for everything they did for Gazan women, children and civilians.
Let's give awards to Israeli military for humanely letting people know that they are going to be blown away in seconds and be free of further pain and suffering by Hamas.
Let's give Israeli government a human rights award for so diligently defending and protecting Palestinian rights and freedom, especially for building concrete walls around them so they are protected from all evil and they don't have to go anywhere for survival.
Let's give Israeli authorities architecture and planning awards for building significant settlements on rather difficult hillsides and and lands gifted by God to immigrant Jews from Russia and Brooklyn.
Let's give environmental awards to Israeli forces clearing to land from invasive olive orchards and other invasive and edible plants.
Let's give several science awards to Israeli nutrition experts for successfully coming up with minimum calorie intake calcs Palestinians live by and making two gallons of water available for each Palestinian.
Let's give Israeli prison designers awards for building the world's largest open air prison in Gaza and remodeling it every few years.
Hey Mo, do we have any awards left? There are few more we should hand out to democratic and fair Israeli lawmakers.
Did I forget anybody?
Oh, them Turks and Jordanians and Egyptians and other Arab countries.., I just wish they go to hell for killing all the people and destroying lives in Gaza.
Long live Israel, the fairest democracy in the face of earth, the real supporters of human rights and shit.
And thank you dude, alternative, for opening our eyes to real data we have been missing and ignoring all this time.
Nobody's advocating for a Nobel Peace Prize, Orhan-- I'm well aware of Israel's flaws. Debate is not your strong point. I pity your students.
i don't even pity you. And I don't teach false debate.