While the eyes of the world focused on the tragic toll of the bombings on Gaza, the eruption of the conflict in the Middle East brought with it a new front of violence: that of Jewish and Arab citizens within Israel.
In a week of war escalation, Israel’s attacks on Gaza left 248 dead, including 66 children, and almost 2. 000 wounded. Hamas rockets left 12 deceased in Israeli territory.
The images of the iron dome intercepting Hamas rockets went around the world.
However, ” l he most striking images of all are of community violence within Israel “, according to Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy from the Brookings Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
“Threatens to break the seams of the delicate and uneasy balance between Israel’s Jewish majority and the 21% of Israeli citizens who are also Palestinians, ”Sachs wrote on his blog about the conflict.
“Mixed Jewish-Arab cities that were supposed to be examples of coexistence, such as Acre, Ramla, Jaffa and Lod, erupted in an orgy of violence and vandalism “, described Shlomo Ben-Ami, historian and former foreign minister of Israel.
And it is that during the more than seven decades of existence of the State of Israel A form of peaceful coexistence had developed between the Arab minority and the Jewish majority that did not deny the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the perception of discrimination denounced by the Arabs, but that channeled the unrest in ways other than violence.
According to the Israel Democracy Index 2020, 81% of Arab respondents consider that members of that community want to integrate into the country and be part of that society. However, only 35% believe that the regime in Israel is democratic in its treatment of citizens Arabs, a fall of 10 percentage points from 2017.
In recent years, there have been some measures taken by the State of Israel that have increased the sense of grievance among the Arab minority.
Adalah, a NGO that defends the rights of Arabs in Israel, developed a database that includes more than 65 laws that he considers discriminatory towards Palestinians .
Although many of these regulations affect residents of Gaza and the West Bank, Amjad Iraqi, editor of the magazine 972 and analyst at the Al-Shabaka center for studies on Palestinian issues, assures that they also directly or directly impact those Arabs who have Israeli citizenship.
He adds that a large part of them have been done since Benjamin Netanyahu came to power in 2009.
Amir Fuchs has challenged some of these laws that, in his opinion, have made the country that for decades has been known as the only Middle East democracy in “ a democracy with flaws.”
“The fact that everyone can vote , that anyone can run for Parliament, that anyone can open a newspaper and say what they want, shows that we are still a democracy, although we have problems, “says this anal principal member of the Israel Institute of Democracy. “I think we do not treat Arabs as we should,” he highlights.
BBC Mundo presents some of the most relevant laws that Israeli Arabs or, as many of them prefer to be called, Palestinian citizens of Israel consider discriminatory.
1. The Law on Citizenship and Entry into Israel
First approved in 2003 as an emergency measure This law prevents spouses of Israeli citizens from obtaining residence permits and citizenship automatically if they come from the Palestinian Territories or from States considered hostile such as Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
The rule, which has been renewed and modified since then, later established that these limitations apply to males under the age of 35 years and women under 25 years .
“What this law means in practice is that a Palestinian citizen if he marries or has children with someone from the West Bank or Gaza Strip does not have the right to transfer citizenship immediately highly, “says Amjad Iraqi, analyst at the Palestinian studies center Al-Shabaka.
” It is basically a complete ban that vetoes anyone who is not Jewish, “he tells BBC Mundo.
It states that although there is a mechanism to request permits so that these relatives can reside in Israel, “it is extremely difficult to get an answer and, when there is one, they are rarely granted; and when they are granted, they usually contain many restrictions and limitations. ”
Account that, as a consequence, many couples end up living in Israel illegally; or Israeli Arab citizens “have to move to the occupied territories, to live under military rule with their families; or they all go somewhere else. ”
Iraqi indicates that tens of thousands of families are affected by this ban. “ This law has long been considered one of the most racist in Israel, precisely because of the way it is aimed directly at the Palestinians.”
Amir Fuchs, analyst at the Israel Democracy Institute, agrees with Iraqi in valuing this law as “discriminatory.”
He emphasizes that the norm was challenged before the Supreme Court, where its constitutionality was validated by a narrow majority.
“The State indicated that there were security reasons, saying that if thousands of Palestinians acquired Israeli citizenship through marriage, it was likely that some of them were terrorists. The Supreme Court accepted these arguments, but I think it was a mistake, ”Fuchs explains to BBC Mundo.
This law was initially approved during the Second Intifada, when Palestinian groups carried out frequent suicide attacks in Israel .
Citing figures from the Shin Bet, Israel’s intelligence agency, the daily The Scotsman indicated in 2006 than some 25 almost 93. 000 Palestinians married to Israeli citizens had participated in activities considered terrorist in recent years.
“At the beginning of the decade of 2000, the situation was terrible, we had bomb attacks almost every two se manas. But if this law was justified then, not now. It should be abolished “, points out Fuchs.
The expert agrees with the pro-Palestinian organizations that affirm that this law responds to” demographic concerns. “
“Some people said that if tens of thousands of spouses from the Palestinian Territories were allowed into Israel they would change the demographic balance of Israel, increasing the proportion of Palestinians in the country. I think that was probably the true logic applied by the State, but they did not dare to say it and before the Supreme Court they hid behind security reasons, ”he says.
two. Return Law
Approved in 1950, the Law of Return states that any Jew of the world can emigrate to Israel and obtain citizenship.
For pro-Palestinian organizations, is one of the greatest examples of discrimination in Israel.
“That means that the State already said from the very beginning that if you are not Jewish, you are not a priority and you do not have equal rights,” Iraqi told the BBC World.
“Contrast that situation with the fact that Palestinian refugees who were born in historic Palestine before 1948 and their descendants they are still prohibited from returning to this state, “he adds. .
Fuchs, for his part, considers the criticisms of this legislation misguided because, as he maintains, that norm does not establish any discrimination between those who have citizenship of Israel .
“The Law of Return discriminates between people from other parts of the world, but many countries have discriminatory laws on immigration issues. And, in this case, it is justified because Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people. That was, in fact, the reason for its creation ”, he points out.
3. The Nation State Law
Approved in 2018, the Nation State Law declares Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish people , something that was already inscribed in the country’s Declaration of Independence, but which created a lot of controversy.
“This law changed everything and nothing at the same time because there were already many laws in Israel that discriminated against Palestinian citizens and enshrined the supremacy of Jewish citizens and Jews around the world in comparison with the Palestinians ”, Iraqi points out and highlights that this norm has constitutional rank , to difference from others.
This analyst questions that the law establishes Jewish settlements as a “national value”, the promotion and consolidation of which should be per follow; that the right to self-determination is exclusive to the Jewish people and that the Arabic language was “degraded” from a co-official language to a special language
“As regards the Law of the Nation State, the idea of the existence of collective rights, of national belonging, only corresponds to Jews, while Palestinians only have individual rights , such as having the right to socio-economic development or the right to vote ”, he points out.
Amir Fuchs has fought the Nation State Law because he considers it an error, although he points out his dream Constitution, he would say in the first paragraph that Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people because, as highlighted, that is its reason for being.
“Many constitutions say, for example, ‘this is the State of the Croatian people’ or ‘this is the State of the Hungarian people”, but in that same paragraph or in the following one they establish that grant all minorities absolute equality before the law or something for the style. AND so is what is lacking in this law and the reason why we fight it “, he assures.
The expert maintains that this omission was not an error, because” those who promoted the law tried to change the balance established by the Supreme Court over years of verdicts establishing that the fact that Israel is the land of the Jews does not mean that you can discriminate against Arabs . ”
Fuchs points out that in practice it does not change much because Israel has several laws that establish equal rights, but considers the message that is transmitted with the norm serious.
“The Constitutions are not only a matter of rights and laws, they also have to do with education and the message of this law that Arabs are second-class citizens is very bad , even if it is false. ”
The expert indicates that although he cannot know if the intra-Israeli violence of recent days was a consequence of this law, he is sure that its approval It did not help Arabs to feel part of the country, or to feel treated as equals.
“On the contrary, it makes them feel alienated and second-class citizens; and that’s a big mistake that I hope will be corrected one day. ”
4. Israel Land Law
The occupation, control and ownership of land have played a central role in shaping the State of Israel.
Ajmad Iraqi states that 93% of the lands belong to the State , something that only happens, according to it, in countries such as China, North Korea or Cuba.
“This degree of control state on the land exists because they want to give priority to the Jews in the delivery of land and housing “, he says.
The Land Law of Israel, approved in 1960 with constitutional rank, prohibits the transfer of ownership of those lands of the State q They are managed by different entities and that, usually, rent them with long-term contracts.
Historically one of these entities has been the Jewish National Fund (JNF, for its acronym in English), a Non-governmental organization established at the beginning of the 20th century in order to acquire land for the Jewish people.
Iraqi points out that the JNF statutes establish that it can only rent its properties to Jews.
This regulation was legally questioned and the Israel Prosecutor General’s Office determined in 2005 that the acquisition and administration of land by the JNF was discriminatory , so it could not continue to be carried out with the help of the State.
Iraqi argues that the final effect of many laws, policies and institutions involved in the land issue is that the Israeli Arabs have ended up occupying around 3.5% of the territory, despite representing an 21% of the population.
It indicates that after the creation of Israel, many lands of mostly Palestinian localities were confiscated, which reduced by a third, for example, the lands of his hometown.
In addition, he refers that on 2011 a law was approved that allows the establishment in small communities of admission committees that have the legal power to reject those who seek to reside in them.
“That means that I can apply and be rejected because the admission committee considers that because I am Arab I will not fit into the social fabric of that community,” says Iraqi.
Pa ra Amir Fuchs, the Admission Committee Law is “discriminatory” and “problematic.”
“We write a lot about it at the Israel Institute of Democracy. I was in the Knesset (Parliament) when it was passed. We tried to stop it, but we couldn’t “, he says.
He emphasizes that the problem with the land is not the laws but the practices.
” The Supreme Court has established in many verdicts that the country and the institutions that administer the lands cannot discriminate between Jews and non-Jews. Of course, there are people who discriminate because they are racists, but that discrimination is not based on the legislation “, he indicates.
” When there is a discrimination that you can prove, the Supreme Court intervenes. There was a famous verdict called Kaddan, in which the court said that you could not create a town and say ‘this town is for Jews’. That was prohibited after that decision ”, he adds.
5. Nakba Law
In 2011, Israel passed the Law of the Nakba, which establishes the possibility that authorities withdraw public funding to any institution that commemorates Israel’s Independence as a national day of mourning.
“In practice this means that if a theater , a school or a university, for example, allow Palestinian citizens to hold a vigil or a protest to talk about the catastrophe (Nakba, is the Arabic word used by Palestinians to refer to that day) of 1948, in contrast to Israel’s Independence Day, the government may threaten those institutions with withdrawing their funds, “explains Amjad Iraqi.
” Basically, it is an attempt by the institutions of Israel to silence and prevent any attempt to commemorate the Nakba “, He adds.
Iraqi points out that when the right wing came to power in 2009, with the electoral victory of Benjamin Netanyahu, “they were terrified by the fact that the Palestinians insisted on demanding equality and reaffirming their identity. ”
“ We ended up having discriminatory laws to suppress this, ”he concludes.
The law, says the expert, has served to intimidate many institutions, but the Palestinians in Israel have found new ways to commemorate the Nakba.
“This is one of those cases where the state takes an active role in trying to erase any kind of Palestinian history or memory ”, he assures.
From the Israel Democracy Institute, Amir Fuchs clarifies that it is not a criminal law, but civil law. il. It does not prohibit the commemoration of the Nakba, he explains, but allows the withdrawal of public funds from the institutions that do so.
“ The problem is that they can take three times your money what you spent on that specific event and up to half of your entire budget. So obviously we opposed it because it goes against freedom of expression. ”
Fuchs claims that Arabs and Israelis have different versions of what happened in 1948.
“There was a war and they lost it. It is not important if one narrative or the other is correct. This is a fact, there were grandparents who died and relatives who became refugees . And it doesn’t matter how it happened or why. That is why I fully support their right to commemorate it, ”he says.
Fuchs explains that many Israelis oppose the commemoration of the Nakba because they believe that by equating the founding of Israel with a “catastrophe”, they are delegitimizing the creation of the state. “That’s why they say, okay, you can commemorate it but not with the state’s money.”
In any case, it points out that until now the Nakba Law has never been executed and that the government has not withdrawn the funds from any institution.
“I think there is a case in which it almost applies, but there is no final decision. It was a procedure to withdraw funds to a theater that had shows that involved terrorism themes or something like that, “he says.
He adds that when it was challenged, the Supreme Court said that it was too early to decide why it had not been applied.
“In any case, when it is applied, yes, for example, a school performs a ceremony on the Nakba and the Ministry of Education takes funds from it, it will go to the Supreme Court where I think it will be repealed ”, he concludes.
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