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The proposal of MK Haim Druckman (National Religious Party) would allow lands to be allotted to Jewish settlers only for security, or cultural reasons.
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| By Debbie Berman July 8, 2002 |
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The cabinet decided yesterday to support legislation proposed by MK Haim Druckman (National Religious Party) that would enable state land to be apportioned for Jewish use only. The new law was initiated to bypass a recent High Court decision granting Israeli Arabs rights to live in Jewish communities built on state land. The cabinet decision was criticized as "racist," but right-wing politicians claimed it was a victory for Zionism.
Seventeen ministers voted in favor of an appeal submitted by Education Minister Limor Livnat. Livnat's proposal sought to overturn a Ministerial Committee on Legislation's refusal to support Druckman's proposal to allow for the delegation of land by the Jewish Agency for exclusively Jewish communities. Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh (Labor) and Minister without portfolio Dan Meridor (Center Party) voted against Limor's proposal, while Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit abstained. The other Labor Party ministers were not present during the cabinet discussion.
According to Druckman's proposal, it would be possible to allot lands for Jewish settlers only if the Defense Minister determined that those settlement areas were high security risks, or if there was a government decision to preserve an area's unified cultural, ideological, and communal way of life.
"This is not a security matter at all. There is no need for flagrant discrimination," Meridor said today in response to the cabinet decision. Meridor called the decision a "grave error" and "flagrantly discriminatory." He said the decision "places [Israel] in a bad situation, changing our image in our land and in the world... It is not permissible to allow an Israeli law to state that a non-Jew may be prevented from living in a particular place for security reasons."
Livnat said the cabinet decision was not intended to "overturn" the recent High Court decision, but rather to "supplement it." The court ruled two years ago that the state cannot allocate land in a discriminatory manner. This landmark ruling was in response to a petition by an Israeli Arab couple, Adel and Iman Ka'adan, who had applied to lease a plot of land and build a home in the communal settlement of Katzir, in Wadi Ara. Their request was rejected on the grounds that only Jews could live there, a policy that was overturned with the court's ruling.
The court ruling in the Ka'adans' favor has not yet been implemented, apparently for bureaucratic reasons. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the court last year calling for a ruling of contempt against the Israel Lands Agency for not abiding by the anti-discrimination ruling.
Politicians argue merits of cabinet decision
Livnat defended yesterday's cabinet decision as "a continuance of Jewish Agency activity to realize Jewish Zionist settlement throughout Israel."
"This proposal doesn't really change anything," Druckman wrote today in Maariv. "It was intended to sharpen the already-existing policies in Israeli land laws, and in the laws regarding the standing of the Jewish Agency and Zionist federations... You would have to be incredibly naïve to ignore the fact that the Jewish Agency's very essence is to help Jews make Aliyah to their historic homeland, and as a result, to help them settle the land."
Opposition leader Yossi Sarid (Meretz) called the decision "racist," and said that it invited comparisons to Europe's right-wing political parties. "What are we doing? We are throwing outside the fence citizens of this country," he wrote today in Maariv. "Arab Israelis are not our guests. They are citizens with equal rights, something to which we obligated ourselves in Israel's Declaration of Independence."
MK Roman Bronfman (Democratic Choice) said Israel "was pushing its Arab citizens towards terror. This is a racist decision which... actually weakens Israel's security."
"Racism has become the official ideological of the state of Israel," charged MK Azmi Bishara (Balad).
Knesset member Ahmad Tibi (Ta-al) added, "The state is fighting against Arab children through allowance cuts, is destroying our homes and is stopping us from building new ones. The state is treating us like an enemy and is systematically destroying all ties and bridges."
Legal sources predict that the proposal that was approved yesterday will be overturned by the High Court on grounds that it is racist, media sources reported. Supreme Court President Aharon Barak recently said, "Our ruling, that allotting state lands to Arabs and Jews must be done on a basis of equality, is a Zionist ruling in the full sense of the word. This is the realization of the Zionism, which seeks to see Israel as a national state for Jews, with equality for all those residing within its walls."
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