Israel in turmoil over bill allowing Jews and Arabs to be segregated
Segregation based upon race and religion , has the ruling party forgotten recent history so fast as to repeat it so soon . A shining beacon of light in the region indeed .Israel in turmoil over bill allowing Jews and Arabs to be segregated
said this week.
A vote on the bill is expected next week, although a final draft has yet to be agreed on. The legislation has been compared to South African apartheid by Israeli parliamentarians, and several thousand Israelis protested in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
“Our main concern is that it is changing the nature of the state and it changes the balance of Israel as a nation state,” said Amir Fuchs, the head of the defending democratic values programme at the Israel Democracy Institute. “You can be a nation state and still be a democracy as long as you don’t discriminate,” said Fuchs. “That the state is allowed to create villages that will separate on the basis of race or religion or nationality – this is outrageous.”
The purpose of the bill, he said, was “to change the balance, to make us more of a nation state, more of a Jewish state, and less of a democracy. There is no other way to put it. And this is the biggest problem.”
Netanyahu has lashed out at domestic and international critics, ordering the foreign ministry to reprimand the EU envoy Emanuele Giaufret after he was reported as saying the bill was discriminatory.
Both Israel’s attorney general and president, who holds a symbolic role, also opposed details of the bill. The president, Reuven Rivlin, said it would harm the Jewish people worldwide and “even be used as a weapon by our enemies”. The segregation clause, he said, could also allow towns that exclude Jews of Middle Eastern origin – who have been historically sidelined – or homosexuals.
Legislator Miki Zohar, from the prime minister’s Likud party, said: “Unfortunately, President Rivlin has lost it” and had “forgotten his DNA”. The IDF has always relied on Israeli Arabs as scouts but can't get them to do it now because of this attitude (polite word used).
In addition the secular Israelis are considered to be a problem by this government rather than citizens. It would be interesting to get @robel's thoughts on the story... This is the first time I've heard of this, although the article suggests it's been in progress for the last 50 years.Seems like Israel is attempting to create secular townships and essentially ban anyone that isn't Jewish from living there.Netanyahu seems to be dealing with detractors in a calm manner too;
"Netanyahu has lashed out at domestic and international critics, ordering the foreign ministry to reprimand the EU envoy Emanuele Giaufret after he was reported as saying the bill was discriminatory." I wonder if the secular townships will be anything like Sowato, near Jo'burg, in the old apartheid days?
...Maybe not. It does sound an feel like apartheid but with the heightened tensions and problems that the middle East brings to the table . I'm surprised how quiet this thread is, considering Netenyahu has been accused of pro-Jewish discrimination within Israel by the EU envoy and even the President of Israel has questioned the idea behind segregation and racially-motivated villages?
As an outsider, it feels like an attempt to legalise the ousting of Arabs from Israel but it would be interesting to hear any other views? There is a large pro Isreal momentum movement on the web ( includes here to some extent ) that this news does not conform to . As such its better not to comment and leave well alone . Remain silent as it is to difficultto defend such an action and If one cannot defend it then it leaves it and moves on to better news .
We are seeing this in the Trump threadafter the summit , can't defend it so will not go there until it comes back to where I want a disscussion to be . I guess so but, as a Politics forum, it's always interesting to see both sides to any situation. Yep - best to keep shtum on some elements of these sensitive matters.