Israeli towns continue campaign of excluding Arabs

Israeli towns continue to rewrite bylaws to keep Arabs out

While the Knesset may not be in a rush to pass a bill on the powers of cooperative communities' admission committees, fearing criticism and a battle in the High Court of Justice, some of these communities are still rewriting admission regulations in order to "preserve their Jewish and Zionist character."
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In June 2009, Haaretz exposed plans to change the communal bylaws of Manof and Yuvalim to make "loyalty to the Zionist vision" a condition for admission. In November of that year, another Misgav community - Mitzpeh Aviv - approved new bylaws stressing, for the first time, its Jewish and Zionist character.

This move is part of a campaign of discrimination against Arabs that is has very deep roots (Israeli society has always discriminated against Arabs in land, jobs, social services, government, and many aspects of society) but is growing far more open and aggressive.   The most recent outburst came in a letter from 50 leading municipal (i.e. government-paid) rabbis enjoining Jews not to rent or sell to Arabs, and to ostracize other Jews who do so (more below).

Understand, this discrimination by both religious authorities and Jewish communities is backed by the state government.  Just by way of today’s example, Jewish citizens, but not Arab "citizens," can get tax breaks from the government:

No tax breaks for Arabs
Heads of local councils in the Arab sector are protesting against a government decision that amounts to discrimination when compared to their Jewish counterparts along the State's borders.
Such Jewish communities receive tax benefits, and despite a High Court ruling that the amendment to the income tax act is unequal, the government has still not submitted an updated list of settlements included in the tax benefits. The end of last November was the deadline for the government's response to the ruling, and voices in the Arab sector are accusing the government of a racist decision.

Meanwhile, demolitions of Arab homes continue.  Just for clarity, this is not the news that is so well known here, the tens of thousands of examples of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem having their homes bulldozed by the Israeli military.  These are Arab homes inside Israel (in this story, in Lod) being demolished.

It is a scene being repeated across Israel with increasing frequency. Some 42,000 Arab homes built without required permits are threatened with demolition: 13,000 could be carried out at any time and 30,000 are at some stage in local courts, said Ameer Makhoul, director of Ittijah, a Palestinian civil society organization.

Last year, 165 of these homes were bulldozed, Amnesty International said.

Again, Arabs in Israel cannot buy land or live in much of the state of Israel.  They are blocked from many government benefits, and are much poorer than Jews (roughly 50% live in poverty), face massive discrimination in renting houses, and when they build homes, those are subject to being destroyed.  In many ways, Israel is being made increasingly unlivable for Arabs.      

50 Rabbis for discrimination are not the only voices

As most here know, Israel recently was roiled by a letter from 50 government-paid rabbis forbidding their followers from renting to Arabs.  These 50 are not the only voices.  Several prominent Israeli rabbis have spoken against this letter, cuasing two rabbis withdrew their names.  However the number of their supporters has swelled to at least 300 rabbis, and a new poll says that 55% of Jewish Israelis support the ruling.

Separately, at least 1,000 rabbis from around the world have signed a petition condemning this letter and the discrimination it supports.  This petition is a very good thing, and of course it demonstrates the vibrancy in the Jewish theological community.  However, it also reveals something else.  A review of the 1,000 signatories of this petition reveals that few-to-none are from Israel, a country where close to half the world’s Jews live.  Hence, we are seeing a profound split: rabbis in Israel and paid by the Israeli government openly endorse racism by the hundreds.  Elsewhere, where rabbis do not live in Israel and are not paid by the Israeli government, strident denunciation of discrimination in all its forms is the standard.  The State of Israel, far from protecting Jews and Jewish culture, appears to be transforming a religion from a voice of tolerance to a voice of racism and bias.

US House passes Berman resolution against Palestine without vote

The House adopted an "AIPAC-drafted" resolution without a vote to condemn Palestinians seeking international recognition of a Palestinian state:

US Congress on Thursday voted not to support a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood.

The House of Representatives passed a resolution expressing opposition to steps Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been taking to obtain recognition for a Palestinian country with 1967 borders, without an agreement with Israel.

Now, this move has zero practical effect because: (a) it is a resolution, not a law, and (b) the Obama Administration has already taken this exact position, that it will not support a Palestinian declaration of a state unless Israel approves.  Nonetheless, this move highlights to the rest of the world that it is not a neutral arbiter: indeed, it is not an arbiter at all, it is involved in the "peace process" specifically to prevent a Palestinian state from emerging.  Hopefully such a blatant and biased move will have the reverse effect, and push other nations to take a stand, rather than waiting for the failed "peace process" to discuss the matter for another two decades.  Indeed, in a hopeful note, Norway announced it is upgrading the Palestinian diplomatic mission.  This is an extremely small step, but it takes place in Western Europe, which so far refuses to recognize the Palestinian state.

In that same vein, with the latest collapse of the "peace process," the US has taken to presenting its own positions directly to Palestinian President Abbas:

US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell presented a document of "unofficial" offers to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, London-based Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper reported Wednesday. But the report adds Mitchell offered no US guarantees.

The paper cited Palestinian officials as saying that according to Mitchell's offer, the discussion on borders would be shared with Egypt and Jordan. He also offered "a logical and just solution for the issue of refugees", an agreement on water distribution, and "a debate on the claims of both sides to Jerusalem".

However, the report says, the document offers nothing in the way of a withdrawal by Israel to the 1967 borders, or from east Jerusalem.

Such talks, in which the "mediator" takes the Israeli side absolutely, are guaranteed to fail.  Abbas could not accept such terms, even if he were so inclined.

B’Tselem releases reports on systematic abuses in Israeli arrests of Palestinian children

From AFP:

The report accused police of "taking the minors from their beds and rushing them to interrogation... in most cases in order to obtain information on incidents that occurred a few days earlier."
It also said police interrogators illegally prevented parents from attending the questioning of their children, and said many minors complained of violent treatment during their arrests, but investigations were rare and never resulted in disciplinary action.
B'Tselem said it had documented the detention of at least four children younger than 12, the age of criminal responsibility in Israel, "meaning they are not subject to criminal proceedings."
In one case, an eight-year old was detained in the middle of the night "only because his name was identical to that of another child who was suspected of throwing stones," the group said.

The report can be read here.

Hezbollah-Israel rhetoric heats up, Israeli spying devices uncovered in Lebanon

Hezbollah and Israel have increased their war of words lately.  Hezbollah reported two Israeli spying devices overlooking Beirut and the Bekaa Valley to the Lebanese Army, which then dismantled them.  This was followed shortly by explosions off the Lebanese coast, which Lebanese radio claims was Israel destroying another of its spying devices (presumably to prevent capture after discovery).

This is the third time within a year that Israeli intelligence gathering installations have reportedly been discovered on Lebanese territory.