THE JUDICIAL debate concerns one of the most revolting laws ever enacted in Israel.
It says that the wife of an Israeli citizen is not allowed to join him in Israel if she is living in the occupied Palestinian territories or in a “hostile” Arab country.
The Arab citizens of Israel belong to Hamulas (clans) which extend beyond the borders of the state. Arabs generally marry within the Hamula. This is an ancient custom, deeply rooted in their culture, probably originating in the desire to keep the family property together. In the Bible, Isaac married his cousin, Rebecca.
The “Green Line”, which was fixed arbitrarily by the events of the 1948 war, divides families. One village found itself in Israel, the next remained outside the new state, the Hamula lives in both. The Nakba also created a large Palestinian Diaspora.
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Behind the security argument there lurks, of course, a demographic demon. The Arabs now constitute about 20% of Israel’s citizens. If the country were to be swamped by a flood of Arab brides and bridegrooms, this percentage might rise to – God forbid! – 22%. How would the “Jewish State” look then?
The matter came before the Supreme Court, The petitioners, Jews and Arabs, argued that this measure contradicts our Basic Laws (our substitute for a nonexistent constitution) which guarantee the equality of all citizens. The answer of the Ministry of Justice lawyers let the cat out of the bag. It asserts, for the first time, in unequivocal language, that:
“The State of Israel is at war with the Palestinian people, people against people, collective against collective.”
A research by an Arab human rights group shows a ten-fold increase in Jewish attacks on the Arab population in Israel over the last year.
On Saturday, the Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens reported the 1000 percent rise in 2008 crime rates compared with 2007, citing the recent Israeli war on Gaza and the Israeli elections in February as a reason, said Israeli website Ynetnews.
The report said that the Israeli-occupied western Jerusalem (Al-Quds) in the West Bank witnessed the highest rate of racist crimes with 32 counts of anti-Arab violence. Akka [Akko] in northern Israel came second with 22 instances of such crimes.
It also noted that 42 Arab citizens had been killed since 2000 at the hands of the Israeli security forces.
"What we are witnessing is a moral collapse, and it's time to shout out against racism," said Jafar Farah, the head of the group adding that "the data is especially worrying in regards to civilian violence." ...
At least two sonic booms hit Gaza City and northern areas of the strip earlier on Sunday, Xinhua cited witnesses as saying.
Tel Aviv has previously resorted to sonic boom attacks on the Gazans for weeks on end, causing psychological disorders for thousands of Gazans -- mainly children.
"Around 50 percent of the children in Gaza are in need of mental health interventions," Gaza-based psychologist El Sarraj told Fars News Agency in a previous interview.
Israeli gunboats also opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats near the coast of Rafah city south of the territory. A number of the boats were reportedly damaged. Similar attacks happen on Palestinian boats on a regular basis with a 20-month blockade being in place on the coastal sliver. ...
