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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Jewish nation-state bill passes into law

2018-07-19

[Jpost] The controversial Jewish nation-state bill became Israel's 14th Basic Law early Thursday morning after it passed into law in the Knesset plenum by a vote of 62 in favor, 55 against, and two abstentions. The law passed after a stormy debate full of theatrics that stretched more than eight hours. Applauding the vote, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the law as "a defining moment in the history of Zionism and the history of the State of Israel. "122 years after Herzl published his vision, we have stated by law the basic principle of our existence," Netanyahu said from the Knesset podium. The head of the special committee that legislated the bill, MK Amir Ohana (Likud), told the plenum it could be the most important legislation in the history of the state. He said the bill had been discussed more than any of the basic laws that have been passed before. The law's sponsor, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Avi Dichter, turned to Arab MKs in the final address before voting and told them: "We were here before you, and we will be here after you." But he said their rights as minorities would not be harmed by the law. Joint List MKs condemned the legislation. Party leader Ayman Odeh waved a black flag on the Knesset podium and his faction colleague, MK Jamal Zahalka, ripped up the bill. "We are now seeing with shock the death of our democracy, which has been dying in recent years, and suffering from the racism that has hit a new peak with this bill," Joint List MK Ahmed Tibi said earlier in a meeting of Ohana's committee that legislated the bill and approved it by an 8 to 7 vote Wednesday morning along coalition and opposition lines. The Jewish nation-state bill is a Basic Law with constitutional heft that declares Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people. It anchors in law the state’s menorah emblem, Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, national holidays and the right of all Israeli residents to preserve their heritage without consideration of religion and nationality. The two most controversial clauses in the bill were changed. The Diaspora clause says, "The state will act in the Diaspora to maintain the connection between the state and the Jewish people." The original version said that the connection would be maintained among "the Jewish people, wherever they are." A clause that could have permitted one religious group to bar another from living in their community was replaced with one saying that "The state sees developing Jewish settlement as a national interest and will take steps to encourage, advance, and implement this interest."

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israel freezes funds for Palestinian prisoners' families

2018-07-03

[Al Jazeera] Israel's parliament has passed a law that withholds hundreds of millions of dollars in funds from the Palestinians over welfare payments given to prisoners and their families. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, approved on Monday the law with 87 of the 120 lawmakers voting in favour and 15 opposing. The new legislation will deduct the money that the Palestinians allocate to prisoners and others killed by Israeli forces from taxes collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. Lawmaker Avi Dichter, a co-sponsor of the law, said the families of Palestinian prisoners had easy access to these funds. Arab lawmakers railed against the bill ahead of the vote. Jamal Zahalka, of the Joint List of Arab parties, said the bill was "despicable". "You are stealing from the Palestinian people," Zahalka shouted. The Israeli move deepened a budget crunch already hit hard by US cuts in aid. Israel has long pushed for the Palestinians to halt the stipends - which benefit roughly 35-thousand families of Palestinians killed and wounded in the conflict with Israel - saying the practice encourages violence. Among the beneficiaries are families of Palestinian prisoners and others who were killed by Israeli forces. The stipends total approximately 330 million US dollars, roughly seven per cent of the Palestinian Authority's five billion US dollar budget in 2018. Palestinians say the tax revenues, collected by Israel for them under past peace agreements, are their money, and that the Palestinian Authority has a responsibility to all of its citizens like any other government. For Palestinians, the families are widely seen as victims of a half-century Israeli occupation. Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi, accused Israel of theft and piracy. "This is nothing short of highway robbery, this is real piracy, they are stealing Palestinian funds, it's not theirs to decide what to do with it, if we were free we wouldn't need Israel to collect customs." she said.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hundreds commemorate Land Day in Umm al-Fahm

2018-04-02

[Ynet] Commemorating protesters killed in 1976 riots over expropriation of Arab lands, Arab residents hold a moment of silence in solidarity with Paleostinians rubbed out in Friday's Gazoo border festivities, say they're willing to sacrifice their lives for the 'deaders.' Hundreds of people took part in a rally near Umm al-Fahm ...home of the outlawed northern branch of the Islamic Movement, the Israeli branch of the Muslim Brotherhood... on Saturday marking 42 years since Land Day. The participants held a moment of silence in solidarity with the Paleostinians killed in Gazoo border festivities the previous day, saying "they died as shahids (deaders)." The rally was attended, among others, by Arab members of Knesset Ahmad Tibi, Ayman Odeh, Hanin Zoabi, Abd Al Hakeem Haj Yahya, Yusef Jabareen and Jamal Zahalka, as well as former Knesset Member Osama Saadi And other leaders of the Arab public. The demonstrators in Umm al-Fahm waved Paleostinian flags and shouted, "We will sacrifice our lives for the deaders." Dozens called to take to the streets and demonstrate, saying "the Israeli government is murdering in cold blood. Speeches will not help, only protests blocking roads." MK Zahalka echoed the demonstrators' invective, calling the state's actions on the Gazoo border a "massacre." "Israel is executing people to intimidate and scare," he claimed. "We cannot sit and watch it on TV. We must come out and fight in order for Israel to stop the massacre in Gazoo. Every person must participate in this struggle. I suggested blocking roads and there are also other proposals. We will not remain silent." Mohammad Barakeh, former MK and chairman of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, an organization that represents Arab citizens of Israel at the national level and the body that organized the demonstration, said it is meant to send a message to Israel "that it must stop the massacre" on the Gazoo border. At the same time as the demonstration in Umm al-Fahm, about 100 people, mainly women, from the Women Wage Peace movement demonstrated at Yad Mordechai Junction, calling to "lift the siege on Gazoo" and chanting, "We will not forgive and will not accept the murder of demonstrators." Land Day marks events that took place on 30 March 1976 when the Israeli government, headed by Yitzhak Rabin, expropriated Arab lands in the Galilee. In the ensuing confrontations with Israeli security forces, six Arab citizens were killed, about one hundred were maimed, and hundreds of others were tossed in the calaboose Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! Over the years, the day came to symbolize Arab national identity on which Arabs demand rights they say they are deprived of. Palestinians “March” in West Bank in Solidarity [Haaretz] Six Paleostinian demonstrators were maimed during festivities in the West Bank village of Abu Dis. Of the six maimed in the West Bank, five Paleostinians were reportedly hit with rubber bullets and one with live fire.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Arab-Israeli party suspected of multimillion-shekel fraud

2016-09-19

Politics: sometimes war by other means. Did President Obama's democracy advisors teach them this? [IsraelTimes] More than 20 suspects tossed in the calaboose Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! in massive sweep; Balad calls allegations ’baseless,’ part of ’persecution campaign Israeli police on Sunday arrested more than 20 activists and members of the Arab Israeli party Balad, saying an investigation revealed that the party had concealed the origin of millions of shekels in donations. Balad, which holds three Knesset seats and is one of the four parties comprising the Joint (Arab) List faction, said the arrests were part of a systematic campaign of political persecution. Those arrested in the sweep of Balad’s offices included senior members and activist, among them lawyers and accountants, a police statement said. Police said they opened their investigation into Balad with the approval of the attorney general after a state comptroller report raised the suspicion that senior members and activists had created a mechanism to "systematically misrepresent" the origins of millions of shekels donated to the party to finance its operations in recent years. The party allegedly reported large donations from "various sources in Israel and abroad" as if they were hundreds of smaller contributions made within Israel. Police said the suspicions included "falsifying corporate documents, forgery, use of forged documents, money laundering, and violating the party financing law." In a statement to the press, Balad denied the charges, calling them "fabricated" and "baseless." "The latest arrests are a brazen and dangerous escalation, but will not deter us from continuing our work," the statement said. Balad called the arrests an "authoritarian" attempt to undermine the party’s "national and democratic role." A statement in Hebrew added that the arrests were part of a "campaign of persecution against the Arab minority in general and against the political movement [Balad] specifically." The Joint List said in a brief statement that it would not comment on the arrests. Balad, which advocates for a binational state for Paleostinians and Israelis, has been dogged by controversy. Its founder, Azmi Bishara, fled Israel in 2007 amid accusations that he had provided the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah with information during the Second Leb War in 2006. He has since been living in Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... Earlier this year, the party’s three Knesset members were widely condemned after they visited the families of Paleostinians killed while carrying out attacks on Israelis. They were suspended on February 8 by the Knesset Ethics Committee: Hanin Zoabi and Basel Ghattas for four months and Jamal Zahalka for two. More recently, Ghattas made headlines for calling former president Shimon Peres a "blood-covered war criminal," after the Nobel Peace Prize-winner was hospitalized due to a stroke.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israel approves new stop and frisk law

2016-02-04

Rudy Giuliani would understand. Israel's parliament passed a law on Tuesday expanding police powers, allowing them to stop and frisk suspects without probable cause, the latest attempt to crack down on near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israelis. Critics say the law will allow police to racially profile minorities and Arabs. Which other minorities? Bahai'i, perhaps. Druze. Aramean-Israelis, formerly known as Christian Arab-Israelis. Israel is part of the Middle East, so there are subterranean complexities beneath the simple surface. While previously police could only search people suspected of carrying a weapon, under the new measures officers can search any-one in areas declared by district police commanders to be possible settings for "hostile sabotage activity." They can also search people they suspect might commit violent crime. Israel's internal security minister Gilad Erdan of the Likud party said the law is "an important enhancement of the police's ability to more effectively battle terrorism and violence." Arab lawmaker Jamal Zahalka said that it was "clear the main people affected will be Arabs and people who look like Arabs." That's who's been stabbing people at random. Israel also resumed the demolition of homes belonging to Palestinian assailants. On Tuesday, the military said security forces measured the home of Amjad Sukkari, 34, a Palestinian police officer who shot at Israeli soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint Sunday, wounding three before troops shot him dead. Israel says home demolition deters attacks, but critics say the tactic amounts to collective punishment.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Knesset approves minimum jail time for rock throwing

2015-11-04

[IsraelTimes] Sentence set for at least 3 years, though judge can reduce it in 'extraordinary' cases; Arab MK: Law is fuel on the fire The Knesset on Monday enacted minimum prison terms for rock-throwing attacks against vehicles or pedestrians. In a vote of 51 to 17, politicians approved a series of amendments to Israel's Criminal Law, raising the minimum prison sentence for rock throwing to three years. Among the law's provisions, parents of a minor imprisoned for rock throwing will now be denied state benefits for the minor for the period of the incarceration. The law was passed as a "temporary provision" that must be renewed by the Knesset in three years' time. "Setting minimum sentences is an extraordinary step," the bill's own explanatory preface says. "But the uniqueness of the [rock-throwing] phenomenon and its scale, which have expanded of late, justify as an extraordinary measure the establishment of minimum punishments in this case as a temporary provision," it states. The minimum sentences are meant "to create deterrence," said Jewish Home MK Nissan Slomiansky, chair of the Knesset's Constitution Law and Justice Committee. "Throwing a stone is attempted murder, and it is appropriate that it has a minimum sentence," he said, railing against the assumption of 'It's just a rock.'" The law also strips parents of a minor imprisoned for rock throwing of welfare grants and other benefits linked to the minor for the duration of the incarceration. The law was criticized by Arab politicians. "You can't quench a fire with diesel fuel," Joint (Arab) List MK Jamal Zahalka said. "This law is fuel on the fire." Zahalka also railed against the cancellation of some benefits for the parents of imprisoned minors. "There is no logic to punishing a father whose son threw a stone and didn't hit anything, while the father of a child who stabs his friend in school goes unpunished." The law gives judges discretion to cancel the minimum sentence in "extraordinary circumstances."

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Clashes in West Bank following death of Palestinian baby, teen

2015-08-02

[Ynet] Dozens of settlers from the Esh Kodesh attack Paleostinian farmers, trying to stop them from working their land; Paleostinians clash with security forces at funeral of 17-year-old killed by IDF fire after throwing a Molotov cocktail at troops. Clashes continued into the late afternoon hours on Saturday across the West Bank and in Jerusalem, as masked Paleostinians used burning tires to block the main road outside Duma, where unknown Jewish perpetrators set fire to the Dawabsheh family home, killing 22-month-old Ali Dawabsheh and seriously wounding his parents and brother. The so-called "Price Tag" attacks have gotten worse. This time they set a Palestinian house afire, and a baby died. This one won't be treated leniantly by the Israeli authorities. Some 200 men and women blocked Highway 65 near Ayn al-Sahla in Wadi Ara in protest of the murder of Ali Dawabsheh from the village Duma. They pelted an Israeli police vehicle that arrived at the scene with stones, waved Paleostinian flags and called to bring the murderers to justice. The protesters were joined by Joint Arab List MKs Jamal Zahalka and Yusef Jabareen, who were not part of the road-blocking. Paleostinian youths clashed with security forces in the Jalazun refugee camp on Saturday afternoon following the funeral of Leith Khalidi, 17, who was killed by IDF fire on Friday night after throwing a Molotov cocktail at troops near Birzeit north of Ramallah. On Saturday morning, Jewish settlers attacked Paleostinian farmers from the village Qusra, who were preparing the land for planting some 100 meters from the security fence of the settlement Esh Kodesh. The Paleostinian farmers, who were using a mechanical bagger, halted their work when settlers from Esh Kodesh, who had called the IDF, arrived at the scene. There was an exchange of words between the Paleostinians and the settlers, which devolved into rock throwing. The incident was over rather quickly after the IDF separated the parties. The dispute surrounds the question of land ownership, and officers from the military coordination office were on the scene to examine whether the work was being conducted in area B or C. These festivities are a regular occurrence in the agricultural plots surrounding Qusra. The settlers claim that the land belongs to the State of Israel, and that a Jewish-owned vineyard nearby was set ablaze by the Paleostinians. According to the settlers, the work was a provocation orchestrated by the organization "Rabbis for Human Rights" (a pro-Paleostinian human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. organization), and other European left-wing activists who arrived with locals from the nearby villages in order to build infrastructure on disputed land. Overnight violence Additional festivities and protests erupted in the West Bank Friday, giving rise to intense fears of further escalation. Riots first began in Jerusalem where Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, had already declared a "Day of Rage" following festivities at the Temple Mount. The Paleostinian organization based in Gazoo then called on West Bank residents to demonstrate in response to the Duma Jewish terrorist attack. One police officer was lightly maimed by broken glass from a bottle thrown at security forces in the Old City of Jerusalem alongside rocks and other objects. One Paleostinian was jugged Book 'im, Mahmoud! Several young Paleostinians threw rocks at the entrance to Qalandiya, just north of Jerusalem. Border Police responded with tear gas, dispersing the crowd. In Isawiya in East Jerusalem, Border Police clashed with dozens of Paleostinians who threw fire bombs and stones at security forces. The rioters were met with riot-control measures and pushed back toward the center of the neighborhood

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Arabia

Arab-Israeli MK Haneen Zoabi Visits Qatar — Hamas' Patron

2014-08-18

[Ynet] After initial denial, Balad party confirms three Arab MKs flew to Gulf state for interviews with Arab-language press. The three members of Knesset on behalf of Balad, the National Democratic Assembly party, flew to Qatar — the country which funds Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and hosts its political leader — after the Gazoo terror group's representatives deliberated the Egyptian ceasefire offer in the Gulf state. The MKs — Jamal Zahalka, Haneen Zoabi, and Basel Ghattas — were interviewed on Arab-language press and met with academics. Various officials in Balad initially denied the trip to Qatar, though they eventually confirmed the itinerary. "MKs Zahalka and Ghattas flew for media interviews in Qatar and also happened to meet with academics," said a statement released by the party, which also confirmed Zoabi's arrival in Qatar. Recently, the Balad MKs were involved in a number of incidents which stirred controversy. Zoabi was investigated by the police last week for alleged incitement to violence and insulting a public worker, while Ghattas stood for a minute of silence in the Knesset plenum in honor of the Paleostinian victims in Gazoo. Former Balad MK Azmi Bishara currently resides in Qatar after fleeing Israel when he was suspected in spying and aiding Hezbollah during the Second Leb War. Deputy Interior Minister Faina Kirschenbaum, the director-general of Yisrael Beiteinu, criticized the MKs' visit to Qatar. "The Balad party members are dealing these days, together with Hamas chief Mashal and his advisor Bishara, in the corpses of Gazook residents." She said: "Hamas' leadership in Qatar, together with their agents in the Israeli Knesset, is doing everything in its power to torpedo the ceasefire agreement. Balad, like Hamas, want the death of civilians on both sides to continue." Kirschenbaum emphasized that "it is not acceptable that (the party's) members will visit a state which funds terror against Israel and nothing will be done. I call on the Attorney General to investigate the legality of their actions and the purpose of their visit to Qatar."

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

16 Arrested In Nazareth Protests Against IDF Action In Gaza

2014-07-22

[Ynet] Thousands take the streets, hundreds throw rocks at police who respond with tear gas, stun grenades. Thousands of Paleostinians erupted into the streets in Nazareth Monday in protest against the IDF's military actions in the Gazoo Strip. 16 were enjugged Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! after hundreds emerged from the angery crowd to throw rocks at police forces. The rioters had also blocked off a main road through the city and besides the arrests, police responded to the violence with tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd. The protest was organized by The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab citizens of Israel who had previously announced a general strike on Monday for the entire Arab sector in solidarity with residents of Gazoo. Israelis in favor of the IDF's military action in the Strip also made an appearance Monday evening when some 200 people showed support in front of the Kiryah army headquarters in Tel Aviv. Monday's protests in Nazareth follow more than a week of street violence in Israel and the West Bank, but also across the region and even in large cities across the world. The Times of Israel adds: Across Israel and the West Bank, thousands of store owners closed their businesses in solidarity with the Paleostinians in the Gazoo Strip. At the same time, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman urged Israeli citizens to permanently boycott any store owner taking part in the demonstrative measure. “I call to everyone: Do not purchase anything more at shops and businesses owned by those who are participating in the Arab community’s general strike,” Liberman wrote on his Facebook page. Some 200 protesters hurled stones at coppers, while others attempted to block roads at the scene, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said. Police responded with water cannons and stun grenades, arresting 10 people after the 3,000-strong demonstration in Israel’s largest Arab city. Demonstrators held up placards reading, “The Israeli army commits genocide in Gazoo,” an AFP correspondent said. Later, at a cop shoppe, a fight broke out between protesters, including three Knesset politicians, and police. Involved in the scuffle were Balad MKs Hanin Zoabi and Basel Ghattas, and Hadash head Mohammad Barakeh. Liberman’s call for a boycott of the store owners was heavily criticized by Meretz party chairwomen Zahava Gal-on, who accused the foreign minister of racism. “Once again, the foreign minister, who should be the presenter of the State of Israel, shows his ugly, racist face,” she said. “It is the right of Arab citizens of Israel, just like any other citizen, to express solidarity with their brothers who suffer in Gazoo and with the suffering of innocent people in Gazoo.” There have been several protests among Israeli Arabs against Israel’s two-week-old operation in Gazoo. On Friday evening, thousands of demonstrators in Haifa, led by controversial Balad MK Hanin Zoabi, clashed with police as they attempted to block several roads in the coastal city during a rally against the IDF’s ongoing ground incursion in the Gazoo Strip. A number of coppers and protesters, among them Balad MK Jamal Zahalka, who also took part in the rally, were lightly injured and received medical treatment at the spot. Some of the protesters were reported to have waved Paleostinian flags as they rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud welcoming Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, rocket fire at Tel Aviv. The demonstrators also shouted out slogans against Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Thirty protesters were locked away Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! , including Zoabi, who was handcuffed by coppers at the site. She was released from police custody a short while later. Police maintained the rally was unauthorized, as the demonstrators had failed to alert authorities of its existence.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

National Service In Arab Sector Up 76% Over Past Year

2013-06-21

[Jpost] A ceremony was held on Tuesday at the Haifa Cinematheque to recognize the record-high 3,000 Arabs volunteering in the national service program this year. This represents an increase of 76 percent over last year, when 1,700 participated. Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett, who is in charge of national service, attended the event and spoke against the incitement by Israeli Arab leaders against those who participate in the program. "There are those that do not like it, who want separation and do not want to see Arabs and Jews living together in coexistence," he said. Sar-Shalom Gerbi, director of the Civil and National Service Administration, also attended the event. "We will take all legal measures and deal with incitement in the Arab sector," he said. Gerbi told The Jerusalem Post that Arab volunteers have asked for help dealing with the threats they receive from members of their community. He mentioned that MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad), for example, called Arab volunteers traitors last year. "There is no good argument to explain why this [service] is not good," said Gerbi. He said that he has written and called upon Israeli Arab leaders to come to meetings and talk with him about cooperating, but that he never received an answer. Ninety percent of Arab volunteers serve in the Arab sector, in schools, daycare centers and programs against drugs and violence. According to Gerbi, 85% of participants either study or enter the workforce after their service. But many endure intimidation and attacks because of their sacrifice. Gerbi mentioned one young woman who had the windows of her home broken as a result of her service. Gerbi says that while Arab politicians are very strongly against Arab participation in national service, "most of the population is very much for it." Out of a total 16,000 national service volunteers, 19% are members of minority groups. The make-up of the minority volunteers is Christian Arab 17%, Druse 21%, and Beduin Moslems 51%.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Arab MK: No Peace Without End To Zionist Regime

2013-04-09

Democracy in Israel includes even this: [Jpost] Balad chairman Zahalka tells 'Post' Israel has no future in Middle East; says he's "quite sure" third intifada coming. Zionism is going to come to an end, as it "has no future in the Middle East," Balad chairman Jamal Zahalka said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. "I am not a Zionist, I am an anti-Zionist," he said. Israel claims that it is a democratic country and that Arabs have rights and even Knesset members, Zahalka said. But Israeli Arabs are unhappy with this democracy and will continue to demand their rights, he said. Zahalka sees the conflict as unsolvable as long as Israel exists as a Jewish state. At a recent conference in Canada he exclaimed: "In the long term there is no chance for democracy, peace and freedom without ending the Zionist regime." Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and others have been suggesting to the media that the Paleostinian issue is not the first Middle East issue that needs to be addressed, but rather the rising Islamist trend in the region, the Balad head said. The Arab Spring, Zahalka told the Post, is drawing attention away from the Paleostinian issue -- "Netanyahu is using it to distract the international community." Zahalka described his recent trip to Canada to mark Land Day, held every March 30 to commemorate the deaths of six Galilee Arabs in 1976 riots over a government decision to confiscate land. He was the keynote speaker at two events -- one with the local Paleostinian community, which was held in Arabic, and the second in English to a mixed crowd in Toronto. Paleostinians throughout the diaspora are worried about the situation, he said. "Give me my land and take your democracy with you," he said addressing Israel, telling the Post this was the theme of one of his speeches he gave in Canada, titled, "Debunking the myth of Israeli democracy." Zahalka expressed frustration that nothing is happening now -- "no negotiations and no resistance" -- and emphasized that there is a need to act. The real danger is the efforts by Israel to marginalize the Paleostinian issue and normalize the occupation, he said. A website called Blog Wrath published a partial transcript of Zahalka's speech. The media front man of the Balad party sent the Post a link to the site. In the speech, Zahalka argued that the Paleostinians are the victims with a simple story, whereas the Jews have a long and complicated story filled with lies. "If [you] ask Israeli[s] -- it was 3,000 years ago and God was involved there in some way...as a real estate agent, he promised me that and gave me that, things like this. Even secular Israelis, who don't believe in God, still believe in his promise to the people of Israel." The Israeli narrative is false and impossible to accept, Zahalka argued in his speech: "When I analyze the Israeli story, it's like the onion symbol -- you try to find some truth, you uncover the first layer, then the second layer, seeking for something solid -- nothing -- lie over lie, over lie, over lie. This is the Israeli story. That's why we have to be very suspicious over the Israeli story." He went on to say that the Israeli project is based on expulsion because without it, a democratic Jewish state would not have been possible since the country originally had an Arab majority. "And that's the dirty secret of the Israeli democracy -- it's a democracy built on transfer: No transfer, no Israeli democracy." In an interview with the Toronto Star newspaper at the Paleostinian diaspora event in Mississauga, Ontario, he stated, "I'm quite sure there's going to be a third intifada. I can't say when. But I think one is on the way. The Paleostinian leadership wants it to be peaceful." Netanyahu's government is "the most pro-settler government ever," Zahalka told the Star. The option of a two-state solution is disappearing as Israeli settlements continue to take Paleostinian land, he told the paper.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israeli Knesset passes 'racist' anti-Arab bills

2011-03-25

[Arab News] Arab politicians and left-wing Israeli activists on Wednesday harshly slammed the approval of two laws targeting the Arabs inside Israel. On Tuesday night, the Israeli Knesset passed in its final readings the co-called "Nakba Bill," sponsored by Alex Miller of rightist Israel Beiteinu party. The Admissions Committee Law passed with 35 in favor and 20 opposed The Nakba Bill would forbid governmentally funded bodies or institutions to spend taxpayer money on events marking Nakba Day (Catastrophe) by supporting armed resistance or racism against Israel. The bill would also bar harming Israeli flags and other symbols of the state. The Admission Committees Law, sponsored by Israel Beiteinu's David Rotem and Kadima's Shai Hermesh and Yisrael Hasson, would formalize the establishment of admission committees to review potential residents of Negev and Galilee communities that have fewer than 400 families. The bill formalizes the compilation of such committees, and also legally empowers the committees to reject candidates if they do not meet certain criteria. Possible reasons for rejection include lack of intent to establish primary residence in the community, lack of economic means to establish a home in the community, if a professional evaluation reveals that they do not fit in with the community's way of life, or do not fit in with the community's "socio-cultural" tenor. Opponents criticized the bill, saying the initiative had racist components, and would be utilized in order to block Arabs from joining new settlements. Talab El-Sana, Arab MK of United Arab List part, said that the Arab citizens of Israel would continue to commemorate Nakba Day. He added that Arab-Israelis should not be considered guilty of a crime if they refuse to accept Israel as a Jewish, democratic state. MK Jamal Zahalka of Balad party said that the "Nakba law won't stop Arabs -- we'll just increase our protests." Zahalka warned that a "civil rebellion" of Arab citizens would break out against the two bills. "We are ready to go to jail," he said. The Israeli Abraham Fund Initiatives and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel announced that they intend to appeal the Admission Committees Law to the Supreme Court. The co-executive directors of the Abraham Fund, Amnon Be'eri-Sulitzeanu and Mohammad Darawsheh said "This law establishes a mechanism of ethnic segregation between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, under the auspices of the Knesset." They called that law "clearly unconstitutional." The Abraham Fund also responded to the Nakba Law, warning that "Knesset members are mistaken to think that one can force the Arab minority to celebrate Israel's Independence Day. It is important to allow Arab citizens to learn about and acknowledge their painful past. It is also important that mutual understanding of the other's historical narrative exists between the Jews and Arabs in Israel."

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