I agree except most Israelis do not support their leader or government, support is at all time lows, just 25% according to some recent poll. Being a democracy does not automatically mean the government is doing the will of the people. Especially when their government discriminates against their own citizens.
Many of the rights you are accorded in Israel stem from your nationality, not your citizenship. Your nationality is determined by your ethnicity and it cannot be changed or challenged.
Meaning an “Arab” Israeli citizen and a Jewish Israeli citizen, while both citizens, enjoy different rights and privileges determined by their “nationality”. This is not merely discrimination in practice, but discrimination by law.
This is intentional. It is an ethnic democracy executing the will of one ethnicity over another. It puts the power in the hands of those who are most likely to be indifferent to the plight of the Palestinians, and takes power away from dissenting voices.
Many of the rights you are accorded in Israel stem from your nationality not your citizenship. Meaning an “Arab” Israeli citizen and a Jewish Israeli citizen, while both citizens, enjoy different rights and privileges determined by their “nationality” [You can read more about this here].
(Aside - that seems to just link me to the top of that article? Is that a bug on my phone or just weird site design)
This is not merely discrimination in practice, but discrimination by law. Adalah have composed a database of discriminatory laws in Israel that disfavor non-Jewish Israelis. For example, the Law of Return and Absentees’ Property Law are but two examples of flagrant racism and discrimination in the Israeli legal system.
Is it just me, or is it really weird that the two headline laws the article touts don’t seem to apply to Israeli citizens regardless of religion or ethnicity?
The law of return favors Jewish non-Israelis over non-Jewish non-Israelis seeking Israeli citizenship, sure. But it only applies to non-Israeli citizens, literally by definition.
Similarly, from what I understand, doesn’t the absentee property law apply to the property of non-Israeli citizens that was “abandoned” during the early days of Israel? It doesn’t seem to make it easier for the government to seize the property of current Arab-Israeli citizens than Jewish Israeli citizens.
The stuff about the JNF lower down is pretty concerning, but that paragraph stuck out as being a bait-and-switch.
You made some good points and it’s fair to be skeptical of the link I posted. I also noticed that they linked to the same page, whether that’s a mistake or international I don’t know.
There is a working link on that page to laws which are intended to thwart terrorists but because of vague language they can be abused to suppress anyone deemed to be a threat.This is far from a smoking gun, but the claims seem plausible.
I agree except most Israelis do not support their leader or government, support is at all time lows, just 25% according to some recent poll. Being a democracy does not automatically mean the government is doing the will of the people. Especially when their government discriminates against their own citizens.
Many of the rights you are accorded in Israel stem from your nationality, not your citizenship. Your nationality is determined by your ethnicity and it cannot be changed or challenged.
Meaning an “Arab” Israeli citizen and a Jewish Israeli citizen, while both citizens, enjoy different rights and privileges determined by their “nationality”. This is not merely discrimination in practice, but discrimination by law.
This is intentional. It is an ethnic democracy executing the will of one ethnicity over another. It puts the power in the hands of those who are most likely to be indifferent to the plight of the Palestinians, and takes power away from dissenting voices.
https://decolonizepalestine.com/myth/israel-is-a-democracy/
(Aside - that seems to just link me to the top of that article? Is that a bug on my phone or just weird site design)
Is it just me, or is it really weird that the two headline laws the article touts don’t seem to apply to Israeli citizens regardless of religion or ethnicity?
The law of return favors Jewish non-Israelis over non-Jewish non-Israelis seeking Israeli citizenship, sure. But it only applies to non-Israeli citizens, literally by definition.
Similarly, from what I understand, doesn’t the absentee property law apply to the property of non-Israeli citizens that was “abandoned” during the early days of Israel? It doesn’t seem to make it easier for the government to seize the property of current Arab-Israeli citizens than Jewish Israeli citizens.
The stuff about the JNF lower down is pretty concerning, but that paragraph stuck out as being a bait-and-switch.
You made some good points and it’s fair to be skeptical of the link I posted. I also noticed that they linked to the same page, whether that’s a mistake or international I don’t know.
There is a working link on that page to laws which are intended to thwart terrorists but because of vague language they can be abused to suppress anyone deemed to be a threat.This is far from a smoking gun, but the claims seem plausible.