Israel’s Zionist ideology is fundamentally racist, extremist, undemocratic and hateful. It harms Jews and non-Jews alike—endorsing violence over peaceful coexistence, favoring confrontation over diplomacy.
It’s contemptuous of fundamental legal, moral and ethical principles—a monster threatening anyone and anything it opposes, a force for pure evil, not good.
Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, envisioned an exclusively Jewish state. In 1937, he called for “expel[ing] Arabs [from Palestine] and tak[ing] their place.”
n 2011, legislation was introduced to enshrine Israel’s definition of a Jewish state into Basic Law. No constitution exists. Basic Laws substitute.
Initially not acted on, it resurfaced several times in revised form, again under consideration in the Knesset—calling for the “right to self-determination . . . unique to the Jewish people,” codifying discrimination against Arab citizens, embodying apartheid into Basic Law.
If enacted, it would enshrine Israel as “the national home of the Jewish people”—recognizing the state’s Jewish character above all else, ending the convenient fiction of democratic governance, nonexistent from inception.
It states “Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people in which the Jewish people fulfill their self-determination according to their cultural and historical legacy.”
Netanyahu urged adoption of the racist measure, earlier declaring Israel “[t]he nation-state of the Jewish people and the Jewish people alone,” adding, “I want a Jewish nation-state,” affording rights exclusively to Jews while pretending otherwise. Occupation harshness reveals what he has in mind.
Jewish exclusivity is fundamentally hostile to Israeli Arab citizens, 20% of the population, along with illegally occupied and brutalized Palestinians, considered subhumans by hardliners dominating how the nation is governed.
Israel’s president (a symbolic post) and attorney general oppose the nation-state legislation, saying it would institutionalize segregation as the law of the land, apartheid by any standard—already existing, worsened by adoption of this law.
Attorney General Mendelblit warned Netanyahu of the international backlash from adopting nation-state legislation, his office calling it “blatant discrimination.”
On Saturday, thousands in Israel protested against the measure, marching in Tel Aviv chanting:
“Full equality and no less.” “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies.” “The nation-state bill is a disaster.”
A statement by rally organizers said the measure “would turn racism, discrimination, and segregation into an inescapable part of our lives.”
“More than that, racism and discrimination are becoming desired and central in the State of Israel.”
“The nation-state law will bring exclusion and damage to minorities to terrifying levels we have never seen before. Our stance is clear: all citizens—all—are equal.”
“The law of division and discrimination that this government is promoting—which they call the nation-state bill—will leave a great many of us out; out of towns with admission committees; out of fair treatment in the courts; out of citizenship; out of democracy. To this, we will not agree.
Joint (Arab) List leader Ayman Odeh blasted the measure, saying the Netanyahu regime is destroying peace and destroying democracy and equality for a little more political capital.”
“The racist laws of a government that fears the power of a majority and tramples the minority will not remove us.”
Netanyahu wants the measure adopted into Basic Law by end of the current Knesset session on July 22. Three readings are required, one approved.
It reflects the worst of Zionist extremism, the curse it represents, what demands universal rejection.
As long as Zionist zealots, fascist extremists, and religious fundamentalists run Israel, Palestinians will be exploited and brutalized. Regional states and humanity will be threatened.
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Israel’s apartheid nation-state bill heading for adoption?
Posted on July 17, 2018 by Stephen Lendman
Israel’s Zionist ideology is fundamentally racist, extremist, undemocratic and hateful. It harms Jews and non-Jews alike—endorsing violence over peaceful coexistence, favoring confrontation over diplomacy.
It’s contemptuous of fundamental legal, moral and ethical principles—a monster threatening anyone and anything it opposes, a force for pure evil, not good.
Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, envisioned an exclusively Jewish state. In 1937, he called for “expel[ing] Arabs [from Palestine] and tak[ing] their place.”
n 2011, legislation was introduced to enshrine Israel’s definition of a Jewish state into Basic Law. No constitution exists. Basic Laws substitute.
Initially not acted on, it resurfaced several times in revised form, again under consideration in the Knesset—calling for the “right to self-determination . . . unique to the Jewish people,” codifying discrimination against Arab citizens, embodying apartheid into Basic Law.
If enacted, it would enshrine Israel as “the national home of the Jewish people”—recognizing the state’s Jewish character above all else, ending the convenient fiction of democratic governance, nonexistent from inception.
It states “Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people in which the Jewish people fulfill their self-determination according to their cultural and historical legacy.”
Netanyahu urged adoption of the racist measure, earlier declaring Israel “[t]he nation-state of the Jewish people and the Jewish people alone,” adding, “I want a Jewish nation-state,” affording rights exclusively to Jews while pretending otherwise. Occupation harshness reveals what he has in mind.
Jewish exclusivity is fundamentally hostile to Israeli Arab citizens, 20% of the population, along with illegally occupied and brutalized Palestinians, considered subhumans by hardliners dominating how the nation is governed.
Israel’s president (a symbolic post) and attorney general oppose the nation-state legislation, saying it would institutionalize segregation as the law of the land, apartheid by any standard—already existing, worsened by adoption of this law.
Attorney General Mendelblit warned Netanyahu of the international backlash from adopting nation-state legislation, his office calling it “blatant discrimination.”
On Saturday, thousands in Israel protested against the measure, marching in Tel Aviv chanting:
“Full equality and no less.” “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies.” “The nation-state bill is a disaster.”
A statement by rally organizers said the measure “would turn racism, discrimination, and segregation into an inescapable part of our lives.”
“More than that, racism and discrimination are becoming desired and central in the State of Israel.”
“The nation-state law will bring exclusion and damage to minorities to terrifying levels we have never seen before. Our stance is clear: all citizens—all—are equal.”
“The law of division and discrimination that this government is promoting—which they call the nation-state bill—will leave a great many of us out; out of towns with admission committees; out of fair treatment in the courts; out of citizenship; out of democracy. To this, we will not agree.
Joint (Arab) List leader Ayman Odeh blasted the measure, saying the Netanyahu regime is destroying peace and destroying democracy and equality for a little more political capital.”
“The racist laws of a government that fears the power of a majority and tramples the minority will not remove us.”
Netanyahu wants the measure adopted into Basic Law by end of the current Knesset session on July 22. Three readings are required, one approved.
It reflects the worst of Zionist extremism, the curse it represents, what demands universal rejection.
As long as Zionist zealots, fascist extremists, and religious fundamentalists run Israel, Palestinians will be exploited and brutalized. Regional states and humanity will be threatened.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.