Citizens Proposal for a Border between Israel and Palestine
  • Home
    • Page 2
  • About
  • General Issues
    • Access
    • Culture and Identity
    • Land Transfer
    • Right of Return
    • Gaza
    • Security
    • Jerusalem
    • Other Areas of Joint Administration
    • Jewish Settlers: Those Who Return and Those Who Remain within Palestine
    • Arab Communities within Israel
    • Legal Protections, Human Rights and the International Community
  • Maps
    • Overview Map
    • Northern West Bank
    • North Jerusalem
    • Jerusalem -- Eastern Areas of Focus
    • Ma’ale Adumim, E-1 and Access
    • South Jerusalem
    • Southern West Bank
    • Gaza and its Future Development
    • Conclusion
  • Position Statements
    • 2011 >
      • Har Homa C
      • Giv’at Hamatos
      • The Question of Recognizing Israel as a Jewish State
      • Let Us Prepare for Two States
      • Can Palestinians Recognize Israel’s “Jewish Character”?
      • Next Steps: Negotiating an Initial Border
      • Etzion Bloc Expansion: Israeli Overreaching
      • Israel’s Tussle with Europe
    • 2012 >
      • Time to Negotiate the Northern and Southern Sectors of the Israeli-West Bank Border
      • President Peres and Dr. Ashrawi: Thank You for Staying on Track
      • Playing the Victim Card Will Not Bring Peace
      • Negotiations By the Parties
      • The World Should Help the Palestinian Hunger Striker
      • ...and only afterwards move to discuss the topic of Jerusalem
      • A Question of Accountability
      • Israel Twisting in the Wind
      • Netanyahu: Too Big for His Britches
      • Netanyahu's "Israeli Comfort"
      • How Shaul Mofaz Can Jump-Start the Peace Process
      • Netanyahu on the Brink
      • Time for Taking Stock
      • Israel in Wonderland
      • Whatever Happened to the Quartet?
      • The Palestinians Want to Negotiate
      • A Time for Hope and a Call for Restraint
      • Israel Can Win in Gaza, But Not Now
      • Congratulations to the New State of Palestine!
      • Security and Borders: Both Required for Peace
    • 2013 >
      • It Is Up to Israel to Restart Peace Negotiations
      • Israel and Palestine: Changing the Terms of Agreement
      • The Knesset Bill to Increase the Number of Women that Elect the Chief Rabbis Is Important for Jewish Women
      • Proposal on Governance of the Holy Basin
      • Time for Netanyahu to Reach Across the Aisle
      • Tzipi Livni's Challenge
      • Women Should Be Free to Pray at the Wailing Wall
      • Proposed Highway through the Jordan Valley Will Backfire on Israel
    • 2014 >
      • Secretary Kerry, Please Beware of Israel’s Stalling Tactics
      • A Proposal on the Issue of Palestinian Recognition of Israel as a Jewish State
      • Proposed “Jewish State” Law a Threat to Israel’s Democracy
      • Journaling: Hope and Despair - Seven Weeks In
      • Netanyahu's War
    • 2015 >
      • We Should Applaud Herzog and Livni for Reclaiming Zionism
      • The Next Israeli Government
      • West Bank Citizenry and Receipt of Individuals of Palestinian Origin
      • What Next for Israel?
      • Palestinian statehood
      • Mischief in the Trade Legislation would Hinder Progress
      • What Next for America?
      • Could American Firms Choose to Gradually Disinvest from Israel?
      • Boycotting Israel is not anti-Semitism
    • 2016 >
      • Isaac Herzog's Diplomatic Initiative: Can This Detour Be Reframed Into a Road to Two States?
      • The Choice of Friedman as Envoy to Israel Is a Challenge to the Soul of American Judaism
      • America’s Abstention at the UN: Well Played!
      • Lapid: A New Leader for Israel?
    • 2017 >
      • Outcomes of SC Resolution 2334
      • Release the Tapes of the Noni Affair
      • Yair Lapid: A Strong Leader for a Secure Israel
      • Bill to Annex E-1: A Knife in the Heart of the Two-State Solution
      • Thus Endeth the Jewish State
      • CP Suspending Operation
    • 2019 >
      • Return to Two States
      • ​Benny Gantz Can Do Better than Pander to the Settlers
      • The Joint List Should Join the Government
    • 2020 >
      • Israel's Moment of Opportunity
      • Trump’s Unfair Middle East Plan Leaves Nothing to Negotiate
  • Resources
  • About the Authors

Proposed “Jewish State” Law a Threat to Israel’s Democracy

May 3, 2014

In the recent failed peace talks, Netanyahu demanded that the Palestinians accept the novel idea that Israel is a “Jewish State.” Palestinians’ refusal to accept that idea was understandable: first, the PLO had already recognized Israel’s right to exist; second, Israel did not require that admission from other states with which it signed peace agreements, notably Egypt and Jordan; third and most importantly, the Palestinians did not wish to disress their brethren, the Israeli Arabs, who already suffered discrimination in Israeli society. Yet today, with the peace talks having failed, Netanyahu’s government intends to make this position the law of the land. The proposed law, announced on May 2, will codify the permanent discrimination against Israel’s sizable non-Jewish (Arab) minority, which constitutes 20 percent of the population.   

Israel, as a homeland for the Jewish people, has prided itself in its democratic values. Americans appreciate the democratic character of Israel; it is one reason why the United States has supported Israel through thick and thin; it has been a bastion of democracy in a historically undemocratic part of the world. Today we take it for granted that democratic states should provide for equal rights for all its citizens. But one does not have to look far to find democracies that legally and systematically denied a class of citizens those rights—the American South during the Jim Crow era, for example. The “Jewish State” law, which would legally and permanently disenfranchise Israel’s Arab minority, threatens to degrade Israeli society in just such a way. 

Will Israel’s Arabs sit quiet and accept this new state of affairs? Will they accept their disenfranchisement lying down? Netanyahu built a wall to keep out the Palestinians, but what will he do if Israel’s own citizens begin an internal intifada? It could happen. 

Eventually the United States rose above the traditions of hate and discrimination, though it took the Civil Rights movement to make it happen. It came about through the combined efforts of Americans, including many Jews. One was Andrew Goodman, murdered in Mississippi in 1964. Another was Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, an intellectual leader of American Jewry who marched arm and arm with Dr. Martin Luther King. 

Jews are proud of their tradition of standing with the oppressed and fighting for justice; it is a tradition stemming from the biblical prophets of old. Israeli Jews must not forsake these values. At a time when the government of Israel is trying to legalize inequality, we would hope that freedom-loving Israelis will rise up in protest. In 1960s Jews and Blacks marched together for equality on the streets of Selma Alabama and gathered en masse for Martin Luther King’s March on Washington. Today, Jews and Arabs may have to march hand in hand for equality and democratic values on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.   
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.