In its true colours

Israel's parliament has formally legalized its policy of segregation and discrimination against its Arab citizens. On Thursday, the Knesset passed Basic Law 14th - since Israel does not have a proper constitution, basic laws serve as its de facto constitution - containing several provisions that make false assertions and show disrespect for democratic principles as well as international law. "Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people, and they have an exclusive right to national determination," declares the new basic law. The first part of this declaration is based on a claim that goes as far back as 2000 years. If it is to be accepted then many other peoples would be within their rights to demand relocation to their original homelands they may have been forced to leave during or before the last two millenniums. In any case, the Israelis cannot pretend the country was uninhabited before they, helped by victors of the First World War, drove out most of its Palestinian population - who still live in the neighbouring countries' refugee camps - to establish Israel just 70 years ago.
Handing Jews exclusive rights has been widely decried as racism and legalized apartheid. No wonder Arab members of the Knesset ripped up copies of the bill after its adoption. The Arab citizens are already treated as second-class citizens, now they have officially been relegated to that category. Aside from exclusion from the right to national determination - whatever that means - their language, Arabic, has been downgraded from the national to special language status. The original draft included an even more bigoted clause that sought legalization of the establishment of Jewish-only communities. It was dropped, apparently, for being too indefensible. Still, as a member of an Israeli think-tank pointed out, the new law would compel courts to consider the Jewish nature of the country, leading to a more "narrow interpretation of Arab rights." It is worth recalling in the context that one argument Israel's Western apologists routinely advance is that it is a democratic state. That veneer has now been removed by Israel's own parliament.
In utter contempt of international law and UN resolutions that call for vacation of Palestinian lands occupied through an act of war, the new law also says all of Jerusalem - including the occupied East Jerusalem Palestinians want as the future capital of their state - is the capital of Israel. As a matter of fact, supported by its patron, the US, Israel has already wiped out the possibility of a two-state solution. So why make such a shameful distinction between Jewish and Arab citizens? To guard against challenges likely to come from the local Arabs rather than the Palestinian Authority. At present, the Arabs form nearly 20 percent of the Israeli population. They have much higher rate of growth than the Jews. The Basic Law 14th arises from the fear that at some point they would be in a better position to assert their rights, and change the character of Israel. If history is any guide, unjust laws like this one do not stand the test of time.