Israeli human rights organisations have expressed, on many occasions, their concern about the racial feelings that the Israelis harbour towards the Palestinians in 1948 areas, emphasising in their numerous reports the increasing Israeli trend to ‘encourage' this group to ‘immigrate' — a euphemism for ‘silent deportation' or ‘soft transfer' as they call it.

This is besides Israeli objections to Arab parties sharing in the political life. These human rights organisations warn that the Israeli feelings of fear, malice and racism may be translated into action, especially with the growth of the extremist right-wing parties in the present coalition government.

They also confirm that racism in Israel, a persistent problem, is still alive and that Israel by its nature is unable to counteract it. In fact, racism is the official position of the government.

The essential permanent principles accepted in Israel, are:

  • Looking at Israel as a purely Jewish state for world Jewry.
  • Insistent refusal to return to the borders of 1967.
  • Taking the whole of occupied Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel.
  • Refusal of the Palestinian refugees' right of return.

From inside, Israel (the creation of which had been based on ethnic cleansing) a report by the Association for Civil-Rights in Israel appeared on March 21, 2010, a date that coincides with the International Anti-Racism-Day, confirming that the present Knesset (Israeli Parliament) is considered the most racist since the establishment of the Zionist state.

It strongly works on passing resolutions rife with discrimination against the Palestinians. This report reveals that cases of discrimination increased 28 per cent in 2009. The most dangerous fact, however, is the 21 discriminatory racial acts that were suggested in the present 18th Knesset.

Threat to identity

The report confirms that in 2009, there was a 75 per cent increase in racial draft laws, most of which aim at belittling the status of the Palestinians in 1948 areas, ignoring their human rights and questioning the legality of their citizenship.

The personal freedom of the Arab/Palestinian members of the Knesset is being infringed upon through fabricated accusations, and an equally racist media avails itself as a forum for sowing racial seeds.

This racist trend is evidenced in the present Knesset in the proposal given by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the extreme-right Yisrael Beitanu Party, which demands Arab deputies in the Knesset to declare their allegiance to Israel as a democratic, Jewish and Zionist state as a pre-requisite for assuming their posts in the Knesset.

This act requires the addition of the above to the present text of the oath sworn by the Knesset members. The most racist law makes it illegal for the Arab citizens to revive the 1948-Nakba (Catastrophe) anniversary (when the Palestinian Arabs were dispossessed and driven out of their homes in 1948). Such a law encroaches on the freedom of speech of Arab community members.

This draft, which had been initially endorsed by the Knesset general assembly at first reading, reads as follows: "Deduction of specified funds from any corporate body that receives financial assistance from the state treasury in case this corporate body finances any activity that includes, (1) negation of the existence of Israel as a Jewish state; (2) instigation of racism, violence or terrorism; (3) supporting armed struggle or any armed activity for a belligerent state or a terrorist organisation working against the state of Israel; (4) considering of the Independence Day as a day for mourning; (5) physical degradation of the state's flag or its motto."

A blatant example of the extremist positions in the Knesset is what its speaker, Reuven Rivlin, has lately emphasised by saying, "There shall be no negotiations regarding the City of [occupied] Jerusalem in any forthcoming negotiations between the Palestinian [National] Authority and the present Israeli government."

Racism is not a new phenomenon in Israel; it is deeply rooted in the Zionist ideology that is behind the creation of Israel and behind the atrocities that this state consistently commits in Palestine.

Multifaceted as it is, zionism can be soft, like that of Theodor Hertzl, or murderous, like that of Vladimir Jabotensky and his followers; but the core is the same. Today, Israel's new and young politicians have well inherited their ‘fathers'. The Knesset today serves as a good venue for this racism, targeting the Arab/Palestinian existence in Palestine more than before.

As expected, with the Arab nationalist and Islamist trends among members of the Palestinian/Arab community in Israel, the Zionist racist danger is growing like a tumour, which finds encouragement in the state itself, with its increasing number of right-wing parties some of which blatantly call for a pure Jewish state on all lands of ‘Historic Palestine' [from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean sea] while others consider East Jordan (the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan) also part of ‘Historic Israel'.

 

Professor As'ad Abdul Rahman is the chairman of the Palestinian Encyclopedia.