Does Israel practice apartheid?

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The very definition of apartheid is controversial. In its simplest terms it means separation, or more precisely a separation of peoples. There is no doubt that Israel has operated on this principle in the occupied territories. Due to Israel’s settlement policy, two peoples are spread throughout the Holy Land. One group has rights and privileges, plentiful water and segregated road ways. The other group has few rights, inadequate water and no ability to stop the first group from confiscating its land.


Structures of Separation: Wall, fences, segregated roads

Israeli Jeff Halper has defined apartheid as “a system in which one population separates itself from another and then proceeds to dominate it permanently and structurally."  According to American Heritage Dictionary, “In South Africa, apartheid denied blacks and other non-whites civic, social, and economic equality with whites."  In Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, apartheid denies Christians and Muslims civic, social and economic equality with Jews. The examples are plentiful and many are presented below.


Settler-only roads and settlements divide the West Bank.

Bishop Desmond Tutu has compared the situation in the occupied territories to apartheid in South Africa. President Jimmy Carter, a devout Christian and a supporter of Israel, has also made this comparison. Rabbi Michael Lerner has defended President Carter’s book, “Palestine Peace not Apartheid". So have Jewish Voice for Peace and many other Jewish organizations. Shulamit Alonai, Israel’s Minister of Education under Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, has written an article entitled, “Indeed, There is Apartheid in Israel.”

Jews for Justice for Palestinians has published its own analysis of Israeli apartheid at http://www.jfjfp.org/factsheets/arabsinisrael.htm . European Jews for a Just Peace, which includes 16 Jewish organizations in nine European countries, calls for an end to Israel's policies of “oppression, segregation and humiliation." http://www.ejjp.org/  A group called Independent Jewish Voices in England states: “The Palestinian inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza Strip face appalling living conditions with desperately little hope for the future. Many other Jewish organizations have joined leaders of every faith in condemning Israel's policies toward Palestinians.

A list of apartheid and discrimination examples has been assembled by the Interfaith Peace Initiative (www.interfaithpeaceinitiative.com). It is provided here with permission. Also provided are many sources that allow readers to decide for themselves about this issue.

By whatever name it is called, Israel’s policy of separation toward Palestinians must end. It is only when all the people of Israel and Palestine enjoy equal rights and security that a just and lasting peace can be achieved.

 

Apartheid and Discrimination in the Occupied Territories:

According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel 2006 Annual Report on Human Rights, “In the occupied territories we are increasingly seeing a cheapening of human life; there are growing restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents in order to ensure the security of the Jewish settler population; the living space of the Palestinian residents is being severely curtailed; violations of the right to health, education, employment, family ties, and other rights have become an inescapable part of the Palestinians` daily reality.” http://www.acri.org.il/english-acri/engine/story.asp?id=244 

  1. Unequal Water Allocation

      Palestinians in the West Bank have access to only one fifth the amount of water consumed by Israelis, despite the fact that most of the aquifer used by both groups lies beneath Palestinian land. Israel has taken 83% of the water underlying the West Bank for its own residents and those of the settlements, leaving the Palestinians with desperate shortages. Palestinians have no access to water from the Jordan Basin, all of which is taken by Israelis. Most Palestinians are not allowed to drill new wells, and thus must buy water from Israel to compensate partially for this inequity.

      As of June 2006, some 215,000 Palestinians in 220 villages lived in communities without a running-water network. In Palestinian towns that do have running water, a rotating system is often in place which restricts flow at various times to divide available water among the villages. Due to the increased demand for water during the hot season, Merkorot [Israel's water company] discriminates and increases the amount of water supplied to the settlers, at the expense of supply to Palestinian towns. Reduction at times when water consumption increases is accomplished by closing the valve of the main water pipelines through which water flows to Palestinian towns.

    http://www.wws.princeton.edu/~wws401c/)
    http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn5037.html,
    http://www.btselem.org/English/Press_Releases/20010805.asp,
    http://www.btselem.org/English/Water/Index.asp
    http://www.btselem.org/english/Water/Consumption_Gap.asp
    http://www.btselem.org/Download/200007_Thirsty_for_a_Solution_Eng.doc
    http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060626&s=taamallah

      Israeli soldiers sometimes fire at Palestinian water tanks, rendering them unusable. A Presbyterian minister describing his visit to a Palestinian village wrote: “Water is precious, and there is little of it. Due to the lack of a supply, and lack of access to their wells, the village has a very restricted supply. The Council has divided the village into 3 sections, and each section gets water in its pipes for 2 hours, three times a week. It is then that people are able to fill up the tanks which are on the tops of their houses, and this is their supply for the next three days. Recently, we were told, on 3 successive days Israeli soldiers came in to the village and fired indiscriminately at water tanks. We were shown pictures of many which had been punctured by bullets. Most of the bullet holes were in the upper parts of the tanks, as the soldiers could not see the lower parts. No justification by an occupying army has to be given for such actions – but one wonders what they achieve. The one tank that they found at ground level, they shot in the bottom, making sure that any water in it would be lost. Next opportunity to fill up might be 3 days away.” Similar army vandalism to water tanks occurred at the Al Sharooq School for blind children near Bethlehem. Christians from a church in Jerusalem had to take water to the school until the holes in the tanks could be repaired.
       

  2. Separate Road Systems and License Plates

    There is a separate system of roadways in the West Bank for Palestinians and for Israelis.  The roadways for Israelis are built on Palestinian land. Palestinians have separate license plates, and must wait in long lines at checkpoints, while Israelis usually travel unhindered.  Israel has proposed digging tunnels for Palestinians to travel underneath illegal Jewish settlements – most of them built on confiscated land - to reach other Palestinian towns.
    http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/200408_Forbidden_Roads.asp
    http://www.bethlehemmedia.net/featers/2007/feat342.htm

     

  3. Freedom of movement provided for Israelis, denied to Palestinians

    Jewish Israelis can travel freely in the West Bank. Palestinians are faced with more than 500 roadblocks and checkpoints, most of them between Palestinian towns and other Palestinian towns. In many cases, they are forced to leave their cars and walk through the checkpoint to take a taxi on the other side. In other cases, they are turned back or forced to wait on the side of the road for hours without explanation. This may affect people who are ill or women who are pregnant without exception for their conditions. Closures are often imposed on Palestinians, keeping them inside their own homes or villages for days.
    http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/2548.cfm
    http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/OCHAoPt_ClosureAnalysis0106_En.pdf
    http://www.iwps-pal.org/en/articles/article.php?id=997

     

  4. No Right of Return for Palestinians to West Bank

    Any person with one Jewish grandparent is allowed to move into the West Bank and settle on land taken from Palestinians. Yet Israel has refused to grant permanent visas to Palestinians living in other parts of the world who wish to return to the occupied territories of Palestine. Many business owners who returned to the West Bank after the Oslo Accords face the prospect of eviction, though they have families and children living in Palestine.
    http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/18/1621247
    http://meretzusa.blogspot.com/2006/09/baskin-sad-story-of-sam-bahour.html
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5345752.stm

     

  5. Family Unification Denied for Palestinians, not for Jews.

    Tens of thousands of foreign nationals who are married to residents of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967 are not allowed to live with their husbands or wives by the Israeli authorities. In virtually every other country in the world, there are procedures to allow such couples -- where one spouse is a foreign national -- to live together. On the other hand, Jewish settlers living in the occupied territories in violation of international law are allowed to live with their spouses regardless of the country of origin. On 22 March 2007 the Knesset extended for fifteen months the statute that prevents family unification of residents of East Jerusalem and citizens of Israel married to Palestinians who are residents of the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.
    http://www.btselem.org/English/OTA/
    http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGMDE150182007
    http://www.ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/keepwife.html

     

  6. Palestinians imprisoned in walled ghettos; Israelis live in beautiful settlements

    Israel is building walled ghettos in the West Bank to contain and imprison the Palestinian population.  Barriers and fences separate Palestinians from their farmland and water resources, denying them the ability to sustain their families on land they have farmed for generations. Settlements for Jews only have been built and are being built on these Palestinian lands. Gaza has been turned into a huge open air prison surrounded by walls and gates. Goods and people are often blocked from leaving.
     http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/837695.html,
     www.peacenow.org.il/data/SIP_STORAGE/files/9/2569.pdf
    http://www.btselem.org/English/Press_Releases/20050329.asp
    http://www.guengl.eu/showPage.jspID=2647&PR=0&AREA=27&GRP=0&SITE=0&CH=1&TYPE=1&FILENAME=showPage.jsp&INTERNAL=1&ISSUE=0&POPUP=0 

     

  7. Palestinian Villages used for IDF Training Exercises; Jewish settlements protected

    Israeli soldiers routinely raid Palestinian villages, often during the night. Residents are awakened, soldiers burst into their homes, and families are often made to stand outside in their nightclothes for hours. New information from soldiers confirms that some of these raids are merely training exercises for Israeli troops. Jewish settlements, on the other hand, are never subjected to army raids and are vigorously protected.
     http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/835090.html,
     http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3302667,00.html

     

  8. Jewish settler violence often ignored; Palestinian violence vigorously pursued

    According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel 2006 Annual Report attacks perpetrated by Jewish settlers against Palestinian residents are encouraged by the lax attitude displayed by the law enforcement authorities. This has been confirmed by members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams, Ecumenical Accompaniers, and the Israeli media. Palestinians who attack settlers illegally living on their land may be shot immediately or arrested.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4482211.stm
    http://www.fmep.org/analysis/articles/settler_violence_seen_escalating_in_west_bank.html
     http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2006/4/18/activistsDescribeWestBankViolence
    http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/813228.html
    http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/814070.html
    http://www.eappi.org/eappiweb.nsf/list/20070329shepherd.html
    http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/israel/hebron6-07.htm
    http://www.cpt.org/archives/2005/feb05/0010.html
    http://www.cpt.org/archives/2004/oct04/0010.html
    http://www.btselem.org/Download/200110_Free_Rein_Eng.doc 

     

  9. Proposed Ban on Israelis and Foreigners Transporting Palestinians
    (repealed after international pressure)

    A new Israeli law originally scheduled to take effect on January 19, 2007 would have made it illegal for any Israeli (including Palestinian Israelis) or any international visitor (including those with humanitarian agencies) to transport a Palestinian without a permit. Even a Palestinian woman in labor could not be driven to a hospital by an Israeli or a volunteer unless both had these permits. This would have severely limited Palestinians’ freedom of movement even on Palestinian land within the West Bank. After months of pressure from human rights groups, this measure was repealed in March, 2007.
    http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/23/africa/ME_GEN_Israel_Road_Ban.php
    http://www.yesh-din.org/site/images/YD-AO-cancellation-23Mar07-[eng].pdf    ,
    http://www.btselem.org/english/Freedom_of_Movement/20070108_Transporting_Palestinians_Forbidden.asp

     

  10. Permits to expand Palestinian homes restricted

    Palestinians have great difficulty getting permits to expand their homes or to drill new water wells. Families who build on their own land without these permits can have their homes demolished at any time. At least 23,000 Palestinians have seen their homes destroyed by Israeli bulldozers in the past 6 years.
    http://www.unicef.org/oPt/oPt_Humanitarian_Monitor_Jan_07.pdf
    http://www.amnestyusa.org/escr/files/israelot.pdf    ,
     http://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/appeals/2005-appeal.pdf,
     http://www.rhr.israel.net/pdf/jerusalem_home_demolitions_fact_sheet.pdf,

     

  11. Access to Holy Sites Limited for Christians and Muslims

    Israel has built a ring of settlements primarily for Jews around Arab East Jerusalem, cutting it off from the rest of the West Bank. (See “Israelis Act to Encircle East Jerusalem Enclaves in Arab Areas, ….Consolidate Control,” Washington Post, 2/7/05, p. A15). The Wall and the Checkpoints around these settlements make it very difficult for Christians and Muslims in the West Bank to worship in their holy places in Jerusalem. The city is sacred to people of three faiths and according to Israel’s charter was to be maintained as an open and international city. Israel’s wall in Bethlehem also prevents Christians and Muslims living in the area from visiting Rachel’s Tomb and prevents Jerusalem Christians from worshiping at the Church of the Nativity.
     www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3263-2005Feb6.html
    http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/news/press/00/16feat-e.html
    http://mideastchristians.virtualactivism.net/articles06/april06.htm
    http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/04/19/robert-novak-palestinian-christians-threatened-in-aboud/
     www.wvi.org/wvi/archives/middle%20east/jerusalem_westbank_gaza.htm

     

  12. Brutal Prison Conditions for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

    Palestinian detainees are denied the same protections as Jewish prisoners. They are often denied access to an attorney and to family members, since they are taken into Israel to be imprisoned in violation of international law. Torture is often used against Palestinian prisoners and has been documented by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.
    http://www.stoptorture.org.il/eng/background.asp?menu=3&submenu=3
    http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27929.htm

     

  13. Restricted access for Palestinians to Jordan Valley; no restrictions for Jews

    Israel has confiscated most of the land in the Jordan Valley and has recently declared this area off limits to Palestinians without a special permit. Farmers and whole villages have lost their livelihoods as a result of being cut off from their farmland in the valley. Palestinians from Jericho are not allowed to visit relatives in the rest of the Jordan Valley, which is all occupied Palestinian land. Jews may travel freely throughout the area. The Jordan Valley comprises a third of the West Bank. Ehud Olmert has declared his intention to annex all of this region to Israel, making a Palestinian state impossible.
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1709278,00.html
    http://www.btselem.org/English/Settlements/20060213_Annexation_of_the_Jordan_Valley.asp
    http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/09/stories/2006020904691400.htm

Apartheid and Discrimination in Jerusalem:

(Though East Jerusalem is part of the illegally occupied territories, Israel’s policies toward Arabs in this city that is holy for three faiths deserve a special focus.)

  1. Unequal Budget allocations for Jewish and Arab Neighborhoods

    In 2004, Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem received only 12% of Jerusalem's municipal budget for schools, infrastructure and services, though their Christian and Muslim residents comprise a third of the city's population and pay the same taxes as Jews.  These areas often have no sidewalks, inadequate sewage treatment, and a minimum of municipal services. According to a report in February, 2007, this disparity has increased: “East Jerusalem, with 33% of the city’s population, gets just 8.48%. An average of $1,415 is spent on each Jew and $310 on each Arab.”
    http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=12156

     

  2. Classroom shortages for Arab students

    There is a tremendous classroom shortage for Arab schools in East Jerusalem. In the fall of 2006, at least 131 students were not admitted to schools because of this shortage. According to Abd al-Karim Lafi, the chairman of the east Jerusalem PTA, "There is an article in the free education law that clearly mentions that if the Ministry of Education can't provide the space in a classroom for a child, his parents' expenses for his education in the private sector should be covered by the state. But apparently, this law is not applicable to Arabs.”
    http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A374_0_1_0_M

     

  3. Wall cuts off Arab residents from their city

    The separation wall in Jerusalem cuts off 55,000 Arab residents of Jerusalem from the city where most of them work, attend school and have jobs. Many of them were born in Jerusalem and have lived there all their lives. The wall is being routed to bring 30,000 Jewish residents from the illegal West Bank settlement of Maele Adumim and thousands more from West Bank settlements north of Jerusalem inside the envelope of “Greater Jerusalem.”
    http://www.ir-amim.org.il/eng/
    http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1219/p01s04a-wome.htm

     

  4. Jewish Confiscation of Arab homes and land in Jerusalem

    Israeli government agencies cooperate with Jewish settler organizations in the takeover of Palestinian land to "Judaize" the Arab areas of East  Jerusalem. http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/895383.html

    The Israeli government is also using the Absentee Property Law to take over privately owned Palestinian land in East Jerusalem and transfer it to the State Development Authority.
    http://www.fmep.org/analysis/articles/impose_absentee_property_law.html

    Many Jews have been given special incentives to build or lease homes in East Jerusalem. These incentives do not exist for Arabs. At least 180,000 Jewish people live in violation of the Geneva Conventions in this area. A list of illegal Jewish settlements built in Jerusalem can be found at
    http://www.ipcc-jerusalem.org/menu/publications-detailed/JBF%20I/Naser%20Abdelkarim.pdf,
    http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=602

    Inside Jerusalem, it is very difficult for an Arab to buy a home in a Jewish neighborhood. Yet many Jews, including Ariel Sharon, have moved into Arab neighborhoods to establish a visible presence there, often confiscating buildings from Arab families. A new Jewish settlement with a synagogue is even being planned inside the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s “Old City.” St. John’s Hospice in the Christian Quarter, which belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church, was taken over by Jewish settlers.
     www.fmep.org/analysis/articles/targeting_the_old_citys_muslim_quarter.html
    http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=602
    http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/831647.html
    http://hcc.haifa.ac.il/Departments/greece/conferences/greek_orthodox_church/pdf/sotiris.pdf  (page 5)
     

  5. Restriction on Arab Home Building

    “Of the 17,600 acres of land that comprise East Jerusalem (including the Old City and the commercial downtown of East Jerusalem), Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem have today the right to use and develop less than 9% of it. According to the 1995 Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 35% (6,250 acres) of the lands were expropriated for Israeli neighborhoods, roads and other facilities While 80% of land expropriated since 1967 comes from Palestinians, the vast majority of that land has been designated for Jewish housing and other needs. Close to 0% of expropriated land has been designated for Arab use.” http://www.rhr.israel.net/pdf/jerusalem_home_demolitions_fact_sheet.pdf

    “Zoning also limits multistory buildings in Palestinian areas, meaning that fewer housing units can be built per dunam.* Palestinians are often allowed to build on only some 25% - 50% of a plot, while Jewish neighborhoods are much more likely to be allowed to build on 120% -150% of the size of the property.”  From Rabbis for Human Rights: http://www.rhr.israel.net/pdf/jerusalem_home_demolitions_fact_sheet.pdf 
    (*A dunam is a measure of land. There are about 4 dunams to one acre.)

     

  6. Isolation of Arab neighborhoods

    In at least one Jerusalem neighborhood illegally annexed by Israel in 1967, Arab residents have not been classified as residents of Jerusalem, and as such are regarded as residing illegally in the homes where they were born. They are also cut off from the West Bank. The planned route of the barrier will imprison them in their village. Because the residents do not have Israeli identity cards, the Jerusalem Municipality where they live refuses to supply vital services, such as water, a sewage system, and garbage collection, to the residents. The municipality has also refrained from adopting an outline [zoning ] plan for the village, thereby preventing the residents from obtaining building permits.
    http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/200309_Numan_East_Jerusalem.asp

Apartheid and Discrimination in Israel

  1. Unequal funding for Arab education

    There are separate and inferior school systems for Arabs inside Israel. In 2001, Human Rights Watch reported that one in four of Israel's 1.6 million schoolchildren is educated in a completely separate public school system. The report stated that “Palestinian Arab children attend schools with larger classes and fewer teachers than do those in the Jewish school system, with some children having to travel long distances to reach the nearest school. Arab schools also contrast dramatically with the larger system in their frequent lack of basic learning facilities like libraries, computers, science laboratories, and even recreation space… The educational system has given a low priority to teacher training for the Arab school system… Palestinian Arab teachers on average have lower qualifications and receive lower salaries than non-Palestinian Arab teachers.” http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/israel2/ISRAEL0901-01.htm
    http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/israel2/ISRAEL0901-10.htm
    http://abs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/49/8/1075
    http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/israel2/ISRAEL0901-06.htm
    http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/israel2/ISRAEL0901-06.htm#P1339_191271

  2. Arab history, Israel’s borders removed from public school textbooks

    Teachers are not allowed to teach students in public schools about the Arab history in the region. Israeli textbooks do not show the “Green Line” or the internationally recognized border between Israel and the occupied territories.  They refer to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria.” “Teachers for the Arab schools are approved by the state security service, the Shin Bet, and the curriculum is designed to remove references to Palestinian history and culture…. The Shin Bet prohibits even great Arab and Palestinian literature from inclusion in the curriculum”
     http://www.peykarandeesh.org/noFarsi/Condition.html,
    http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/796896.html,
     http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/21480/format/html/displaystory.html

     

  3. Unequal funding for Arab towns

    Arab towns and villages in Israel do not receive the same funding as Jewish towns, even though taxation rates are equal for Arabs and Jews.  Israel has a system of progressive taxation, with wealthier individuals paying more than those with low incomes. Under such a system, poorer communities are supposed to be helped by the higher taxes paid in wealthier ones, but this is not the case when it comes to Arab neighborhoods in Israel According to a report by the US State Department, Government spending was proportionally lower in predominantly Arab areas than in Jewish areas, which adversely affected children in Arab villages and cities.”
    http://www.jewishcurrents.org/2003-jan-muraskin.htm
    http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27929.htm

    According to Israeli journalist Ori Nir, “Between 1975 and 2000, only 0.3 percent of public construction initiated and subsidized by the Israeli government was for Arabs.”  In the years 2000 – 2004,Arab citizens received less than 5% of the overall Regular Budget of Israel. In 2005, less than 3% of the Development Budget was allocated to the Arab communities.
     http://www.fmep.org/analysis/articles/israels_arab_minority.html,
    http://www.jfjfp.org/factsheets/arabsinisrael.htm
    http://www.mossawacenter.org/files/files/File/mossawa%20news%202005.pdf

  4. Right of return for Jews only

    Palestinians are denied the right to return to homes and lands that have been taken from them in Israel, while a person with one Jewish grandparent anywhere in the world can settle on land that has been taken from Arabs inside Israel or on Palestinian land in the occupied territories in violation of international law. (The Geneva Conventions prohibit a country from moving its own population into territory it occupies: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” – Article 49)
    http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm    ,  
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2001/israel_and_the_palestinians/issues/1099279.stm
    http://www.jatonyc.org/UNresolutions.html,
    http://www.nakbainhebrew.org/index.php?lang=english,
    http://www.jewishcurrents.org/2003-jan-muraskin.htm 

     

  5. Denial of family unification for Arabs

    In 2003, the Israeli Knesset enacted legislation that denies any possibility of formal residency status for Palestinians from the West Bank or Gaza who are married to Israeli citizens or residents. According to UCLA professor Saree Makdisi, “Israel's newly revised nationality law … prohibits Palestinian citizens of Israel from marrying Palestinians from the occupied territories and living with their spouses in Israel. The same law does not apply to Jewish Israelis who marry Jewish settlers living in the occupied territories. Interestingly, similar legislation had been proposed in South Africa at the peak of Apartheid, only to be rejected by that country's supreme court. Israel's nationality law, however, was endorsed by Israel's High Court just this year.” (2006) The law is unconstitutional as it discriminates on the basis of national origin.
    http://www.acri.org.il/english-acri/engine/story.asp?id=255.
    http://www.monabaker.com/pMachine/more.php?id=A2104_0_1_0_M    ,
     http://www.ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/racism.html

  6. Unrecognized Arab Villages Denied Basic Services or Destroyed

      Many Palestinian villages, some predating the establishment of Israel, are unrecognized by the government, and thus receive no running water, electricity, or access roads. Some do not appear on maps. A number have been destroyed in recent years. http://www.shalomctr.org/node/382  Approximately 450 Palestinian villages were destroyed after Israel declared its independence in 1948.http://www.palestineremembered.com/. 215,000 Palestinians in 220 villages have no connection to a sewer system. http://www.peykarandeesh.org/noFarsi/Condition.html

     

  7. Limits on Arab growth  

      Since 1948, scores of new communities have been founded for Jews, but very few for Palestinians, causing Israeli Arabs severe residential overcrowding. According to Israeli Ori Nir, Washington bureau chief for The Forward, “No Arab community has been created since 1948, except for towns created for Bedouins in the Negev, whereas something like 1000 towns have been created for Israeli Jews.”
      http://www.fmep.org/analysis/articles/israels_arab_minority.html
      http://www.peykarandeesh.org/noFarsi/Condition.html

      In 2002, the Nature Reserve and National Park Authority presented to the Northern District Planning and Building Committee for a nature preserve and national park which would surround 5 Arab villages in northern Israel and border others. It included the provision that privately owned Arab land could be confiscated for this purpose. Restrictions would be placed on Arab farmers. The goal of this is to prevent further growth in these Arab communities.
      http://www.adalah.org/eng/intladvocacy/CESCR-land.pdf

  8. Confiscation of Arab Land for Jewish Use  

      Land can be and is confiscated from Arab villages and made available for Jewish use. Susahan, a Jewish Israeli living in an Arab village inside Israel bears witness to this phenomenon in her book The Other Side of Israel.
      http://www.peykarandeesh.org/noFarsi/Condition.htm l

     

  9. Plans to “Judaize” the Arab areas of the Galilee  

      The area of the Galilee in northern Israel is where many Israeli Arabs live. Some are descended from the earliest Christians, while others are Muslim. In September, 2001, the Israeli Government’s Northern District Committee for Planning and Building issued a plan to “Judaize” the Galilee region, citing the presence of Arabs in that region as a problem. The plan restricts the development of industrial, commercial and development areas in Arab villages, and places industrial, commercial and tourism facilities in or near Jewish areas.
       http://www.adalah.org/eng/intladvocacy/CESCR-land.pdf

     

  10. Limits on Land leased to Arabs  

      All land in Israel must be leased. It is not privately owned. Until recently, Israeli Arabs were not permitted to lease land from the Israeli Land Administration, which controls 93% of the arable land in Israel.  This land is either state-owned (80%) or owned by the Jewish National Fund (13%). Much of it was expropriated from Arabs. In an effort to head off a legal challenge, the Attorney General announced that ILA should not discriminate; however, a deal was reached under which equally valued government land would be transferred to the Jewish National Fund for each lease of its land to Arabs. This would effectively keep at least the same amount of Israeli land in the hands of the Jewish National Fund. (There is an excellent article on this at http://semitism.net/2005/02/09/OLD97, a web site started by American Jews who have visited the region and oppose the occupation.)

     

  11. Restricted access to good jobs for Arabs  

      Service in the Israeli army is a prerequisite for the best private and public sector jobs in Israel. Most non-Jews other than Druze are not allowed to serve in the army so these jobs are not often available to Israeli Arabs. Arabs are thus denied the benefits that come from these jobs and from army service. However, religious Jews who do not serve in the army face no such discrimination and receive all benefits and opportunities accrued to those in army service.
      http://www.caabu.org/pdf/Israeli-Arabs-final.pdf,
       http://www.jfjfp.org/factsheets/arabsinisrael.htm

      According to a report by the US State Department, in 2004, only 3 percent of civil service employees in Israel were from the Arab sector. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61690.htm
       

       

  12. Discrimination in public places

      Arab citizens of Israel are often discriminated against through denial of access to recreation spaces, swimming pools, water parks and other public places frequented by its Jewish citizens.
      http://www.law.nyu.edu/journals/jilp/issues/36/36_4_Cohen-Eliya.pdf 

      Arab citizens of Israel have less “green space” available, even in mixed race towns inside Israel.
      http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-            9663.2005.00474.x?cookieSet=1&journalCode=tesg

     

  13. Discrimination at airports and train stations  

      Arabs are frequently taken aside at Israel’s airports and train stations and searched, often invasively. They are more likely to be detained or accompanied to the plane by security personnel.   Most Jews normally travel without any difficulty, while Arab citizens of Israel often face aggressive questioning simply because of their ethnicity. There are exceptions. Israeli or international peace activists may also face delays or invasive searches, but Arabs face these regardless of political affiliation or activity. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/796747.html
      http://www.adalah.org/newsletter/eng/dec06/hra-report.pdf.
      http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/827861.html
      http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=851098
       http://www.peykarandeesh.org/noFarsi/Condition.html
       

     

  14. Failure to Protect Arab Citizens During Wartime  

      Almost all Arab towns and villages in the northern part of Israel lack public bomb shelters, even though they have been constructed with varying degrees of adequacy in most Jewish communities. Similarly, the civil defense authorities failed to ensure that Arab communities had air raid sirens to warn inhabitants of incoming fire, though these are present in Jewish towns. As a result many people in Arab villages died in their streets during the Lebanon war while most Jews waited out the war in shelters, though some of these lacked air conditioning or other amenities.
      http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/14/1358258,
      http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5703.shtml
      http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173173947932&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2F

       During the war, civil defense officials issued emergency instructions to families about how to protect themselves -- on the radio and television, and in brochures -- only in Hebrew, though Arabic is one of Israel’s two official languages.
      http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5703.shtml
       

     

  15. Failure to Compensate Jewish and Arab Citizens Equally for War Damages  

      After the Lebanon war, Arab villages were denied compensation for damages, though many Jewish neighborhoods received funds. Interest-free loans of up to $10,000 were available, but only to Jewish businessmen or those who had served in the Israeli army, which excludes almost the entire Arab population.
      http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/763244.html
       

  16. Destruction of Unrecognized Arab villages  

      “The Bedouin citizens residing in the unrecognized villages of the Negev have for many years suffered from severe discrimination and marginalization; during this past year, they were the victims of particularly harsh enforcement policies – aided by the amendment to the law that was enacted this year (the Public Land Law {Expulsion of Trespassers}) – including the demolition of houses and the destruction of crops. While the Bedouin are subject to great pressure to leave their place of residence without a viable alternative or adequate compensation, these same state authorities who are applying the pressure are allocating large plots of land to Jews only, and empowering the local Jewish municipal authorities with the authority to “guard the land” from its original occupants.” Association for Civil Rights in Israel 2006 Annual Report on Human Rights http://www.acri.org.il/english-acri/engine/story.asp?id=244
       

     

  17. Poisoning, uprooting of Bedouin Israeli citizens’ crops

      The government of Israel has sent planes to spread poison on Bedouin crops, poisoning livestock and causing health problems among the population. By some accounts, this practice was halted in 2006. More often now these crops are destroyed by Israeli authorities turning them under. http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/where_we_work/palterr_israel/bedouin.htm
      http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=275276&contrassID=2&subContrassID=15&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y&itemNo=275276
      http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde150332004
      http://www.adalah.org/eng/intladvocacy/CESCR-land.pdf
      http://www.icahd.org/eng/articles.asp?menu=6&submenu=2&article=336  (photo of plane poisoning crops)
       

     

  18. No Constitutional Protection for Minorities

      Israel has no constitution to protect the rights of the 24.5% of its citizens who are non-Jewish. It openly declares itself “a state of the Jewish people’” though a quarter of all Israelis are non-Jewish. Many of their families lived here for generations before Israel was established. Many believe there is an inherent contradiction between Israel’s claims to be a democratic state and its actions to keep it a Jewish state without defining equal rights for all citizens.
      http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/981336.html
      http://www.mossawacenter.org/default.php?lng=3&dp=2&fl=25&pg=9
      http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/v5i2/html/arabmi.htm

     

  19. Unequal application of the law to Jews and non-Jews  

      “A dual system of law discriminates between Jewish Israelis and indigenous Palestinians based on a constructed status of “Jewish nationality.” This prejudicial application of law is apparent in all processes of the legal system, from the rights to information and fair trial to detention and prison treatment.”
      http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/ngos/jointngo5-PartIII-1.pdf 

      (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights)
       

  20. Government leaders talk openly of expelling Arabs from Israel.  

      Christians have lived in the land that became Israel for 2000 years, Muslims for more than 1300 years. Now these citizens are referred to as a demographic threat, or “the Arab Problem.” The most offensive of these is Avigdor Lieberman, recently appointed to a key cabinet post by Ehud Olmert. When the first Arab minister was appointed to the government recently, Lieberman called on Defense Minister Amir Peretz to resign. Another official said "This is assimilation…I call on the prime minister not to approve this appointment to protect the state of Israel's interest as a Jewish and Zionist state." Lieberman said that Israel's Arab minority was a "problem" which required "separation," declaring that Israel must redraw its map to "exchange" part of the Arab population, in order to create a more "homogeneous Jewish state." Almost a third of Israel’s Jewish citizens favor transferring Arabs out of Israel, and 60% think they should be encouraged to leave.
      http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/812447.html
      http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10522.htm