Re: Israel declares that only Jews have a right to self determination in Israel
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 1:13 pm
Hey Baskineli,
I disagree strongly with your argument that Israel has no second class citizens, when I was in East Jerusalem I encountered a load of people who were victimised by the Israeli state because they were not Jewish. I was told by Greeks about how the holy sepulchre is shut down by the govt. Whenever they want the Greek Orthodox church to sell them land, I talked to Armenians who said the state aimed to make living in the old city untenable so they would leave and Orthodox Jewish communities could take over their homes. I spoke to Palestinians who despite being born in Jerusalem were denied citizenship and were forced to live on residency permits that could be withdrawn on the whims of the state. I met business owners who'd had licences withdrawn and their business wound up so Orthodox families could take over the building and the children of Palestinian emigrants disallowed from returning to their parent's homeland because of the Israeli state's stance on right of return.
I also disagree with your characterisation of Gaza and the West Bank as foreign , independent entities. Given that residents of Gaza have to ask Israel's permission to seek medical treatment in the West Bank, have no control over their borders. Palestinians in area C of the West Bank are subject to forcible transfer by the Israeli state to make room for settlements, with their homes often forcibly demolished. Dismissing the plight of Palestinians living in the occupied territories is like Churchill blaming the Indians for the Bengal famine.
I think you've also mischaracterised the Jerusalem situation. Most international objection to Israel taking Jerusalem as its capital is that they don't recognise Israel's 1967 territorial expansion.
Sorry for being so full of objections but I think that this declaration as well as Israel's behaviour towards the Palestinians is unfair, unjust, and violently damaging towards the Palestinian people.
I disagree strongly with your argument that Israel has no second class citizens, when I was in East Jerusalem I encountered a load of people who were victimised by the Israeli state because they were not Jewish. I was told by Greeks about how the holy sepulchre is shut down by the govt. Whenever they want the Greek Orthodox church to sell them land, I talked to Armenians who said the state aimed to make living in the old city untenable so they would leave and Orthodox Jewish communities could take over their homes. I spoke to Palestinians who despite being born in Jerusalem were denied citizenship and were forced to live on residency permits that could be withdrawn on the whims of the state. I met business owners who'd had licences withdrawn and their business wound up so Orthodox families could take over the building and the children of Palestinian emigrants disallowed from returning to their parent's homeland because of the Israeli state's stance on right of return.
I also disagree with your characterisation of Gaza and the West Bank as foreign , independent entities. Given that residents of Gaza have to ask Israel's permission to seek medical treatment in the West Bank, have no control over their borders. Palestinians in area C of the West Bank are subject to forcible transfer by the Israeli state to make room for settlements, with their homes often forcibly demolished. Dismissing the plight of Palestinians living in the occupied territories is like Churchill blaming the Indians for the Bengal famine.
I think you've also mischaracterised the Jerusalem situation. Most international objection to Israel taking Jerusalem as its capital is that they don't recognise Israel's 1967 territorial expansion.
Sorry for being so full of objections but I think that this declaration as well as Israel's behaviour towards the Palestinians is unfair, unjust, and violently damaging towards the Palestinian people.