Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Israel Further Legalizes Apartheid

A new law declares Israel to be the Jewish “nation-state” and defines sovereignty and democratic self-rule as belonging solely to the Jewish people, giving legal status to the active policy of discrimination and segregation that has been going on since the establishment of Israel.

Left Voice

July 25, 2018
Facebook Twitter Share

This Thursday, in one of the most infamous moves of the past few years, the Knesset (Israeli parliament) passed a law declaring that “Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it [emphasis added],” effectively establishing an apartheid-like regime. The law also says Hebrew is the official language of the state, giving Arabic a “special status”, effectively downgrading it to a second class language.

The state of Israel, established on Palestinian land, has consolidated its power on the back of ethnic cleansing. Now, everything that Palestinians have suffered throughout their lives — the checkpoint harassment, the inferior public services and education, the incarceration — all this has a new legal status. As declared by the general director of Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel: “By defining sovereignty and democratic self-rule as belonging solely to the Jewish people — wherever they live around the world — Israel has made discrimination a constitutional value and has professed its commitment to favouring Jewish supremacy as the bedrock of institutions.”

Likud, Benjamin Netanyahu’s party, has been pressing to have an even more hawkish and right-wing regime, and has given more power to the ultra-orthodox wing of Judaism. This is in part due to the unprecedented support that Netanyahu has been receiving from the U.S. since Trump took the Oval Office. It’s not a coincidence that the new law states that an undivided Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, seven months after Trump started a new fire in the Middle East by recognising this city as the capital. After the law was enacted, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that “this is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the annals of the state of Israel.”

This new law also establishes “the development of Jewish settlement as a national value” and promises “to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation.” In light of the governmet’s pushes for the annexation of parts of the West Bank this could be signaling a shift towards a more agressive occupation policy. This Friday, Israeli army launched a new military offensive against the Gaza Strip that killed at least four people and wounded more than 120. It also destroyed dozens of buildings and parts of the infrastructure.

Reactions

As one would expect, the EU has not fully condemned the move, but has only declared that the new law could harm the prospects of a two-state solution. “We’ve been very clear when it comes to the two-state solution. We believe it is the only way forward, and any step that would further complicate or prevent this solution of becoming a reality should be avoided,” said a spokeswoman for Federica Mogherini, the EU Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Arab Israelis were more firm in their condemnation of the new law. Hassan Jabareen, general director of Adalah stated that “The Jewish nation-state law features key elements of apartheid, which is not only immoral but also absolutely prohibited under international law.”

Knesset member Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List (a coalition of predominantly Arab parties) declared that the Knesset “has passed a law of Jewish supremacy and told us that we will always be second-class citizens”.

An even more emphatic reaction by the Palestinian people is to be expected, as they have a tradition of resistance against the oppression of the Zionist state of Israel. The end of this conflict can only come from this resistance and the independent mobilization of the Palestinian people and the working class; it will not be accomplished by the two-state “solution” proposed by international imperialists but by one united Palestine.

Facebook Twitter Share

Left Voice

Militant journalism, revolutionary politics.

Middle East-Africa

A woman tries to recover some of her possessions from her home which was damaged by an earthquake in the village of Tafeghaghte, near Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. Rescue crews expanded their efforts on Monday as the earthquake's death toll continued to climb to more than 2,400 and displaced people worried about where to find shelter.

Earthquake in Morocco: Government and European Imperialism to Blame for Rising Death Toll

The death toll from Friday’s earthquake in Morocco continues to grow as some areas have yet to receive aid. This is a consequence of the subordination of the Moroccan regime to European imperialism and the brutal plundering of the country's resources.

Roberto Bordón

September 13, 2023

Biden’s Iran Policies Are a Pitch that He’s Imperialism’s Best Bet

Biden is simultaneously advancing negotiations with Iran and deploying thousands of U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf. Behind both moves are pressures on Biden to contain Iran and demonstrate that he’s U.S. imperialism’s best bet against China’s advance in the Middle East.

Sam Carliner

August 23, 2023
People in Niger stand atop a building, waving the Niger flag, following a coup.

Coup in Niger Shows France’s Imperialist Decline

The coup in Niger shows that while French imperialism is in retreat, Chinese and Russian influence is growing in the region.

Claudia Cinatti

August 7, 2023

Netanyahu and His Ultra-Right Coalition Pass First Judicial Reform Despite Wide Resistance

The Israeli Knesset passed a law for judicial overhaul despite massive mobilizations that have been happening for months. What these mobilizations miss, however, is solidarity with Palestinians.

Mirta Pacheco

July 27, 2023

MOST RECENT

Far Right Imposed Shutdown Represents Deeper Crises Only Workers Can Resolve

The United States is on the verge of a government shutdown. The fact that a minority far right in Congress has forced this, largely over disagreements with military spending, shows that the U.S. regime is in a historic crisis. Now more than ever, workers must intervene for their own interests.

Sam Carliner

September 29, 2023

Neither Trump nor Biden Represent the Interests of the Striking Workers

Donald Trump skipped the second GOP debate to go to Michigan to speak on the UAW strike. This, one day after Biden became the first U.S. president to walk a picket line, represents the on-going fight between the parties to win influence over the working class.

Enid Brain

September 29, 2023

The Deadliest Year for U.S.-Mexico Border Crossings Occurred during Biden’s Administration

The humanitarian crisis at the border was created by capitalism. Voting for a lesser evil won’t save the Latin American working class; it will take international, political and strategic solidarity across borders to build a combative immigrants’ rights movement.

Paul Ginestá

September 28, 2023

The Big Three Are Using Layoffs to Punish the UAW and Undermine the Strike

The Big Three are retaliating against the UAW by laying off thousands of its members at plants across the country. Defeating these attacks will require the self organization and mobilization of all the workers.

James Dennis Hoff

September 28, 2023