Phylo
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Israel’s hugely controversial “nation-state” law, explained
Supporters call Israel’s new Jewish nation-state law a “defining moment.” Critics say it’s “apartheid.”The law does three big things:
- It states that “the right to exercise national self-determination” in Israel is “unique to the Jewish people.”
- It establishes Hebrew as Israel’s official language, and downgrades Arabic — a language widely spoken by Arab Israelis — to a “special status.”
- It establishes “Jewish settlement as a national value” and mandates that the state “will labor to encourage and promote its establishment and development.”
1) “The right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.”
This declaration doesn’t just say that Israel is the historic homeland of Jews, which is a core part of Zionist ideology and the argument for the Jewish state’s existence in what’s now Israel. Instead, this goes further to unequivocally state that Jews — and only Jews — have the exclusive right to “self-determination” within Israel.In other words, only Jews have the right to determine what kind of state and society they live under. Which means that by default, non-Jews — such as Palestinian citizens of Israel, some of whom are Muslim and some of whom are Christian — don’t have that same right.
Supporters of this declaration say that Jews have the right to a place of their own just like other people have, and that enshrining this principle in the law is necessary to ensure that Israel remains under Jewish control.
Critics, on the other hand, say this measure is undemocratic and essentially enshrines two separate classes of citizens: Jews, and everyone else. Some even liken it to the strict racial segregation in South Africa under apartheid, in which the indigenous black African population was ruled by a colonial regime based on white supremacy.
3) The law mandates that the “state views Jewish settlement as a national value and will labor to encourage and promote its establishment and development,” without specifying where.
This clause, interestingly, has angered both the law’s supporters and its opponents. The former say it doesn’t go far enough because it doesn’t specify Jewish settlements in the West Bank.This is a fundamental issue for many religious and religious nationalist Israelis. They argue that the West Bank is part of Israel, both because Israel captured the land in 1967 and because it’s part of the biblical Holy Land. And since it belongs to Israel, the argument goes, Jewish Israelis are free to build settlements — small enclaves — in the West Bank.
Most of the international community, as well as Palestinians and more than a few Israelis, disagree. They say that the West Bank belongs to a future Palestinian state, and that Israel has been illegally occupying it since it seized the territory in 1967. As such, Jewish settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
So by not specifically mentioning the West Bank, this provision in the new law walks a fine line, enshrining “Jewish settlement as a national value” without explicitly saying where those settlements might be.
Even so, opponents of this measure say it’s damaging not just with respect to West Bank settlements but also for Arab Israelis, as the law appears to create a legal right to separate Arabs from living in Jewish communities.
Israel’s hugely controversial “nation-state” law, explained
Supporters call Israel’s new Jewish nation-state law a “defining moment.” Critics say it’s “apartheid.”
www.vox.com
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Phylo
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Phylo
Senior member
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“Every Choice Is Loss”: Voters on Their Decision Amid Genocide in Gaza
Progressive Americans opposed to Israel’s U.S.-funded war in Gaza face a difficult choice: whether or not to vote for Harris.
theintercept.com
Progressive Americans opposed to Israel’s U.S.-funded war in Gaza face a difficult choice: whether or not to vote for Harris.
“Every Choice Is Loss”: Voters on Their Decision Amid Genocide in Gaza
Progressive Americans opposed to Israel’s U.S.-funded war in Gaza face a difficult choice: whether or not to vote for Harris.
theintercept.com
Phylo
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Trump told Netanyahu he wants Gaza war over by time he enters office — sources
Republican nominee has repeatedly called for Israel to end war quickly, but ex-Trump aide and Israeli official are first to reveal that the request has a timeline attached
Trump told Netanyahu he wants Gaza war over by time he enters office — sources
Republican nominee has repeatedly called for Israel to end war quickly, but ex-Trump aide and Israeli official are first to reveal that the request has a timeline attached
www.timesofisrael.com
So Trump reckons he can end the Gaza war within hours? Good luck with that…
Just wait until I’m re-elected, promised Trump. Many took his bold assertion as a blank cheque for Israel to do what it wants against its regional enemies – so now the White House race is won, Mark Almond looks at what happens next in the Middle East
So Trump reckons he can end the Gaza war within hours? Good luck with that…
Just wait until I’m re-elected, promised Trump. Many took his bold assertion as a blank cheque for Israel to do what it wants against its regional enemies – so now the White House race is won, Mark Almond looks at what happens next in the Middle East
www.independent.co.uk
So Trump reckons he can end the Gaza war within hours? Good luck with that…
Just wait until I’m re-elected, promised Trump. Many took his bold assertion as a blank cheque for Israel to do what it wants against its regional enemies – so now the White House race is won, Mark Almond looks at what happens next in the Middle East
www.independent.co.uk
Trump has a choice: Obliterate Palestine or end the war
Biden's humiliation
- Biden told Netanyahu not to reoccupy Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor. Netanyahu did it anyway.
- Biden told Netanyahu to allow aid trucks into Gaza, and Netanyahu mostly ignored him.
- Biden told Netanyahu not to invade Lebanon; Netanyahu did it.
- Biden told Netanyahu not to attack Iranian nuclear and oil facilities, and Netanyahu listened to him - for now at least.
He also emerges as a leader who facilitated genocide. The amount of heavy bombs that the US supplied, and that Israel used against overwhelmingly civilian targets in Gaza and Lebanon, over the past year far outweighs the US’s own use of such bombs during the entire Iraq war.
If the Israeli state has fundamentally changed after 7 October, so too has the Palestinian mindset.
The scale of the killing - the official Palestinian death toll from the war has exceeded 43,000, and the real count could be several times higher, with the degree of destruction rendering most of the Gaza Strip uninhabitable - has crossed all red lines for Palestinians, wherever they live.
Trump has a choice: Obliterate Palestine or end the war
The US leader's return to power can only accelerate the destruction of the status quo in the Middle East that he started in his first term
www.middleeasteye.net
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Phylo
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Sky News DELETES Truth About Israeli Football Hooligans On Rampage In Amsterdam - This Is A Scandal
UEFA urged to punish Maccabi Tel Aviv and its racist fans
Maccabi Tel Aviv hooligans chant racist, anti-Arabs slogans ahead of match in Amsterdam
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Rufus_Leakey
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Your forgot to mention ...
Gitzwarte nacht in Amsterdam: ’Jodenjacht’ al ruim van tevoren aangekondigd op Telegram
„We hebben zeer heftig antisemitisch geweld gezien”, constateerde de Amsterdamse hoofdofficier van justitie René de Beukelaer na een nacht waarin Israëliërs in de hoofdstad opgejaagd werden door horde...
www.telegraaf.nl
Pitch-black night in Amsterdam: 'Jew hunt' by scooter youths and taxi drivers announced well in advance on Telegram
Marijn Schrijver
08 Nov 2024 in Domestic
© ANP/HH
A pitch-black night in Amsterdam. After the match Ajax - Maccabi Tel Aviv, supporters of the Israeli club were chased and abused by groups of youths on scooters.
Phylo
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Amsterdam Violence: How It Started? | Maccabi Israeli Fans | Dawn News English
Maccabi fans filmed chanting racist slogans against Arabs upon arrival at Ben Gurion from Amsterdam
Maccabi fans filmed chanting racist slogans against Arabs upon arrival at Ben Gurion from Amsterdam
* * *
www.timesofisrael.com
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Phylo
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Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead are women and children, UN says
Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead women and children - UN
A UN agency verified victims from a six-month period and said it found international law violations.
www.bbc.co.uk
