Occupied Palestine | فلسطين

Discrimination Against Palestinian Citizens of Israel


IMEU |  Sep 28, 2011

In recent months, Israeli and American officials have been increasingly vocal in demanding that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a “Jewish state” as part of any peace agreement.

On Monday, September 26th, it was reported that Israel and America’s insistence that a clause defining Israel as a Jewish state be included in the terms of reference scuttled efforts to restart negotiations and head off the Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN last week.

Although presented by some as a longstanding requirement of the Palestinians, only recently have they been asked to formally recognize Israel as a Jewish state. To put this issue into context, the IMEU offers the following fact sheet.

RACISM & DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PALESTINIAN CITIZENS OF ISRAEL


Palestinian citizens of Israel are those Palestinians who remained behind in what became the state of Israel following the Nakba (1947-9), or “catastrophe,” when approximately 725,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes and land by Zionist forces in order to make way for a Jewish-majority state.

Between 1948 (when Israel declared independence) and 1966, Palestinians living in Israel were granted no political rights and were subject to Israeli military rule. After 1966, they were granted the right to vote and other civil rights, but to this day they continue to suffer from widespread, systematic and institutionalized discrimination affecting everything from land ownership and employment opportunities to family reunification rights. Today, there are approximately 1.2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel, about 20% of the population.

Institutionalized discrimination


Increasing intolerance for dissent & diversity in Israel

 

Source & More at the IMEU Website