Racist bill raises storm in Knesset By Gideon Alon Haaretz
12/10/2004 A furor erupted yesterday in the Knesset when the presidium agreed to allow a National Union MK to introduce a draft law perceived as being racist. The bill, introduced by Zvi Hendel, would allow the establishment of a
small community - up to 500 families - that wishes to maintain its special character, to be limited to members of one nation only. An earlier version of the bill, stating that "in a Jewish communal settlement, no Arabs will be allowed to live," was not authorized by the
Knesset's legal bureau. Hendel said that the purpose of the bill was to allow the building of Jewish communities without having to allow Arabs to live there. MKs Moshe Kahlon and Yuli Edelstein (Likud), Chemi Doron (Shinui) and Nissim Dahan (Shas) voted in
favor of allowing the draft law while Labor MK Eli Ben-Menahem and Hadash MK Mohammed Barakeh voted against. Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin abstained. "This is a racist law that has no place in the legal code," said Barakeh. "It is legal pornography. This is a
dereliction of the presidium's duty and it is anti-democratic." Other MKs also expressed their fury. Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor) said the law was anti-democratic and anti-constitutional and would not stand up in court. Labor faction chair Dalia Itzik said it was a
disgrace that the Knesset was opening its new session with a racist proposal. Zehava Gal-On (Yahad) said the draft law was like something out of the Dark Ages. ------------------
ILA's `Jews only' land sales challenged Haaretz
By Jack Khoury
12/10/2004 The Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the Arab Alternative Planning Center yesterday petitioned the High
Court of Justice for a court order to the Israel Lands Authority and the Jewish National Fund to allow Arab citizens to participate in tenders through which the ILA markets land.
The petition by ACRI explicitly challenges the ILA policy as discriminatory against
Arab citizens, violating their basic right to purchase land from the state.
Attorney Aouni Bana, representing ACRI, said the petition is another stage in a campaign against ILA policy as it was recently shown to be discriminatory in the Givat Makosh neighborhood in
Carmiel.
In April, the ILA issued a tender for marketing 43 plots for housing in the neighborhood. Six of the 17 families that won plots with their bids were Arab, which scandalized the Jewish neighborhood.
As a result, the ILA froze the tender on the
grounds that the land belongs to the JNF, and according to a 1968 contract between the JNF and the state, such lands are only for sale to Jewish citizens of the state.
The Arab families threatened to go to the High Court, demanding their plots of land. The issue
also landed on Minister Ehud Olmert's desk, as minister in charge of the ILA.
Eventually, the ILA decided to hand over the land to the Arab families - but only after a trade was done with the JNF for other land, something that has yet to happen.
Three months
later, the ILA issued another tender, this time adding to the language of the published announcement, that the land is owned by the JNF and therefore subject to the contract between the state and the JNF, meaning the land is only available to Jews.
That's when ACRI
and the Alternative Planning Center entered the picture, going to the Haifa District Court with a petition demanding Arab citizens be allowed to participate in the tender.
Judge Shmuel Berliner indeed issued an injunction ordering the ILA to allow Arabs to submit
bids for land or else freeze the tenders until the petition is resolved by the court. The ILA chose to freeze the tenders.
Two weeks ago, the sides met in court, where the ILA announced it was canceling the entire tender, forcing the court to throw the petition
out.
The High Court petition says canceling the tender is the ILA's way to avoid an in-depth discussion of the issue and the Haifa court decision leaves open a case of discrimination on the basis of nationality so the petition is not about a specific tender but
about policy in general.
"This is a declared policy set by the ILA long ago and meant to block Arab citizens of Israel from living in certain areas that are designated for Jews only," says the ACRI attorney.
The petition notes that from April to August
2004, the ILA issued tenders for land for 1,820 housing units in the north, but only 140 of those units are designated for Arab communities, proof that the housing crisis in the Arab community is not on the ILA agenda.
Dr. Hana Suweid, who heads the Alternative
Planning Center meanwhile has called on young couples from the Arab community to take part in the program encouraging people to move to the Galilee by signing up to live in community settlements throughout Galilee.
According to Suweid, the Arab community suffers
form a severe housing shortage and many young couples are unable to find housing in their own towns and villages.
Since the "Move to the Galilee" program is run by a national state body, and its declared purpose is developing the Galilee, and not only what is
Jewish in the Galilee, it could provide housing solutions for many Arab couples, said Suweid.
But only a few Arab couples have responded to his call so far, calling the center seeking information about the Move to the Galilee program. Nonetheless, Suweid is
optimistic.
He said his organization is trying to send the message to the government that if only it were to expand the jurisdictions of Arab communities, the housing crunch could be solved in those towns and villages, with the state enabling young Arab couples to
purchase state land at reasonable prices.
Benny Sarig, the CEO of the Galilee Development center, which is running the Move to the Galilee campaign said that his body is only a marketing arm for the effort.
"We are trying to present attractive conditions in
the Galilee and sending the public to all those communities participating in the operation. The decision to accept someone is up to those communities and most of them have admissions committees."
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Last update - 16:46 03/10/2004 ILA cancels 'Jews-only' tender for Karmiel neighborhood
By Jackie Houri, Haaretz Correspondent The Israel Lands Authority has canceled a tender for leasing 26 lots in Karmiel's Givat Hamachosh neighborhood to Jews
only. The move was in response to a petition submitted to the Haifa District Court, which claimed that the tender adversely affected the country's Arab citizens. The Association
for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and the Arab Center for Alternative Planning filed the petition in September against the ILA, the Jewish National Fund, and the Karmiel Municipality. The petition said the ILA was preventing
the country's Arab citizens from taking part in tenders for leasing land in Givat Hamachosh. The petitioners stated that the JNF, which holds the land, said it forbids leasing land to Arabs under an agreement with the state.
In response to the petition, Judge Shmuel Berliner determined that the ILA could consider freezing the tender until a ruling on the matter, or accept the petitioners' demand, and let all citizens take part in the tender. The
judge ordered the ILA to publish a statement if and when a decision is made to carry on with the tender. In court last week, JNF and ILA representatives announced that they had decided to cancel the tender, and that there was
no need to discuss the petition. "They should at least explain to the court the cancellation of the tender, and the reasons for the cancellation," said ACRI attorney Auni Bana.
The Arab Center for Alternative Planning is considering appealing to the Supreme Court. Following the announcement of the cancellation of the tender, Berliner ordered the Israel Lands Authority and JNF to pay NIS 3,000 to each
of the petitioners, in addition to half of the court costs. |