The IP conflict here at DKos is always a zippy matter and not for the faint of heart. Many here question what Israeli governments do and others question the questioners, both sides often with an underlying affection for what Israel could someday be although it is not now. Even the New York Times this Sunday in its Public Editor column acknowledged being stuck in the middle as to its own coverage between passionate advocates of 'both' positions.
Today, however is a terrible day for all who carry Israel optimistically in their hearts and who have fought fiercely to keep the space for the Israel of their hopes in the forefront. After today, that may well no longer be possible. I sense and grieve for the pain this will cause so many, who wanted to see the two state solution so badly to preserve what they valued most in Israel. To see something, anything, better than this. After today, things are going to be different.
Reporting in Ha'aretz here, The Jerusalem Post here and the New York Times here and Ma'an here today all make clear that Prime Minister Netanyahu is supporting passage of legislation he has put forward adding to the Israel Basic Law the premise that Israel is, above all, "the Nation State of the Jewish People," as opposed to the prior basic language that it is "Jewish and democratic," and making changes to policy to accord to the primacy of that declaration over other matters. The Israeli Cabinet is reported to have passed a version of his bill to that effect earlier this week in the Israeli calendar, and the conflict there is so bad that even Avigdor Liebermann, the right wing Foreign Minister is reported to have worked to get extra time to work on this before it goes before the Knesset. Netanyahu has suggested some work on his bill is possible.
In view of the balance of the discussion attributed to him, and noted below, this does not appear to be a play on words talky talky proposal but one intended with all its implacations to take effect as soon as the Knesset acts.
Mr. Netanyahu is clear that while Jews and Arabs in Israel are all to have equal rights, there are national rights that also exist for Jews only, because Israel is a Jewish State, and this bill enacts that difference into the Basic Law, similar to our Constitution. Other than Aliyah, it is not entirely clear which rights Netanyahu intends for only Jews to have.
The reporting indicates that this Netanyahu bill, and it is his specifically, came after a different and thought by some to be less horrific, bill was filed by two right wing Likud Knesset members. That Likud members' bill also contained provisions for building new Jewish housnig but not new Arab housing, and changed Arabic from an official language of Israel to a 'special' one. The Netanyahu bill passed the Cabinet on a 14-5 vote. As of the current reporting these two provisions noted in the other bill are apparently not in the Netanyahu bill, but it is only Monday.
Netanyahu's discussion as reported indicates that this view applies not only to the Palestinian 'residents' but also to Arab Israeli Citizens, pointing out that he is not only offended by the position of Palestinians but also by those seeking autonomy in Golan and Negev, which translates to Israeli Arabs and Bedouins and Druze, citizens all. He is in this context reportedly irate that in some areas Arabs can move into Jewish communities, but Jews cannot do the same into Arab communities. No locations were identified.
He also talks in the reporting about punishing those who attack Israelis even with rocks saying their welfare benefits and residence permits and perhaps other things should be forfeited not only by the doers, but by their families; for those not following the situation, one of the things IDF does now regularly when Palestinians are arrested on suspicion of somethng violent, is to destroy the home in which their family live although I have never ever seen a similar punishment for the family of any settler or other attacker of Palestinians, and I am reasonably sure the killers of the Palestinian child burnt to death are not looking at destruction of their homes.
Netanyahu has mentioned that in some of the articles as part of his policy in this. It is one thing for house burning or forfeiture to happen in individual cases as in the past, and another entirely to have the Prime Minister make that sort of group punishment a matter of express national policy, on one side only, as he now appears to be doing.
This presumably means residence permits subject to cancellation for Palestinians kept in Limbo. The notion of Change of Status is also mentioned, so that it is possible that the never quite tightly enough attached citizenship of Israeli Arabs might also be subject to change. No one has proposed any condition whatever under which any Jew hereafter could lose any of these rights.
Part of the context of this parameter shifting legislation is the prospect of there being a new election as soon as January. There is reporting thinking in print that Bibi is using this opportunity or creating it in order to force members of his coalition, Yair Lapid and his party and Ms. Livni and hers, to vote against this bill which in Israeli political terms would also constitute their resignation from his cabinet. Reporting indicates that he has been soliciting Haridi and other extreme right wing support such as that of Naftali Bennett and his party in the time going forward, and this is seen as part of that shift as well, or a way of executing that shift. Nobody in the press has suggested he intends not to win the Israeli election thought to be in January, although he has been condemned for using this huge issue simply as a pollitical maneuver inside his coalition for electoral purposes. In any event some of the reporting the debate from inside the cabinet meeting at which his bills were approved named names and was scalding.
It is also the case that the reporting does mention that Bibi has mentioned that international opinion might not like this, but he is proceeding with it anyway.
It does not help that in at least one of the Israeli papers, Bibi was reported celebrating the good news of the failure of the Iran nuclear negotiations.
Get yourself a cup of coffee and join me below the squiggle for muttering and other frustrated thoughts. I see no good news at all here for anybody.
To me this is the day I hoped I would never see, the day on which Netanyahu has finally turned his back on both separate states or any version of the one state notion which would provide equality and justice for all Israelis of any stripe and Palestinians. I do not care whether he is doing it for short term electoral benefit or not. It is a game changer in a horrible direction.
Those who objected to the description of Apartheid state now have to deal with Animal Farm, All animals are created equal but some are more equal than others. Bibi is not talking, but is legislating, a world where there are also national rights for Jews only, because Israel is a Jewish state, which trump equal rights. I didn't make this up.
Supporters here also have to deal now with the now express claim that Israel is and therefore any other nation is not, the national home of Jewish People. An attempt to pry apart many Jews who have not made Aliyah, suggesting they are now to be viewed as not where they really should be, in Israel, their only real and proper home as Jews. This at a time when in more areas than one would have thought a few years back, genuine no shit anti semitism is arising again.
In a time when the random attacks may be signalling another intifada, over the Noble Sanctuary/Temple Mount, this is a horrible turn. An express commitment of the current Israeli government to ethnic bigotry, despite what international opinion may think and international bodies may do. It's natural extension is what their Deputy Foreign minister a round or two ago said was Israel's right to deal as it saw fit with the shrines of other religions, since Israel was the sovereign of the land on which they sit.
I do wonder whether this is how Bibi reads the US midterm election Tea leaves, since it is clear on this end that the Rabidly Right Republicans think they cleaned the table, and can do anything they want, and that includes doing anything Bibi wants, since he is a white guy like them, protecting his white folks from the same things they are supposedly protecting their white folks from, and they are doing well since the Iran nuclear talks seem to have failed,making our launching and fighting his war more likely, and Rand Paul has just called for a Congressional Declaration of War on ISIS. (Today's Times was truly awful - the NYT Op Ed column about the difficulties of conversion to Judaism, talking about the problems of conversions and their unacceptability was just the slug on the top of the pile.)
I just hope that this does not generate as one of its side effects the resolution of those trying to deal with ISIS, or of ISIS itself, to use this public act as the basis for a unity movement of their own. One of the troubles with some sorts of multi player international problems is that unity can suddenly appear out of the fog on the proper instigation. I pray this is not it.
Grump grump, grump. Commients invited under the usual rules applicable to my diaries. Citations to facts alleged is needed. No personal attacks. No Godwin violations. No changing the subject to something easier and less painful to deal with.