Israeli land for Jews only. Isn't that racism?

By Luisa Morgantini,
Vice president of the European
Parliament

Yesterday, the Israeli Parliament approved, in
preliminary reading, a bill that calls for all lands
under the control of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to
be allocated to Jews only. In this way Israel strikes
another blow against democracy, fueling discrimination
and Apartheid. The proposal of the bill, initiated by
the Israeli right wing, Kadima and Likud, prevents
non-Jews from participating in bids to purchase land
owned by the JNF (Jewish National Fund), 13 percent of
all state land.

The bill passed by a massive majority of 64 MKs to 16,
despite a pre-vote debate in the Knesset Presidency,
in which many raised their voices against the bill,
calling for it to be cancelled. These requests were
rejected by the legal advisor to the Knesset on the
grounds that “racism is not explicit in the
proposal".

So what shall we call the exclusion of Arab citizens
of Israel from participation in bids to purchase
lands? What can we call it except racist; this bill
defined by some Knesset Deputies an "abominable
legislation” that serves only to institutionalize
discrimination towards non-Jews and to legitimate a
democracy on an ethnic basis? This law is just one
more expression of racism and discrimination in
Israel, where demolition houses owned by its Arab
citizens, illegal expropriation of their lands,
uprooting of their trees is ongoing. The only
opposition to the proposal came by Meretz-Yachad
Representatives, left wing party, committed in social
justice.

"The bill approved yesterday by the Knesset shows the
real face of the government -they declared- and risks
representing Israel as an apartheid state". The Arab
parties, Balad and Raam-Taal, and Hadash, the Jewish
and Arab left, also denounced the risk of legalizing
the "great robbery of lands" that has continued since
1948 to our own days towards Israeli Arabs".

The Knesset's real face cannot be the face of Uri
Ariel, the radical of the settlers first supporter of
this bill, otherwise the increase in the level of
racism, and the consequent decrease in the level of
democracy, will cause a serious shift in the direction
of institutionalized apartheid and of the cancellation
of all rights.

This article has been published in the Italian
newspaper "Liberazione".