A new set of racist anti-Arab laws is before the Knesset

As a continuation of the Israeli government’s general shift towards the right, the Knesset has introduced a new round of laws targeting its Palestinian citizens, known as “Israeli-Arabs”. The coalition of Palestinian members of the parliament is working hard to confront and thwart such racist legislation.

The intention behind the laws, it is believed, is to subjugate even further Palestinians living within Israel; some of the bills are said to be those which the right-wing wanted to push through before the dissolution of the last parliament. However, the Arab coalition is now the Knesset’s third largest bloc, so there is optimism that the laws can be blocked.

The most dangerous of these laws is that which would designate Israel to be a “Jewish State”. Benjamin Netanyahu tried to push this through in the last parliament but failed. He met a lot of resistance from the then Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni. If passed, the law would stipulate that Israel is the state of Jewish people all over the world; rights of citizenship would be exclusive to Jews. Moreover, Hebrew would be the sole official language of the state and Arabic would no longer be the state’s second language. Such a change would make it unnecessary to prepare all official documents and road signs, for example, in Hebrew and Arabic.

The Judaisation project also requires any organisation seeking official state recognition to declare that it acknowledges the Jewishness of the state of Israel. It warns members of the Knesset that they could be prosecuted should they make any statements denying this status.

Another bill waiting to be passed by the Israeli right-wing and its extremist supporters is one which prohibits the use of microphones and loudspeakers in mosques. If passed, it would give the minister of the interior the right to ban the Islamic call to prayer in any areas that he or she sees fit. Palestinian citizens of Israel view this as an attempt to limit their right to practise their religion and a prelude to the potential escalation of violence between both sides, which is the outcome that Israel desires so that it can frame this issue as a battle against “extremism” and “terrorism”.

The Israeli right also wants to ban human rights groups based in Israel from applying for and receiving funding from foreign countries, while another bill wants to limit access to overseas funding. There is no doubt that at least one of these bills will be passed in the Knesset due to Israel’s fear of foreign organisations internationalising Israel’s crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Knesset may also prohibit the commemoration of the Nakba and establish committees that would prevent Arabs from obtaining degrees or permits to buy land. Moreover, the government is seeking to prohibit any of its citizens from participating in the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which boycotts not only Israeli goods and academic institutions generally but also specifically those based in illegal settlements. The death penalty may be reinstated for Palestinian prisoners.

It looks as if the Israeli government will seek to implement a law pertaining to the settlements that would see “Area C” of the occupied West Bank annexed as part of Israel’s settlement expansion project. What this indicates is the Israeli right-wing’s intention to ignore the Oslo agreement and carry out new procedures that would enable Israel to continue to annex even more land across the West Bank.

Bills like these are nothing new and some have been passed in one shape or form in the past three years, although the Palestinians have rejected them. However, laws concerning the BDS movement and the establishment of certain committees are part of a greater plan to prevent Palestinians from accessing their basic rights and civil liberties; to continue the ethnic cleansing of them from their land so that Jews can take their place and crystallise the status quo with the help and sponsorship of the United States.

The goal behind the implementation of such laws is to create economic, social and political hardships for the Palestinians in Israel so that they will want to leave the country, especially young men. The imposition of systematic restrictions by the Israeli government on Palestinian youth is a political project, which aims to push young men and women to emigrate in search of better living and working conditions.

The political make-up of the new Knesset is different to what it has been in the past due to the presence of the newly-elected coalition of Arab parties. It is a huge achievement that will work to block laws that are detrimental to Palestinian interests.

Will the Arab coalition succeed in influencing Israeli public opinion? Will it be easy to block all of the far right’s attempts to implement policies that would expedite the expulsion of Palestinians from their land? And will the rest of the Arab world continue to stand idly by as Israel implements racist laws that complicate the lives of Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians in the Palestinian territories? We can only wait and see.

Translated from Felesteen newspaper, 6 April, 2015.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.