Keith Mack
Israel's Declaration of Independence called for the establishment of a Jewish state with equal social and political rights, irrespective of religion, race, or sex. However, critics argue that Israel has different laws for Jews and Arabs, with discriminatory laws favouring Jewish citizens. The Israeli government disputes this, stating that it adheres to humanitarian law and that generals work closely with legal advisors to ensure compliance with standards. While Arab citizens were granted the same rights as Jewish citizens under law in 1966, critics point to more recent laws that marginalize Palestinian Arab citizens, such as the admissions committee law, which requires anyone seeking to move to certain communities to obtain approval from committees that include members of Jewish organizations. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been ongoing since 1948, with both sides accusing each other of human rights violations and war crimes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Arab citizens of Israel granted equal rights under law | Yes, since 1966 |
| Arab citizens of Israel granted equal rights in practice | No, there is evidence of segregation and inequality |
| Arab citizens of Israel able to participate in elections | Yes, but there have been attempts to disqualify Arab parties |
| Arab citizens of Israel able to join the army | Yes, but few do |
| Arab citizens of Israel able to move to Jewish communities | Yes, but they may be rejected by "admissions committees" |
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What You'll Learn
- Arab citizens of Israel were granted the same rights as Jewish citizens in 1966
- The Law of Return and Absentees' Property Law are examples of discriminatory laws in Israel
- Israel distinguishes between citizenship and nationality, impacting the rights of its citizens
- Israeli laws marginalise Palestinian Arab citizens, such as the admissions committee law
- Israeli planning authorities have established Jewish towns but not allowed Arabs to establish new towns
Arab citizens of Israel were granted the same rights as Jewish citizens in 1966
Israel's Arab minority continues to face institutionalized discrimination and does not fully share the rights granted to Jewish citizens. However, in 1966, martial law was lifted, and Arab citizens were granted the same rights as Jewish citizens under law.
Israel's Declaration of Independence called for the establishment of a Jewish state with equality of social and political rights, irrespective of religion, race, or sex. The rights of citizens are guaranteed by a set of basic laws (as Israel does not have a written constitution). While the term "right to equality" is not explicitly mentioned in these laws, the Israeli Supreme Court has interpreted "Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty" and "Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation (1994)" as guaranteeing equal rights for all Israeli citizens.
In 1949, the Israeli government conferred Israeli citizenship upon all Palestinians who had remained in the territory or were not expelled. However, they were placed under martial law until 1966, facing discrimination while other Israeli citizens were not. During this period, various Israeli legislative measures facilitated the transfer of abandoned Arab-owned land to state ownership. The Absentee Property Law of 1950, for example, allowed the state to expropriate Palestinian property, and the Land Acquisition Law of 1953 authorized the transfer of expropriated land to the state.
The end of martial law in 1966 and the subsequent Six-Day War in 1967 marked a turning point for Arab citizens in Israel. They gained the ability to contact Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and national consciousness and political activism increased. Arab citizens began to self-identify more openly as Palestinian, and organizations like the Committee for the Defense of the Land emerged to challenge land expropriations.
Despite legal provisions for equality, disparities persist in practice. Human rights advocates highlight discrepancies in sentencing, with Palestinians and Arab Israelis convicted of murder typically receiving life sentences, while Jewish Israelis often receive shorter sentences. Additionally, while there are no legal barriers to women and minorities in government, they remain underrepresented.
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The Law of Return and Absentees' Property Law are examples of discriminatory laws in Israel
Israel's Declaration of Independence calls for the establishment of a Jewish state with equality of social and political rights, irrespective of religion, race, or sex. The rights of citizens are guaranteed by a set of basic laws, and Israel's Supreme Court has interpreted "Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty" and "Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation (1994)" as guaranteeing equal rights for all citizens.
However, critics argue that Israel has discriminatory laws that favour Jewish citizens over Arab citizens. Two examples of this are the Law of Return and the Absentees Property Law. The Law of Return, passed in 1950, grants all Jews the right to settle in Israel and gain citizenship. This law was passed to allow Jews, many of whom were fleeing persecution in Europe, to seek refuge in Israel. However, this law does not extend the same right to non-Jews, including the Palestinian refugees who fled or were forced from their homes during the establishment of Israel.
The Absentees Property Law, passed in 1950, created a category of citizens known as "present absentees". These were Israeli Arabs who enjoyed civil rights, including the right to vote, but did not have the right to use or dispose of their property. This law resulted in the confiscation of two million dunams of land from "present absentees", which were then handed over to Jewish settlers. The abandoned property of Arab citizens played a significant role in settling Jewish immigrants, with new rural settlements being established on the sites of abandoned Arab villages.
In addition to these laws, critics argue that Israel has over 50 laws that discriminate against Palestinians, affecting all spheres of life, including education, state services, and citizenship. As a result of these discriminatory policies, Israel has been accused of perpetuating the displacement and statelessness of Palestinian refugees.
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Israel distinguishes between citizenship and nationality, impacting the rights of its citizens
Israel differentiates between citizenship and nationality, with citizenship referring to the rights and duties a person has in a nation and nationality referring to a person's legal belonging to a state. While Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs share a common citizenship and are entitled to the same civil rights, they are not considered members of the same nation.
The Law of Return, enacted in 1950, grants every Jew the right to migrate to and settle in Israel, reinforcing the Zionist belief in the return of Jews to their traditional homeland. This law, along with the 1952 Citizenship Law, forms the basis of Israeli citizenship policy. The Citizenship Law outlines the requirements for Israeli citizenship, which are dependent on an individual's religious affiliation.
In practice, this means that an individual's nationality in Israel is determined by their ethnicity and cannot be changed or challenged. As a result, "Arab" Israeli citizens and Jewish Israeli citizens, despite both possessing Israeli citizenship, experience different rights and privileges based on their "nationality". For example, most land inside the green line is off-limits to Palestinian citizens of Israel, as it is under the control of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), which has a mandate to develop and lease land only to Jews.
While Israel's Declaration of Independence calls for the establishment of a Jewish state with equality of social and political rights, irrespective of religion, race, or sex, the Israeli Supreme Court has rejected attempts to recognize "Israeli" as a nationality. The Court argued that recognizing an Israeli nationality that does not discriminate based on ethnicity would undermine Israel's Jewishness and pose a danger to the country's founding principle of being a "Jewish state for the Jewish people".
This distinction between citizenship and nationality, with nationality determined by ethnicity, has led to accusations of discrimination against non-Jewish Israelis.
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Israeli laws marginalise Palestinian Arab citizens, such as the admissions committee law
Israel has a set of basic laws that guarantee equal rights for all its citizens, irrespective of religion, race, or sex. However, critics argue that Israeli laws marginalise Palestinian Arab citizens. One such law is the Admissions Committees Law, which allows small, close-knit communities to screen and reject potential residents based on their compatibility with the community's sociocultural fabric. This law has been criticised by human rights organisations as a form of housing discrimination against Arab citizens, as it gives legal committees broad discretion to reject applicants based on vague criteria, including race, ethnicity, and religion.
The history of the conflict between Israel and Palestine is complex and deeply rooted in historical disputes over land, borders, and rights. After World War I, the area known as Palestine was under British control, with an Arab majority and a Jewish minority. Tensions arose when Britain agreed to establish a "national home" for Jewish people in Palestine, known as the Balfour Declaration. Despite assurances that the rights of Palestinian Arabs would be protected, the establishment of Israel as an independent state in 1948 led to conflict with neighbouring Arab nations and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
Over time, the Israeli government has passed laws that critics argue marginalise Palestinian Arab citizens. One example is the Admissions Committees Law, which was first formalised in 2011 and has since been expanded. This law allows communities in certain regions with large Palestinian populations, such as the Negev and Galilee, to operate admissions committees that can reject potential residents who do not fit the community's sociocultural fabric. This vague criterion has been criticised as a means to exclude Palestinian citizens and other marginalised groups based on race and ethnicity.
The Israeli government and supporters of the law argue that it protects the unique fabric of these communities and ensures their growth. However, critics, including human rights organisations and legal centres advocating for Arab citizens, argue that it is a racist law that aims to establish and expand Jewish settlements while excluding Palestinians and other minorities. They point out the inclusion of representatives from organisations with a history of land grabs and explicit intentions to discriminate against Palestinians, perpetuating racial discrimination against Palestinian citizens.
The impact of this law is significant, as it affects the land rights and housing opportunities for Palestinian citizens of Israel. It also highlights the ongoing tensions and complexities in the relationship between Israel and Palestine, with critics arguing that such laws contribute to the marginalisation and discrimination faced by Palestinian Arab citizens within Israel.
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Israeli planning authorities have established Jewish towns but not allowed Arabs to establish new towns
Since 1948, the Israeli government has authorized the creation of over 900 "Jewish localities" in Israel, but none for Palestinians, except for a few government-planned townships and villages in the Negev and Galilee. These villages were created to concentrate previously dispersed Bedouin communities. In the 1970s, Israeli authorities brought Palestinian towns and villages into the state's centralized planning system, but planning processes have not significantly increased the land available for residential building.
The Israeli planning authorities have established hundreds of Jewish towns and villages, but Israel has not allowed Arabs to establish any new towns since 1948, except for seven communities that the state planned for Bedouins from the Negev. The Israeli government urged them to relocate from their traditional lands or forcibly evicted them.
Israeli policies have sought to "'Judaize the Galilee," and officials have promoted plans to encourage large-scale Jewish immigration to the Negev. In 2010, several rabbis in the Galilee, who are government officials, campaigned for Jewish Israelis not to rent apartments or sell land to Arab-Israelis.
The "admissions committee" law requires anyone seeking to move to any community in the Negev and Galilee regions with fewer than 400 families to obtain approval from committees consisting of town residents, a member of the Jewish Agency or World Zionist Organization, and several others. The law empowers these committees to reject candidates who might not fit in with the community's way of life or could harm its fabric.
In 2015, the Israeli authorities approved a 5-year, 10 billion NIS ($2.93 billion) "economic development plan for the Arab sector." An "interim report" published in 2019 noted an increase in planning activity in Palestinian towns, including steps to allow for more housing construction. However, it was observed that the housing shortage in Palestinian municipalities would continue without the state allocating more state land.
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Frequently asked questions
While Israel's Declaration of Independence called for the establishment of a Jewish state with equality of social and political rights, irrespective of religion, race, or sex, there are laws that disproportionately affect Arabs. For example, the "admissions committee" law requires anyone seeking to move into small communities in the Negev and Galilee regions to obtain approval from committees that include a member of the Jewish Agency or World Zionist Organization. These committees have been accused of bypassing a previous Supreme Court ruling against discrimination in property rights and rejecting Arab applicants on the basis that they do not "socially fit."
Israel's legal system is based on a set of basic laws, as Israel does not have a written constitution. While these laws do not explicitly include the term "right to equality," the Israeli Supreme Court has interpreted them as guaranteeing equal rights for all citizens.
In 1965, a radical independent Arab group called al-Ard formed the Arab Socialist List and attempted to run for Knesset elections, but they were banned by the Israeli Central Elections Committee. After the 1967 Six-Day War, Arab citizens were able to contact Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, leading to increased political activism. In 1974, a committee of Arab mayors and municipal council members was established to represent the Arab community and pressure the Israeli government.
The international community, including the United Nations and human rights organizations, considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal under international law. However, the Israeli government disputes this, claiming that the settlements are rooted in historical rights and that the West Bank is part of the Israeli homeland.
Yes, there are human rights concerns regarding Israel's treatment of Palestinians, particularly in the context of the conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Two of Israel's leading human rights groups, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, have accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. They cite dehumanizing remarks by Israeli officials and statements indicating an intention to drive Palestinians out of Gaza.
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