The Knesset passed a new version of Israel’s infamous “Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law.” This law denies to Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel a fundamental right that Israel’s Jewish citizens take for granted (and, indeed, citizens around the world hold dear): the right to make a life together with one’s chosen spouse, in the country where one hold’s citizenship.
MK Aida Touma-Sliman during a debate in the plenum on racist “Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law.” (Footage: Knesset Channel)
Adopted originally by the Knesset in 2003 as a “temporary” measure ostensibly for “security” reasons, the law has been repeatedly renewed for almost 20 years, most recently in March 2022. The renewed law includes explicit provisions referring to its “demographic” purpose, leading Adalah to call it “one of the most racist and discriminatory laws in the world.” In last March, far-right Minister of Interior Ayelet Shaked celebrated the law’s passage on Twitter, saying; “Jewish & Democratic State – 1; State for all its citizens – 0.”
A webinar in English will be held today, April 26 at 11:00 AM (US and Canada time) features Member of Knesset Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash – Joint List), who has fought against this law since its first passage, Dr. Morad El Sana, who was among the first petitioners against this law when his family was directly impacted by it and Dr. Hassan Jabareen, who leads Adalah’s challenges against this law at the Israeli Supreme Court, all in conversation with the President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, Lara Friedman.
“We will discuss the concrete implications of this law for Palestinian citizens and residents, as well as what the law’s renewal – and the discourse around it in Israel – discloses about contemporary Israeli political and legal dynamics and the impact of the 2018 Jewish Nation State Law. We will also look at what these dynamics suggest about the future, the evolving discourse on ‘national security’ with respect to Palestinian citizens, and the continued framing of Palestinians as a ‘demographic threat’ to Jewish supremacy in Israel and Palestine,” Friedman said.
For registration:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_My2erglXSl6xBmVwaU_1Eg
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