Israeli Arab couple petitions High Court after residency denied

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"An Israeli Arab couple petitioned the High Court of Justice this week, asking it to issue a temporary injunction that would allow them to live in the predominately Jewish town of Rakefet.

The couple, residents of Sakhnin, said they were denied residency in the town because they are Arab, but say that local authorities in Rakefet and officials at the Israel Lands Authority found an alternative way to keep them from moving into the town- by stating that according to a "suitability test," the couple are "not fit to live in the town."

The couple is being represented by Adalah, a non-profit organization which fights discrimination against Israeli Arabs. According to the organization, the couple was refused permission to settle in the town because they are Arab.

The couple is now requesting that the High Court instruct the Israel Land Authority and heads of the Misgav Regional council to ensure their rights to a residential plot in Rakefet."

more

[breakaleg]

1. So much for equality of all citizens of Israel. Are we sure this happened in 2007 and not 1907?

The excuses gave would make me laugh if they weren't so outrageous:

She was denied because the "suitability test" (are they fucking serious?) said:

""The impression is that she is an individualistic woman, and therefore, in the end, she is looking to advance her own goals, much more than she is concerned about the community in which she lives," the committee stated in its ruling."

And his said:

"is of a suitable personality, and looks to adapt himself to the norms, customs, and accepted rules of behavior." Nonetheless, the committee found Zvidat not suitable, since he "lacks sufficient knowledge of sophisticated interpersonal relations, and has problems fitting into the community."


Please, no one in this forum have the nerve to tell me about how fucking great Israel is or that it's a fucking democracy in which Israeli-Arabs have the same rights as their counterparts.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Separate-but-not-equal and apartheid. Jimmy was right. n/t

[sabbat hunter]

7. read further in the article

"Israel Lands Authority: 'Nationality is not a consideration'
Representatives from the Israel Lands Authority have stated that in communities of up to 500 households, they parcel out land based on the recommendations of local acceptance committees, which do not consider "the nationality or religion" of the applicant. As an example, the authority cited their recent decision to allow an Arab couple to move to Kibbutz Hasollalim. "


if there is apartheid that couple wouldnt have been allowed to move to the kibbutz.

furthermore here is the reason the couple themselves gave for why they didnt get to build the house

" According to Zvidat, he had sought approval to build a house in a neighborhood of Sakhnin, but the land on which he wanted to build was reserved for agricultural purposes, and bordered the jurisdictional boundaries of Rakefet."

so please tell me how this is apartheid? in a country as small as israel some land must be reserved for agricultural purposes so food can be grown internally.

so please tell me how this is apartheid?

[Tom Joad]

3. "Not suitable to live in that town? "

[Scurrilous]

4. Adalah report slams state's treatment of Arab minority

<snip>

"The Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel has presented the United Nations with a highly critical report on Israel's treatment of its Arab citizens.

The report was presented on February 1 in preparation for the meeting of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva next week.

Adalah's appeal is part of a wider effort by Arab organizations to internationalize the discussion around the relationship between Israel and its Arab citizens. Adalah expects the report to serve as a basis for the committee's discussion and thus put intentional pressure on Israel to change its policies.

The report outlines several issues that Adalah claims violate the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), on which Israel is a signatory."

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[angstlessk]

5. This is a rather long video about settlements in Palestine

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-500411215492365617&q=genre%3Adocumentary+duration%3Along&hl=en

[LSK]

6. is this town in the West Bank?

[Scurrilous]

8. It's in Northern Israel. n/t