Avi Issacharoff has penned another one of his stenographic reports that could’ve been dictated (and very well might’ve been) by the right wing political or military leadership. In it, he claims that Hamas and the PA will demand that in the coming Palestinian elections Hamas be allowed to run in East Jerusalem as it did in the last 2006 elections. They will do so, the reporter claims, in order to embarrass the Israeli government since they “know” the far-right Israeli government is unlikely to permit Hamas to run. In the eyes of Issacharoff and his sources, it’s the obligation of the Palestinians to accommodate the political interests of Israeli nationalists. Since East Jerusalem Palestinians live in territory annexed by Israel if the latter allowed Hamas to run for office there it would give the Islamist group a foot in the door to gain legitimacy both among Palestinians and within Israeli-controlled territory.
East Jerusalem Palestinians must be allowed to vote for elected PA representatives. They must have the same choices other Palestinians in the West Bank or Gaza have. If they don’t, then they are not fully enfranchised. If that is so, then Israel must allow them to vote in Israeli elections and preferably make them Israeli citizens. If neither of these alternatives happen, then Israel is an apartheid racist state which offers Jews a superior level of citizenship, Israeli Palestinians a middling level of citizenship, and East Jerusalemites almost no rights at all.
Israel has to decide which option to follow. Refusing to allow East Jerusalemites to vote is impermissible and should be sanctioned by international bodies if it happens.
Thanx for that.
The Arab inhabitance of east Jerusalem indeed lack voting rights for Israel parliament, which is shocking violation of their civil rights.
This must be fixed ASAP.
That would post anyone who read what you wrote.
However the reality is quite different from what you wrote here.
The east Jerusalem Arabs are Israel citizens and as such are eligible for voting just like any other citizen.
The fact that some of them, for political reasons, refuse to become citizens and prefer to be residents of Israel and not citizens, does not entitle them to vote for other state election.
This is the same as in the US.
Residents cannot vote for president.
No, they aren’t citizens. They are residents, which is a much less privileged category. As far as I know they are not eligible to be Israeli citizens. Nor should they be as they are conquered inhabitants of land Israel took & annexed illegally. But if the Palestinians outside Israel proposed becoming part of Israel as full citizens & Israel accepted this, that would work fine for me.
Richard, they are eligible to become Israeli citizens the moment they wish so, and some of them did, but did it quietly.
Why would they become Israeli citizens & so justify Israeli conquest? But I’ll make you a deal, offer all Palestinians in the Territories citizenship & voting rights & then every Palestinian will gladly become a citizen.
Why can’t they vote “for other state election”, Freeman?
Many countries such as the US allow citizens of dual nationality to vote in both countries – why shouldn’t these Palestinians be allowed to vote in both Israel and Palestine?
Until recently they could also vote in Jordan until Jordan cancelled their citizenship.
To the best of my memory East Jerusalem Arabs already have full citizenship, including voting rights and national insurance benefits. This came along with the annexation in 1980.
Your memory fails you.
The idea that EJ residents are Israeli citizens with full rights is preposterous, and the mere fact that some Israelis think this is the case show the extent to which they are misinformed.
EJ residents have the status of just that – “residents”, under Israeli immigration law. Israel took over EJ in 1967, illegally annexed it, and treats the persons who had been living there as non immigrant foreigners; i.e. a foreign national who comes to study or work temporarily etc. Like any non immigrant foreigner, their status is precarious and can be (and is) revoked at the drop of a hat. It’s difficult to think of a more stark example of the arbitrary and illegal treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli government (though runner ups obviously abound).
EJ residents are, I believe, eligible to apply for Israeli citizenship. However, the vast majority don’t do so, because they (rightly) feel that doing so would amount to legitimizing the occupation and the annexation of their city.
Residents of East Jerusalem are entitled to Israeli citizenship if they want it. So far 5% have accepted Israeli citizenship. The rest are categorized as Permanent Residents and are allowed to vote in municipal elections. They are also guaranteed the right to the same social security benefits and state health care as any Israeli citizen. You wrote “As far as I know they are not eligible to be Israeli citizens” You are mistaken. Sorry.
No they are entitled to apply for Israeli citizenship. Israel is not obligated to give it to them. So neither one of us is correct. If Israel wished to do so it could’ve automatically given them citizenship. It didn’t. They don’t want it.
The Ministry of the Interior is actually required by Israeli law to grant citizenship to any Palestinian permanent resident of Jerusalem who meets the criteria for citizenship.
The Ministry of the Interior is also “required” to approve marriages & yet when one of the partners is gay or Jewish, but with manufactured evidence of involvement with Christian evangelicals, they somehow find a way to refuse. I trust them about as much as I trust you for reliability and factuality.
I’m sorry, I have no idea what you are referring to. I am friends with a gay couple. One of them isn’t Jewish, but he was granted permanent resident status shortly after arriving in Israel after a brief interview to determine the seriousness of their relationship and that they live together. He got a work permit, bituach leumi and access to a kupat cholim. This summer they wed overseas and he is now a citizen. Again, I have no idea what any of this has to do with Palestinians in East Jerusalem.
Have I ever lied to you or shown myself to be untrustworthy? I know we sometimes disagree on matters of opinion, but you know I’ve been right on a number of points of fact. Is that bad?
Correction: the Interior Ministry as denied a citizenship to a gay couple & also denied one to Barbra Streisand’s cousin who was rumored to have had some involvement (which he denies) with some sort of evangelical group. These stories were prominently featured in Haaretz in English. What paper do you read? Or do you not read an Israeli paper?
The Interior Ministry decides who becomes a citizen & it does not let people become citizens if it deems them morally compromised. East Jerusalem Palestinians would certainly be considered morally compromised just by the fact of being Palestinian. Citizenship is not automatically conferred as you claim.
You show yrself to be biased, pro Israel & distorted in yr views & claims routinely.