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<h1><font size=4 color="#FF0000"><b>2 Articles Follow<br>
</font>MK Zahalka: “New law, Racist and constitutes a thought
crime”</b></h1><font size=3> Thursday May 28, 2009
01:04<img src="http://www.imemc.org/graphics/person.gif" width=14 height=12 alt="author">
by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies
<a href="http://www.imemc.org/report_posts?subject=Abusive%20Post%20Report:%20Story%2060577%20with%20title:%20MK%20Zahalka:%20%E2%80%9CNew%20law,%20Racist%20and%20constitutes%20a%20thought%20crime%E2%80%9D&message=Abusive%20Post%20Report:%20Story%2060577%20with%20title:%20MK%20Zahalka:%20%E2%80%9CNew%20law,%20Racist%20and%20constitutes%20a%20thought%20crime%E2%80%9D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.imemc.org%2Findex.php%3Fobj_id%3D53%26story_id%3D60577%26%0A%0AEnter+your+reason+here+-+please+do+not+remove+the+above+link+as+it+will+allow+an+editor+to+easily+remove+the+offending+content">
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<a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/60577" eudora="autourl">
http://www.imemc.org/article/60577<br><br>
</a>As the Israeli Knesset was debating the new law, which punishes any
citizen who does not recognize Israel as a Jewish Democratic State, Arab
member of Knesset Jamal Zahalka, described the law as racist and a
thought crime.<br><br>
Zahalka said that any person who demands democracy and equality would be
punished and imprisoned, and that this means dozens of Jewish and Arabs
university lecturers, intellectuals and politicians who propose a
bi-national state or a state for all of its citizens would be punished
and imprisoned.<br><br>
He also said that what this law means is that the state “would have to
form a police unit that targets the thoughts of the residents, the
intellectuals, and imprison them for having ideas and thoughts that are
not coherent with the State’s policies. <br><br>
Zahalka also said that no matter what laws are passed, the Arabs and
progressive movements in Israel will not accept a Jewish State that is
based on Zionism, and would always reject Zionism regardless of the price
they would have to pay.<br><br>
“You are presenting racist laws, day by day, your government is sick with
delusions and racism”, Zahalka added. <br><br>
His statements were met with anger by right wing members of the Knesset
who shouted at him and said “if you don’t like our laws, then get out of
here, and leave the country”. <br><br>
He responded by saying “we are the natives of this land, you are the
immigrants and we will remain in this country like a fork in your
throats”. <br><br>
Right wing MK’s then started insulting Zahalka and uttered dirty words
against him, before the Knesset head forced him out and ignored the
racist statements of right wing MK’s.<br><br>
After he was forced out of the Knesset hall, Zahalka said that the
atmosphere at the Knesset is poisoned with racism, and added that this
law is a challenge to democracy and a challenge to Israel as a state for
all of its citizens.<br><br>
He added that Israel regards itself as the state of the Jewish people,
which places the Arabs as an unwanted ethnicity.<br>
******************************************************<br>
</font><h1><font size=4><b>Knesset approves initial bill incriminating
denying Israel as a Jewish
State</b></font></h1>
<img src="http://www.imemc.org/graphics/date.gif" width=12 height=10 alt="author">
</b></h1><font size=3> Thursday May 28, 2009
00:55<img src="http://www.imemc.org/graphics/person.gif" width=14 height=12 alt="author">
by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies
<a href="http://www.imemc.org/report_posts?subject=Abusive%20Post%20Report:%20Story%2060576%20with%20title:%20Knesset%20approves%20initial%20bill%20incriminating%20denying%20Israel%20as%20a%20Jewish%20State&message=Abusive%20Post%20Report:%20Story%2060576%20with%20title:%20Knesset%20approves%20initial%20bill%20incriminating%20denying%20Israel%20as%20a%20Jewish%20State%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.imemc.org%2Findex.php%3Fobj_id%3D53%26story_id%3D60576%26%0A%0AEnter+your+reason+here+-+please+do+not+remove+the+above+link+as+it+will+allow+an+editor+to+easily+remove+the+offending+content">
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<a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/60576" eudora="autourl">
http://www.imemc.org/article/60576<br><br>
</a></font>On Wednesday, the Israeli Knesset approved in the first
reading a bill that would incriminate publically denying Israel as a
Jewish State, and that such denial would be punished up to a year in
prison.<br><br>
The bill is one of several similar bills presented by right-wing
members of Knesset demanding racist laws that denies the very existence
of the Arabs and Palestinians in their homeland. <br><br>
The bill wants all Israeli citizens, including Arabs and Palestinians, to
recognize Israel as a “Jewish Democratic State”.<br><br>
Any act or publication that denies Israel’s “identity” as a Jewish State
would be considered as an issue that would cause “acts of hatred and
disloyalty”.<br><br>
The bill was approved by 47 members of Knesset, while 34 voted
against it, and Knesset spokesperson, Reuven Rivlin, from the Likud
party, abstained. <br><br>
The controversial bill was first presented by extremist right wing
member of Knesset, Zevulun Orlev, of the Bayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home)
party. <br><br>
The new bill needs to pass three more votes at the Knesset and a
committee review before it becomes a law, Israeli online daily, Haaretz,
reported.<br><br>
Orlev proposed this law linking it to former member of Knesset, Azmi
Bishara, who resigned from the Knesset and left the country in 2007.
<br><br>
Bishara is facing charges of what Israel calls “assisting the enemy”
because he visited Lebanon and Syria.<br><br>
Meanwhile, member of Knesset Haim Oron of the Meretz party,
strongly denounced the bill and said that it is considered as “creating
thought police”.<br><br>
On Sunday, the Knesset passed a bill outlawing marking the Nakba, which
is when the Palestinians were forced out of their homeland so that
Israeli can be created. <br><br>
The bill was denounced by Naomi Chazan, head of the New Israeli Fund. He
said that this bill crushes the feelings of Palestinians who lost their
lands, and harms the efforts to achieve co-existence. <br><br>
Several Civil Rights organizations in Israel said that such a bill
could harm the rights of Arab citizens.<br><br>
Furthermore, a bill introduced this week by Israel’s Foreign Minister,
Avigdor Lieberman, of the extremist Yisrael Beiteinu Party, required the
Arabs to pledge loyalty to Israel as a Jewish State before they can
obtain identity cards and citizenship.<br><br>
<br><br>
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