ISRAELI VIOLATION: HISTORY & THEORY
Immigration and Citizenship Law in the State of Israel:
Immigration and citizenship in Israel is now defined by 5 laws:
Basically, what these 5 laws say is:
The exceptions listed in the 2003 law and its 2005 amendment are (see actual quotes below):
- The original 2003 Law:
- Family member with medical needs can get maximum 6 month temporary visa (art. 3(1));
- Family member with work needs can get maximum 6 month temporary visa (art. 3(1));
- Family member identifying with State of Israel, or supporting its national goals, economy, etc., may recieve citizenship or a residency visa (art. 3(2));
- Interior Minister may extend pre-existing visas (art. 4(1));
- Pre-existing application processes for visas may continue uninterrupted (art. 4(2)).
- The 2005 amendment:
- husband over 35 years old may receive a permit to stay in Israel (art. 3);
- wife over 25 years old may receive a permit to stay in Israel (art. 3);
- child under 14 years old may receive a permit to reside in Israel (art. 3A(1));
- child over 14 years old may receive a permit to reside in Israel, but which may not be renewed unless the child has been shown to be living in Israel on a regular basis (art. 3A(2));
- family member who has a medical reason may receive a permit to stay in Israel (art. 3B(1));
- family member who has a work reason may receive a permit to stay in Israel (art. 3B(2));
- family member who has a temporary unspecified reason may receive a permit to stay in Israel (art. 3B(3));
- family member who identifies with the State of Israel, supports its national goals, or who makes a significant contribution to its economy, etc. may be granted citizenship or a permit to reside in Israel (art. 3C);
- but if a family member has a familial relation with someone who the authorities believe is a security risk, then that family member may be denied a visa or permit no matter what category above they may fit into (art. 3D).
Civil Rights Violations
Civil Rights proponents (such as Adalah and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel) protested this new law because it adds a new layer of discrimination onto the immigration and citizenship law of Israel - now there are 4 layers of discrimination -
- 1. Jews get special privilege in immigration and citizenship above everyone else.
- 2. Middle level immigration and citizenship rights for non-Jews except Palestinian Arabs.
- 3. Palestinian Arabs living in occupied territories are forbidden any immigration or citizenship rights (with exceptions - see list given above)
- 4. All Arabs who left area now called Israel during 1948 fighting are forbidden any immigration or citizenship rights.
In addition, civil rights proponents point out that the 2005 amendment eliminates access for Palestinian Arabs to all sorts of social/financial benefits they would have had access to under the old laws, and also enables refusal of all permits if a Palestinian Arab resident has a familial relationship with someone who is considered to be a security risk (article 3D).
To quote from Adalah's "Press Release: NEWS UPDATE" (14 May 2006):
| "Adalah filed the petition immediately following the Knesset’s passage of
the law in July 2003, anchoring into law a prior government decision from
May 2002. The Knesset extended the law three times, despite its definition
as a "temporary order.” In July 2005, the Knesset passed a number of
amendments to the law, allegedly to allow family unification between
residents of the OPTs and Israeli citizens. However, the new amendments
allow individuals to apply at most for temporary visit permits in Israel,
and still bar individuals from submitting applications for residency and
citizenship, leaving them ineligible for work permits, social benefits,
etc. As Adalah argued before the Supreme Court, the new amendments to the
law contain additional criteria including age and gender-related
stipulations which impose a sweeping ban on applications for temporary
visit permits from all Palestinian men under 35 and all Palestinian women
under 25 years of age. These criteria were arbitrarily decided upon and
unsupported by any factual evidence, Adalah emphasized. A further
amendment provides that no status will be granted to Palestinians who are
related to an individual whom security officials suggest might constitute
a security threat to the State of Israel. Thus, as Adalah argued before
the Court, under the amended law, the most basic of human rights can be
revoked purely on the basis of family relations, over which individuals
have no control." |
Violations of International Law
In addition, this new 2003 law violates international law in new ways, in addition to the violations by the other Israeli laws of immigration and citizenship:
- Some old laws, (Law of Return & Nationality Law) violated basic principles regarding equal rights in immigration and citizenship.
- Some laws (Nationality Law & Prevention of Infiltration Law) also violated the basic principle that civilians displaced by military fighting are allowed to return to their homes after the fighting has stopped.
- The new 2003 law (Nationality and Entry into Israel Law) violates the basic principle that civilian families separated by military action should be allowed to re-unite as soon as possible.
Previous Israeli Laws |
Violated International Laws
(basic principles of equality in immigration and citizenship) |
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| Right of aliya. |
- 1. Every Jew has the right to come to this country as an oleh.
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| Oleh's visa. |
- 2.
- (a) Aliyah shall be by oleh's visa.
- (b) An oleh's visa shall be granted to every Jew who has expressed his desire to settle in Israel, unless the Minister of Immigration is satisfied that the applicant
- (1) is engaged in an activity directed against the Jewish people; or
- (2) is likely to endanger public health or the security of the State.
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| Nationality by Residence in Israel. |
- 3.
- (a) A person who, immediately before the establishment of the State, was a Palestinian citizen and who does not become a Israel national under section 2, shall become an Israel national with effect from the day of the establishment of the State if -
- (1) he was registered on the 4th Adar, 5712 (1st March 1952) as an inhabitant under the Registration of Inhabitants Ordinance, 5709-1949(2); and
- (2) he is an inhabitant of Israel on the day of the coming into force of this Law; and
- (3) he was in Israel, or in an area which became Israel territory after the establishment of the State, from the day of the establishment of the State to the day of the coming into force of this Law, or entered Israel legally during that period.
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violates equality in immigration and citizenship
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- Article 1.
- 1. In this Convention, the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.
- 3. Nothing in this Convention may be interpreted as affecting in any way the legal provisions of States Parties concerning nationality, citizenship or naturalization, provided that such provisions do not discriminate against any particular nationality.
- Article 5. In compliance with the fundamental obligations laid down in article 2 of this Convention, States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights:
- (d) Other civil rights, in particular:
- (i) The right to freedom of movement and residence within the border of the State;
- (ii) The right to leave any country, including one's own, and to return to one's country;
- (iii) The right to nationality;
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Previous Israeli Law |
Violated International Laws
(basic principle that civilians be allowed to return to their homes once fighting has stopped) |
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| Nationality by Residence in Israel. |
- 3.
- (a) A person who, immediately before the establishment of the State, was a Palestinian citizen and who does not become a Israel national under section 2, shall become an Israel national with effect from the day of the establishment of the State if -
- (3) he was in Israel, or in an area which became Israel territory after the establishment of the State, from the day of the establishment of the State to the day of the coming into force of this Law, or entered Israel legally during that period.
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| Definitions. |
- 1. In this Law --
- "infiltrator" means a person who has entered Israel knowingly and unlawfully and who at any time between the 16th Kislev, 3708 (29th November, 1947) and his entry was -
- (1) a national or citizen of the Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Saudi-Arabia, Trans-Jordan, Iraq or the Yemen ; or
- (2) a resident or visitor in one of those countries or in any part of Palestine outside Israel ; or
- (3) a Palestinian citizen or a Palestinian resident without nationality or citizenship or whose nationality or citizenship was doubtful and who, during the said period, left his ordinary place of residence in an area which has become a part of Israel for a place outside Israel.
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| Presumption of infiltration. |
10. A person who enters Israel without permission or who is in Israel unlawfully is, for the purposes of this Law, deemed to be an infiltrator so long as he has not proved the contrary. |
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| Article 45. Protected persons shall not be transferred to a Power which is not a party to the Convention.
This provision shall in no way constitute an obstacle to the repatriation of protected persons, or to their return to their country of residence after the cessation of hostilities.
Article 46. In so far as they have not been previously withdrawn, restrictive measures taken regarding protected persons shall be cancelled as soon as possible after the close of hostilities.
Restrictive measures affecting their property shall be cancelled, in accordance with the law of the Detaining Power, as soon as possible after the close of hostilities.
Article 49. Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.
Nevertheless, the Occupying Power may undertake total or partial evacuation of a given area if the security of the population or imperative military reasons so demand. Such evacuations may not involve the displacement of protected persons outside the bounds of the occupied territory except when for material reasons it is impossible to avoid such displacement. Persons thus evacuated shall be transferred back to their homes as soon as hostilities in the area in question have ceased. |
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New Israeli Law |
Violated International Laws
(basic principle that separated families be allowed to re-unite following the end of fighting) |
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NATIONALITY AND ENTRY INTO ISRAEL (TEMPORARY ORDER) LAW (2003) |
| Definitions. |
- 1. In this Law –
- “region” – each of these: Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip;
- “resident of the region” – including a person who lives in the region but is not registered in the region’s Population Registry, excluding a resident of an Israeli community in the region.
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| Restriction on nationality and residence in Israel. |
2. During the period in which this Law shall be in effect, notwithstanding the provisions of any law, including section 7 of the Nationality Law, the Minister of Interior shall not grant a resident of the region nationality pursuant to the Nationality Law and shall not give a resident of the region a permit to reside in Israel pursuant to the Entry into Israel Law. The regional commander shall not give such resident a permit to stay in Israel pursuant to the defense legislation in the region. |
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- Article 26. Each Party to the conflict shall facilitate enquiries made by members of families dispersed owing to the war, with the object of renewing contact with one another and of meeting, if possible. It shall encourage, in particular, the work of organizations engaged on this task provided they are acceptable to it and conform to its security regulations.
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- Article 74. Reunion of dispersed families - The High Contracting Parties and the Parties to the conflict shall facilitate in every possible way the reunion of families dispersed as a result of armed conflicts and shall encourage in particular the work of the humanitarian organizations engaged in this task in accordance with the provisions of the Conventions and of this Protocol and in conformity with their respective security regulations.
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- Article 4 Fundamental guarantees
- 3. Children shall be provided with the care and aid they require, and in particular:
- (b) all appropriate steps shall be taken to facilitate the reunion of families temporarily separated;
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Israel's Reasoning for this new Law - Security, and Rebuttal - Proportionality.
But Israel argues that all of this new law is necessary for security reasons - that Palestinian Arabs are significantly associated with terrorist attacks against the Israeli public, and thus is allowable by international law.
But civil rights proponents in Israel respond that this law is aproportional to the threat - that its severe impact on thousands of Palestinian families who are not security threats indicates that this law is too severe compared to the actual risk. The Israeli government had a hard time proving its point. To quote again from Adalah's "Press Release: NEWS UPDATE" (14 May 2006):
| "Since filing the petition almost three years ago, Adalah has repeatedly
challenged the state’s claim that the law was enacted as a justified
security measure. The Attorney General claimed before the Court that the
law is an essential measure for safeguarding Israeli security, because
Palestinians from the OPTs who have obtained residency status in Israel
via family unification have been increasingly involved in terror activity.
However, the state could in fact point to only 25 individuals, from a
group of thousands of status-receivers, whom it interrogated for alleged
involvement in terrorist activities, without providing full details. In
response, Adalah stated that even if this data is reliable the numbers
constitute a minute number of people, and thus the law is completely
disproportionate. Further, the state possesses many other tools and
mechanisms including the "graduated procedure" for awarding legal status,
which grants the government wide authority to conduct individual criminal
and security background checks on all status-seekers." |
An Ulterior Motive of the Israels.
But many critics of the Israeli government see another possible Israeli motive for this law: maintaining demographic superiority over the Palestinian Arab population so that the Jewish population can remain a majority, and thus control over their "democracy". This law keeps out thousands of Palestinian family members, and obstructs the ability of these families from having babies.
This ulterior motive fits the long-range patterns of the Zionist entity going back to 1910 when the Jewish National Fund first acquired land in Palestine, and implemented its policy of forbidding members of the native Arab population from either living or working on that land. Since that time, they have utilized numbers of ways to take land from Arabs, and then keep them off of it, and finally to keep them out of the State of Israel, in order to maintain control over the land, but in violation of international law and morality.
In Conclusion
The Israeli State is dependent on such measures in order to achieve its national goal of being a "Jewish State" - by keeping out of its country members of the true demographic majority of that land so that a smaller group can maintain democratic control. But this requires them to commit terrible crimes against humanity and international law and morality. Please see the section on ETHNIC CLEASNING for more info on this subject. |