|
SAMPLE PUBLIC EDUCATION MATERIALS
(These documents are in Adobe .pdf format. The free reader for
.pdf, and other software pertaining to that format are available at Adobe.com)
|
|
Essay: THE CHALLENGE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
ABOUT CIVIL RIGHTS LAW
THE CHALLENGE. Law is a very technical and complex area of study, which also greatly affects our lives. Therefore in a democracy it is vitally important that the public understand basic issues pertaining to the law. An excellent example of this is how it is important for consumers to have a basic understanding of consumers' legal rights in case they purchase products that end up hurting them or others. Another important example is how understanding the actual laws of the State of Israel and the Military Orders used by the Israeli military in the occupied Palestinian territories exposes the true nature of Israeli democracy and equal rights within Israel, and the true nature of the Israeli occupation, despite the official rhetoric that we read every day in the mainstream press. And thus we gain a new understanding of the Middle East conflict whose violence grips the world, and the passions of a huge segment of the population toward that conflict, which in the past has not been easily comprehended according to our old understanding.
The terrible conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is leading to many deaths on both sides (three times as many amongst the Palestinians), as well as tremendous destruction to the economies and society of the two sides. But since the laws form the basic structure of societies in general, study of the laws in this situation gives extremely important information about the evolution of the conflict as well as possible solutions.
Study of the laws of Israel shows that immediately in 1948 the State of Israel began passing laws to oppress the native Palestinian population still left in Israel following the 1948 war. Then as the years progressed we see the passage of many more laws furthering official discrimination against the Palestinians.
Then in 1967, following the 6-day war, and the military take-over of areas adjacent to Israel popularly known as "the West Bank' and "the Gaza Strip", the government of Israel through its military which it put in charge of these areas began to immediate pass 'Military Orders' forming the administrative structure by which the Israeli military ruled over these occupied areas.
The government structures created by these laws within Israel and the Military Orders in use in the Occupied Territories give extremely important clues about the attitudes and intentions of the Israeli government toward the people whom they applied the laws to. The systematic violation of Palestinian civil rights and human rights that one sees promulgated by these laws and military orders thus is very significant proof that the government of Israel is aggressively hostile toward the Palestinian people. This malevolence which the Palestinian people have to deal with thus would also provide important clues to why they are passionately rebelling.
But the laws also provide some important tools for correcting this serious and violent situation by (1) cancelling or changing the laws that promulgate discrimination, oppression and exploitation, (2) passing new laws that outlaw discrimination and promote integration and cooperation economically and socially, and (3) passing new laws to redress and reverse the wrongs brought about by the old laws and compensate those who have suffered from those wrongs.
But such changes will only come about by a political movement involving lots of citizens demanding change. Public education is vital to starting such a movement by educating the people about what has been going on, and about what needs to be changed, and then how the changes are progressing.
In terms of Israel, such political activity must also take place in the United States because the USA provides significant support to Israel each year in the form of billions of dollars in aid which Israel is quite dependent on. Therefore this American aid can also be used as leverage to force change in Israel.
In the United States, a grassroots protest movement against Israeli policies has been going on for numbers of years. The efforts of this movement have included public education about the discriminatory laws of Israel as a way to motivate Americans to demand an end to aid to the Israeli government. Some examples of their written materials will be presented here to illustrate how this public education effort in support of Palestine is evolving, and to provide materials for use by other groups in their efforts to support Palestine.
The audience for these materials is the average educated American who is most likely concerned about civil rights because of America's own history with civil rights. The particular challenge here is to present very technical and complex material in a very small space to an audience that is often just walking by and is often distracted. The answer seems to be to present bullet points which are (1) factual and (2) that motivate the passer-by to read the rest of the brochure, and then to go to the website for more information. The assumption is that the laws sell themselves - would automatically motivate the average educated concerned American to then take political action to stop Israel from practicing its discrimination and exploitation of the Palestinian people.
Any and all suggestions concerning making these brochures and other materials more effective for educating the public is most welcomed.
Any additional brochures or other materials concerning the discriminatory laws of Israel that the owners/authors wish to make available to others in support of Palestine are most welcomed for posting on this website. Full credit for their creation will be included of course.
Return to the TOP of this document.
|
Any comments, suggestions, or questons are most welcomed. Please contact us at [email protected]
(C) Israel Law Resource Center, February, 2007.