Israeli parliament considers adopting a racist and undemocratic constitution

Israeli Knesset considers adopting a constitution

Monday October 15, 2007 10:17 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies saed at imemc dot org

For the first time since its creation 60 years ago, the Israeli government is considering the possibility of adopting a constitution. Although the state has long billed itself as "the only democracy in the Middle East", Israel's form of government is actually far more exclusionary than such parliamentary democracies as Syria, Lebanon, and Iran.

The Constitution Committee of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) is currently considering a draft of the potential Israeli constitution. But the draft faces opposition within the Knesset, because it does not include the 'grandfather clause' which allows any person from anywhere in the world who has a Jewish grandparent to receive an uninhibited immigration into Israel. The 'grandfather clause' has been the law in Israel since the state was created in 1948.

The current version of the constitution does not mention the law of return because of the controversy in the Knesset surrounding the question of "who is a Jew" who could be included in the right to "return" to Israel.

The draft constitution does not include any mention of equality in its preamble, because many Israeli Knesset members do not agree that everyone has a right to equality.

A number of right-wing members of Parliament have proposed splitting the definition of Israel as a "Jewish and democratic" state into two separate articles, one in which Israel is defined as the "state of the Jewish nation", and the other in which it is defined as democratic.

Israeli leftists and Palestinians have long pointed out the contradiction between Israel being defined as the "Jewish state" and the state being considered "democratic".

Palestinians who were disenfranchised and killed in large numbers during the creation of the Jewish state in 1948 have never been considered eligible for the benefits of "democracy". The separation of Jews and non-Jews (particularly Palestinians) by the Israeli government for the entire 60 years of Israel's existence have led to the current claims by many analysts and governments worldwide that Israel is engaging in a type of apartheid, similar to the race-based apartheid practiced by South Africa until 1994.

The draft constitution is scheduled to be discussed in committee for several months to come. There is no vote scheduled on the proposal.

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