The Legal Grounds Campaign has embarked on a game-changing Knesset effort, expanding on the recent Shaked-Levin government directive, which looks to ensure equal treatment for all Israeli citizens no matter on which side of the Green Line they reside.
ZOA
June 8. ZOA Israel director Jeff Daube, also co-chairing with Arlene Kushner the respected Legal Grounds Campaign largely supported by ZOA, was invited to testify at a special session of the Knesset House Committee coinciding with the Six Day War’s golden anniversary this week. The hearing, convened to explore ways of adapting Israeli law for fairer treatment of citizens in Judea and Samaria, was well attended by government ministers and Knesset members, who welcomed the chance to demand an end to fifty years of marginalization based on residence.
Ministers Ayelet Shaked and Yariv Levin, also present at the hearing, promoted their recent directive requiring that government bills include Judea and Samaria from June 1st onward.
Justice Minister Shaked: “We are trying to change the legislative reality in the Knesset…There is no doubt that the [450,000] residents of Judea and Samaria must be equal to those of all other residents of Israel…It needs to happen for every law.”
Tourism Minister Levin: “There are huge gaps between government policy and what is happening on the ground…Lack of legislation beyond the Green Line, and the need for military orders, are the most blatant expressions of discriminatory and unequal treatment of the residents in Judea and Samaria. This [is] in complete contradiction to government policy.”
Weeks earlier, Legal Grounds had decided to enter the discussion about citizen rights once it realized the important Shaked-Levin directive would not be applied retroactively. The directive also is limited because it only applies to government sourced bills, and not to private bills introduced independently by Knesset members.
Bayit Yehudi faction head and ZOA Israel friend MK Shulamit Mualem, one of the many attendees agreeing with Legal Grounds that measures must be sought to include private bills, and from before June 1st as well, stated, “The lack of total equality is something that needs to be rectified [by applying] both previous and future laws in Judea and Samaria.” By way of example, she continued, during the last two and a quarter years of the currently serving Knesset, 322 laws have been enacted but only five may be implemented over the Green Line.
Legal Grounds spokesperson Shlomit Goldin-Halevy also testified, saying that Legal Grounds would be setting up a committee to monitor the work of Knesset members toward this end. She added, “It’s a shame that human rights groups do not bother to discuss the rights of Israeli citizens who are harmed due to the legislative gaps. Israeli citizens who live beyond the Green Line pay taxes and serve in the army, like everyone else. They deserve the same rights guaranteed by the laws that concern, for example, access for the disabled, environmental quality, and worker entitlements.”
Legal Grounds also plans on pursuing modifications to extant legislation to ensure that, besides in the aforementioned areas, maternity rights and prohibitions against denying business services to uniformed IDF soldiers are extended to Judea and Samaria.
Meanwhile, Daube shared that he was committed to combating—in his dual capacity as director of the ZOA Israel Office and co-head of Legal Grounds—the accusations of the Israeli and American extreme Left that his group’s initiative constitutes “creeping annexation.” “‘Creeping equalization’ would be a more apt term,” Daube said. “After fifty years of discrimination against the Israeli citizens living in Israel’s heartland communities of Judea and Samaria, it’s about time we witnessed meaningful change under the law. Besides overlooking the injustices of the current status, the protestors conveniently ignore the fact that such moves do not meet the legal criteria for annexation.
Furthermore, remediating the problem now does not preclude future negotiations on any reasonable option being contemplated for the land’s eventual disposition.” After the hearing, the Legal Grounds co-chairs sent a letter (attached) informing Knesset leaders that, after six months, it will issue a report to let the general public—especially residents of Judea and Samaria—know about the steps being taken by the named MKs to advance new legislation and amend previous legislation benefiting all of Israel’s citizens.
@ Edgar G.:
Humor: The machine must be using the new math. Remember this?
Tom Lehrer: New Math (concert live) (1965)
https://youtu.be/W6OaYPVueW4
@ Edgar G.:
No loss. The last time it seemed as though I was yelling at you by repeating the same thing three times, it was really a technical glitch, in which I was struggling with the edit feature. I addressed it to myself, twice, by mistake and only the third time got it right. If you really want to avoid mistakes — it’s a pain but — type the thing somewhere else, proof it and then copy and paste.
I’ve posted twice in thsi box about this article and can’t see either of them although they did miraculously appear briefly earlier today after my vaguely pressing a few anonymous keys. Now they have retreated into their hideout again, although all the others which were there before are still there.
Now another tzorah. Capcha won’t admit that 3X7= 21 although I suppose if I used Arab arithmetic of the kind they use when counting “refugees” it might be a different “product” -I thinkit was called in my school days. So I’ve wiped it all out and will try again. Mit Mazal…..?
Mazaltov, I got rid of the “21” and found another one more equal to my limited mathematical understanding ?-3= ? And it was accepted. Reminds me of my good old kindergarten pre-school stuff. But now I see that the cursed 3X7 has followed me and I must strain my brain again… Here goes.
The damned thing still won’t work. I suggest that 3X7 be permanently retired. But whatever \i day here and now is not going to be posted anyway. Maybe I’ll try another number…..
I’ve posted twice in thsi box about this article and can’t see either of them although they did miraculously appear briefly earlier today after my vaguely pressing a few anonymous keys. Now they have retreated into their hideout again, although all the others which were there before are still there.
Now another tzorah. Capcha won’t admit that 3X7= 21 although I suppose if I used Arab arithmetic of the kind they use when counting “refugees” it might be a different “product” -I thinkit was called in my school days. So I’ve wiped it all out and will try again. Mit Mazal…..?
@ Edgar G.:
There is a big list of things to be corrected. All in 8 days.
I commented yesterday, and most of my comment was about the report in Arutz 7 about the “guarantee’ of Israel’s safety by the Gulf States, and the midget kingling across the Jordan who it seems, is strong enough to guarantee Israel’s security and notmneed us to prop up his shaky throne any more. Frrom whence did he get this massive power.
And a lot more….?
I find that it has notmbeen printed, in fact I suspect that this new format has more than it’s share of troubles. Although I like the “appearance” of the page well enough, I find it far more complicated to wind my way through it’s labyrinth to find out how to comment and also to find other comments to read, In fact I’ve seen almost NO comments for days which leads me to believ that others are finding the same problems. I don’t think it’s just my lack of computer skills which are well known, it’s the complications with the new system. Thr old one, even with it’s tedious annoyances, was easier by FAR to manoeuvre through.
I write this now but i have no confidence that it will be printed, nor if printed, ever be found again by me-even if maybe by others.
As far as I can see, instead of the multitude of posts by our readers, ever since the new format came on line, there has never been more than a single accumulated handful for the whole issue.
And the valuable “EDIT” is amongst the missing ……….
I just read in Arutz 7 the President’s “plan” for peace between the Arabs and Israel…Israel’s security will be “guaranteed” by the Gulf States and Jordan. So it seems that Israel does not have to guarantee Jordan’s existence any more or keep the midget kingling on his shaky seat…. They’ve suddenly got strong enough to protect Israel.
Either Trump has gone crazy, or this is his fsntasy played out aloud….. Oh yes, ..how gould \i forget…that Arab States will normalize their relations with Israel……. I suppose that means from deadly unreasoning hatred to their normal psychotic hatred…..is there a difference….. ???
And this will help YESHA population to understand tthat they must leave YESHA willingly and with joy and happiness all around…..
Just make sure, Israeli’s when you are all leaving….and the Arabim want to shake your hands…make sure it’s their right hands not their left……
I can see Aliyah dropping to zero except for a few who can’t read, and don’t know what’s going on…
I see there’s NO EDIT. which means that I must be more careful. My new computer has smaller keys than I’m used to do I sometimes hit the wrong one. The EDIT was a very handy thing, also to add or take away from the comment. Can’t see why Ted dropped it. He usually thinks of everything.
@ goldi steiner:
I see there is no edit…. I’ll have to be more careful. My new computer keys are smaller than those I’ve been used to, so I’ve occasionally been hitting thr wrong keys. apologies.
I just read in Arutz 7 the President’s “plan” for peace between the Arabs and Israel…Israel’s security will be “guaranteed” by the Gulf States and Jordan. So it seems that Israel does not have to guarantee Jordan’s existence any more or keep the midget kingling on his shaky seat…. They’ve suddenly got strong enough to perotect Israel.
Either Trump has gone crazy, or this is his fsntasy played out aloud….. Oh yes, ..how gould \i forget…that Arab States will normalize their relations with Israel……. I suppose that means from deadly unreasoning hatred to their normal psychotic hatred…..is there a difference….. ???
And this will help YESHA population to understand tthat they must leave YESHA willingly and with joy and happiness all around…..
Just make sure, Israeli’s when you are all leaving….and the Arabim want to shake your hands…make sure it’s their right hands not their left……
I can see Aliyah dropping to zero except for a few who can’t read, and don’t know what’s going on…
How will the law, if and when it passes, apply to the Arab population?
[beyond-Green Liners deserve] access for the disabled, environmental quality, and worker entitlements.
Naturally this squabble about applying civil law (“equal rights”) is just a big load of BALONEY.
Once again we see the Big Government right fighting with the BG left over tax dollars.
during the last [2.25Y] of the currently serving Knesset, 322 laws have been enacted
More government.