31 January 2002 Edition
Israel's second-class citizens
JAMIL DAKWAR is a lawyer working for the Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. He is one of those Palestinians who carry an Israeli passport but though supposedly holding all the entitlements of an Israeli citizen, rampant discrimination is a daily occurrence for him and for other Arabs in the same circumstances. On a recent visit to Ireland, he spoke to An Phoblacht's SOLEDAD GALIANA.
SG: How would you describe the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict?
JD: The situation is really difficult and complex. From a human rights point of view, this is reflected in the occupied territories, where the Palestinian people are living under siege and their rights are being violated daily. At the same time, we as Palestinians living inside Israel, and belonging to this part of the Palestinian people, we feel pretty much alienated and marginalised. We are encountering more and more cases of discrimination, and police brutality and harassment.
And at large Israeli public opinion is very conservative at the moment. It seems there is not place for optimism or any kind of hope for any movement for change. The peace process in Israel has been frozen for the last 18 months and this is reflected in the lives of Palestinians, whether inside Israel or in the Territories.
SG: To what extent is a Palestinian person allowed to participate in the social and political activities of the Israeli state?
JD: Well, we are formally citizens. We have Israeli citizenship, and we do enjoy some of the civil and political rights; namely, we are allowed to vote, to move within the country, and have freedom of speech to a certain extent. However, when it comes down to many major rights, including social and economic rights like the right to housing and the right to land and to obtain land, we are completely excluded from government plans. The same applies to the question of infrastructural development.
When it comes to the right to work, the Arab Palestinian community and Palestinian-Arab towns are consider make up the vast majority of unemployment in the region. We are speaking of about 20%-22% unemployment in some Arab-Palestinian communities, and the Israeli government does nothing to address this.
In October 2000, we lost 30 Palestinians who were killed during demonstrations by the Israeli forces. Most of the towns were boycotted by Israeli customers, who did not want to come and trade, and this impacted very badly on the Palestinian community inside Israel. So you may say we are pretty much excluded and that we live on the edge of the Jewish democracy.
SG: How does the collapse of the peace process affect the lives of Palestinians living within the Israeli state?
JD: If there was peace, we would benefit mainly economically. However, nationally it seems that our main concerns would remain unresolved. I am referring to the national collective rights of the Palestinians who reside and live in Israel. Israel is trying to get a peace agreement based on the fact and principle of two states for two people, and we think that this, by definition, undermines us as Palestinians, as an indigenous community, inside Palestine, the historical part of Palestine. We do think that our struggle for equal rights, for our collective identity rights, remains open, even if there was a peace settlement.
And if there was war, like is happening now, I think that the situation will also reflect on us. There is a huge hostility against Palestinians, there is a delegitimisation of the representatives of the Palestinian community inside the Israeli parliament, and there are less and less possibilities for us to enjoy equality in areas like employment. Many Palestinians do not have jobs under the pretext that they have not served in the Israeli military. To take just one example, an Israel electric company has 30,000 employees but only six of them are Arabs. Six out of 30,000. That speaks for itself.
SG: So, what do you think could be the solution to your problems and those of the Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories?
JD: I think the solution could be some form of proportional justice. Nobody can aspire to absolute justice. This should be the recognition that in Palestine there are two distinct communities, with different cultural and national aspirations and demands, and these demands and rights should be addressed by both nations. I am not suggesting in any way that the state of Israel should be eliminated, as I am not suggesting the transportation of Palestinian people to other parts of the Arab world. What I am suggesting is a solution based on comprehensive justice that would give rights to both communities that would allow them to live together, maybe in a binational state. For the long run, I think this is the ultimate solution for both communities.
SG: And do you think that a peace initiative is possible with the current Israeli government?
JD: I think the Israeli government has more power than never before. It is supported by the most powerful body in the world, the US, it has a great economy, it has great military power. So it is the right time for the Israeli government to dictate a peace agreement, to impose its conditions on its Palestinians counterparts, who have no power to act, who have been suffering from continuous occupation. I think the Israelis do not want to lose this luxury of living on 80% of historical Palestine and having a state that is racially defined as a Jewish state, a state for the Jewish people. I do not think that Sharon's government will ever consider looking for a solution, but at the same time, there are more and more people aware of the need to deal with this problem seriously.
SG: How would you describe the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict?
JD: The situation is really difficult and complex. From a human rights point of view, this is reflected in the occupied territories, where the Palestinian people are living under siege and their rights are being violated daily. At the same time, we as Palestinians living inside Israel, and belonging to this part of the Palestinian people, we feel pretty much alienated and marginalised. We are encountering more and more cases of discrimination, and police brutality and harassment.
And at large Israeli public opinion is very conservative at the moment. It seems there is not place for optimism or any kind of hope for any movement for change. The peace process in Israel has been frozen for the last 18 months and this is reflected in the lives of Palestinians, whether inside Israel or in the Territories.
SG: To what extent is a Palestinian person allowed to participate in the social and political activities of the Israeli state?
JD: Well, we are formally citizens. We have Israeli citizenship, and we do enjoy some of the civil and political rights; namely, we are allowed to vote, to move within the country, and have freedom of speech to a certain extent. However, when it comes down to many major rights, including social and economic rights like the right to housing and the right to land and to obtain land, we are completely excluded from government plans. The same applies to the question of infrastructural development.
When it comes to the right to work, the Arab Palestinian community and Palestinian-Arab towns are consider make up the vast majority of unemployment in the region. We are speaking of about 20%-22% unemployment in some Arab-Palestinian communities, and the Israeli government does nothing to address this.
In October 2000, we lost 30 Palestinians who were killed during demonstrations by the Israeli forces. Most of the towns were boycotted by Israeli customers, who did not want to come and trade, and this impacted very badly on the Palestinian community inside Israel. So you may say we are pretty much excluded and that we live on the edge of the Jewish democracy.
SG: How does the collapse of the peace process affect the lives of Palestinians living within the Israeli state?
JD: If there was peace, we would benefit mainly economically. However, nationally it seems that our main concerns would remain unresolved. I am referring to the national collective rights of the Palestinians who reside and live in Israel. Israel is trying to get a peace agreement based on the fact and principle of two states for two people, and we think that this, by definition, undermines us as Palestinians, as an indigenous community, inside Palestine, the historical part of Palestine. We do think that our struggle for equal rights, for our collective identity rights, remains open, even if there was a peace settlement.
And if there was war, like is happening now, I think that the situation will also reflect on us. There is a huge hostility against Palestinians, there is a delegitimisation of the representatives of the Palestinian community inside the Israeli parliament, and there are less and less possibilities for us to enjoy equality in areas like employment. Many Palestinians do not have jobs under the pretext that they have not served in the Israeli military. To take just one example, an Israel electric company has 30,000 employees but only six of them are Arabs. Six out of 30,000. That speaks for itself.
SG: So, what do you think could be the solution to your problems and those of the Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories?
JD: I think the solution could be some form of proportional justice. Nobody can aspire to absolute justice. This should be the recognition that in Palestine there are two distinct communities, with different cultural and national aspirations and demands, and these demands and rights should be addressed by both nations. I am not suggesting in any way that the state of Israel should be eliminated, as I am not suggesting the transportation of Palestinian people to other parts of the Arab world. What I am suggesting is a solution based on comprehensive justice that would give rights to both communities that would allow them to live together, maybe in a binational state. For the long run, I think this is the ultimate solution for both communities.
SG: And do you think that a peace initiative is possible with the current Israeli government?
JD: I think the Israeli government has more power than never before. It is supported by the most powerful body in the world, the US, it has a great economy, it has great military power. So it is the right time for the Israeli government to dictate a peace agreement, to impose its conditions on its Palestinians counterparts, who have no power to act, who have been suffering from continuous occupation. I think the Israelis do not want to lose this luxury of living on 80% of historical Palestine and having a state that is racially defined as a Jewish state, a state for the Jewish people. I do not think that Sharon's government will ever consider looking for a solution, but at the same time, there are more and more people aware of the need to deal with this problem seriously.