Civil Rights in Israel

Israel at 120

Racism. Blatant discrimination against women. The legitimization of ethnic cleansing. Undue influence over public policy wielded by a wealthy oligarchy. A Declaration of Independence that spoke of equality, amid a stark reality of inequality. A democracy at 60.

No, this is not a profile of Israel, as we approach her 60th birthday next week, but a snapshot of the situation in the United States of America circa 1836.

On Sunday, March 30, 2008, Prof. Naomi Chazan, a three-term Member of Knesset for Meretz (1992-2003) and current President of the Meretz Party Convention, discussed civil rights in the state of Israel, 60 years after its creation. 

In general, Prof. Chazan noted, Israel, like all other democracies, must work to bridge the gap between principles and reality.  Israel has made tremendous progress on some civil rights issues over the last sixty years, she said, but in other areas it has accomplished too little.  Prof. Chazan chose to focus on three areas still needing attention: equality, social justice, and religious pluralism. 

Equality and Inequality

Prof. Chazan began by commenting that although Israel is a multicultural society in its composition, it lacks a multicultural ethic. 

Jewish-Arab equality: This could be witnessed, she said, in the way Israel treats its Palestinian Arab citizens, who make up 20% of the citizen body.  Israel has long seen systemic discrimination between its Jewish and Arab citizens.  Notwithstanding a few recent efforts in the areas of development and affirmative action, in some respects the situation is becoming even worse:  Israel's right-wing politicians are launching aggressive attacks on the Arab community - e.g., accusing all Israeli Arabs of being a "fifth column", and demanding that they be required to meet "loyalty tests" to the State, a campaign that Prof. Chazan described as "McCarthyism".

Right-wing groups have also been working to isolate Arab communities.  For instance, demonstrations during Purim called for mixed Arab-Jewish cities to be turned into fully Jewish cities.  Prof. Chazan condemned these actions, stating that the biggest test faced by all democracies is the treatment of their minority groups.  Arguing that the Jewish state should not treat its minorities the way Jews have been treated in the past, she submitted that equality is the most important item on Israel's civil rights agenda.

Turning to women's issues, Prof. Chazan noted that although Israel's legislation is very advanced in terms of gender equality, women are still underrepresented in senior positions.  For example, while 50% of all Ph.D. recipients are women, they make up only 12% of the country's professors.  And Israel ranks only 89^th in terms of the representation of women in the legislative branch.

Prof. Chazan also bemoaned the fact that Israel has become a hotbed for female trafficking and prostitution rings.  She commended the work of Meretz MK Zehava Galon in this area, but noted that more needs to be done.    

The Jews of Ethiopia:  Concluding her discussion of equality in Israel, Prof. Chazan spoke briefly about the problems faced by Israel's Ethiopian Jews, arguing that their difficulties in the country were a function, in part, of racial discrimination.  She noted, for example, that Israel has refused to take in at least 10,000 of the Falash Mura, despite the fact that they are of Jewish descent and many have first-degree relatives already living in Israel.  In contrast, 70-80% of the Jews of the Former Soviet Union immigrating to Israel are not Jewish according to Halacha (Jewish law).  Meretz, she noted, is campaigning for the immigration of the Falash Mura, working together with right-wing parties in an unorthodox ad hoc political caucus. 

Social justice

Prof. Chazan pointed out that Israel has made two major gains in the sphere of social justice: a nationalized health care system and an obligatory pension law. 

Nonetheless, for the last two years, Israel has surpassed even the United States in terms of income disparity, and now has a wider income gap than any other industrialized country.  Indeed, more than 22% of the total population, and one-third of all children, live below the poverty line, even though Israel's per capita income is equal to that of some EU countries.  Prof. Chazan further observed that poverty in Israel is clearly associated with specific groups, such as Arabs, Mizrachi Jews, Haredim (the ultra-orthodox), and residents of development towns.

Prof. Chazan blamed the growing socio-economic gaps on the neo-conservative economic policy driven by Binyamin Netanyahu, when he served as Finance Minister under Prime Minister Sharon (2003-2005).

Religious Pluralism

As her third area of discussion, Prof. Chazan examined religious pluralism in Israel.  The freedom to practice one's religion, she argued, was integral to the concept of human rights.

Prof. Chazan explained that much of Israeli society and law (in particular laws dealing with marital and family status) is dominated by the Orthodox rabbinate.  For example, the only Jewish marriages recognized by the State are those performed by Orthodox rabbis.  As a result, Israel's Jewish citizens are quietly protesting, finding ways not to submit to orthodox authority.  So many go abroad to get married, or live together unmarried, that despite the growth of Israel's population, the Rabbinate is performing the same number of marriages today as it did in 1974!

Unfortunately, the Orthodox grip on divorce is even more powerful than it is on marriage, and it is here that women are still treated as second-class citizens.

Even more damaging, the Orthodox political establishment is working to expand the judicial powers of the Rabbinic Court system - something that could produce a visible regression in terms of the rights of many Israeli citizens.

On a related issue, Prof. Chazan noted that the strongest defender of human and civil rights in Israel has always been the High Court of Justice.  However, the Minister of Justice is now at "loggerheads" with the president of the High Court; he wants to vastly limit the High Court's powers.  Although the religious community has long had this goal, she related, this is the first time that this kind of attack has come from ostensibly liberal circles.  As such, this does not bode well for the future. 

Prof. Chazan concluded by encouraging American Jews to get involved with issues of civil rights in Israel.  She said that awareness of the problem was important, but that nothing would change unless awareness was translated into action.  Meretz was more active on these issues than any other political party in Israel, she noted, but the more allies it had - both in and out of Israel - the more could be accomplished.

12/21/05

Meretz-Yachad Chairman Yossi Beilin said that it is sad that the ruling establishment in Israel is unable to grasp that the "neighbor procedure" and the torture used in Shin Bet interrogations blackened Israel's reputation unnecessarily and damaged its standing as the only democracy in the Middle East.