Nabil Ayesh, a parent holding his baby inhis arms, says that because of Israel’s Citizenship Law hedoesn’t have a family life. He says he feels as ifhe’s only dating his wife because they are forced tolive apart. She can’t come out of the West Bank, hehas to go in.
On a bright Sunday morning at the Prime Minister’sOffice, about 50 people, including family members andchildren directly affected by the law, gathered totake part in a demonstration against the law organized by a number of human rightsorganizations including the Mossawa Center, Physiciansfor Human Rights, B’tselem, HaMoked, Adalah, and theArab Human Rights Association.
Nearby, the Israeli cabinet voted to extendthe law by six months. It has gone to the Knesset for final approval.
The temporary law, harshly criticized by an AmnestyInternational Report, was originallysupposed to be extended by a year. Attorney GeneralMenachem Mazuz brought forward a proposal to deal withthe pressure the government was facing from the lawboth internationally and within Israel.
The new law will allow those who are considered a lowsecurity risk to be considered for citizenship basedon tightened regulations.
This is still unacceptable to human rightsorganizations who consider the law to be racistbecause it singles out applications for differentialtreatment based on ethnicity. The law was originallyinitiated by the Shin Bet security service. Over20,000 people are affected by the legislation.
The liberal daily Haaretz blasted the government forproceeding with the legislation in a harsheditorial.
There are too many stories of hardship. ManelHashlomin has been trying to get a permit for her twochildren but it has been difficult for her to leaveBethlehem since the second intifada began. For Dr.Ibrahim Makkawi, a former U.S. resident and Israelicitizen, the law is unjust and he cannot accept it. He was originally going to get married last year tohis wife Rajaa Barghouthi, a student at BirzeitUniversity in Ramallah. They postponed the weddingbecause of the law, but ended up getting married lastmonth.
For the Al Quds University lecturer in Education andPsychology, the fact that he couldn’t have atraditional wedding where his wife’s family could cometo Beer Sheva was just another part of the reality ofliving under this law.
The new regulations add to the hardships imposed bythe Separation Barrier.
Others are faced with losing their national insurance,health care and child benefits. They also face thereality of dealing with checkpoints in order to havesome semblance of a family life.
So they came to the Prime Minister’s Office to demonstrate, bolstered by statements reflecting human rightsconcerns with the law from the United Nations, theEuropean Union, the support of 84 Members of theBritish Parliament and a citation in the U.S. StateDepartment’s Human Rights Report.
But in today’s Israel, security and demographicconcerns of the state seem to trump human rights everytime. So in the meantime, they will do what they canto keep their families together. The law is due to expire on August 6, and the proposal must still go through the Knesset, which begins its summer recess on August 4.
Those affected will watch theKnesset debate and will be ready tobe back here for further demonstrations, if necessary.
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