The wrong sort of Israeli citizens

JVL Introduction

The Negev Desert is within the Green Line and home to many Bedouin villages, most of which have never been recognised by Israel. Some (eg Umm Al Hiram pictured above) have already been demolished.  This article focuses on the forthcoming demolition of Ras Jrabah, a village founded before the creation of the State of Israel.  In every case it is to make way for the creation of Jewish towns.  Ha’aretz has pblished informative articles on this issue on Bedouin fightback, on questioning how Jews can live where there has been such an evacuation here  and here on a new kind of Jewish settler.

Israel’s treatment of its own citizens is under reported but no less dreadful from how Palestinians are treated in the West Bank, pushed out by settlers who are backed by the Israeli Army.  And yet, Israel and its uncritical supporters will still refer to that State as “the only democracy i the Middle East”.  Enshrining different treatment of  citizens dependent on their ethnicity is not most people’s definition of democracy.

LL

This article was originally published by Ha'aretz (Editorial) on Mon 6 Jan 2025. Read the original here.