[lbo-talk] Israeli SC upholds spouse ban

Joel Schalit managingeditor at tikkun.org
Sun May 14 11:20:41 PDT 2006


Yes, the BBC's World Service has been repeatedly discussing this decision today. Its totally outrageous, of course, but, sadly, not the least bit surprising. The majority of the Supreme Court that voted on behalf of this decision - the court voted 6-5 in favor - echoes the consensus reflected in the IDI survey on the health of Israel's democracy which was discussed here last week.

There was a fascinating op-ed in Haaretz last week which analyzed the social consequences of pro-Disengagement arguments that based themselves on the need to preserve a Jewish majority in Israel. I forget who wrote it (just sipping my first cup of coffee). However, if I am correct, the author very astutely pointed out that the social consequences of the privileging of this pro-Disengagement argument in terms of recent surveys in Israel supporting transfer etc...

On May 14, 2006, at 10:33 AM, Doug Henwood wrote:


> <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4769661.stm>
>
> Court upholds Israeli spouse ban
>
> Israel's Supreme Court has upheld a controversial law barring West
> Bank Palestinians from living with their spouses and children in
> Israel itself.
>
> By a six-to-five majority, the court rejected petitions brought by
> civil rights groups, members of the Israeli parliament and Arab
> Israeli families.
>
> The government says the law, passed at a time of rising violence in
> 2002, is based on security concerns.
>
> But critics say it is discriminatory and violates rights to a
> family life.
>
> The case has been described as one of the most important questions
> the Supreme Court has dealt with in recent years.
>
> One of the groups that challenged the law said thousands of
> families were affected, that they have been forced to move abroad
> or live apart.
>
> Orna Kohn, a lawyer for a group defending Israeli Arabs, said
> Sunday's ruling caused "grave damage to the basic rights of
> thousands of people".
>
> But the Israeli state says the recent election victory of the
> militant group Hamas strengthened its case that Palestinians were a
> security risk and should not be allowed into the country.
>
> There are some 1.3 million Arab citizens in Israel - just under 20%
> of the population.
>
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