expulsion law

Joint List MK Basel Ghattas seen at the weekly Joint List meeting at the Knesset, Jerusalem, February 8, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Bid to expel Arab Knesset member an ominous sign of what’s to come

After a year in which the government incited against Arab society and the media pandered to the Right’s agenda, the attempt to expel Joint List MK Basel Ghattas points to a worrying future. By Abed Abu Shehada When the Knesset passed the so-called “expulsion law” last summer, widely seen as targeting Arab lawmakers, many believed…

By Haokets December 22, 2016

Illustrative photo of an Israeli riot police officer giving orders to an Arab woman in Umm el-Fahm. (Nati Shohat/FLASH90)

Conditional rights, conditional citizenship

Palestinian citizens of Israel have never known what it means to be welcome citizens in the country of their birth. In a much-discussed video message to Palestinian citizens of Israel last week, Prime Minister Netanyahu lauded the achievements of Arabs in the arts, business, politics and the legal world. “Israel is strong because of our…

By Sawsan Khalife' August 1, 2016

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sarah use virtual reality goggles at an event in Jaffa, July 21, 2016. (Yair Sagi/Pool)

The Israeli Right still hasn’t internalized that Palestinians exist

Arabs are more present than ever in the Israeli public sphere, but attempts to marginalize them are growing at an even faster pace. A new law aimed at pushing Arab representatives out of the political system could wind up changing the rules of the game — in the worst possible way. The Knesset this week…

By Noam Sheizaf July 21, 2016

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Haneen Zoabi is removed by Knesset security on February 8, 2016. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

New Israeli law seeks to expel ‘misbehaved’ Arab parliamentarians

Plenty of democratic countries have mechanisms for de-seating elected representatives, but those countries don’t have rich histories of trying to ban politicians of one ethnic group. And their laws weren’t designed to target specific unpopular politicians. On the face of it, there is nothing wrong with the “Expulsion Law” passed by Israel’s Knesset early Wednesday morning. Lots of…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man July 20, 2016