Oct 20: Loyalty Oath might not pass in Knesset

Roi Maor By Roi Maor October 20, 2010 | Edit

Oct 20: Loyalty Oath might not pass in Knesset

The Headlines: What does Rabin’s Murder Mean?

> Israel commemorates Prime Minister Rabin, assassinated in 1995 by an extreme right-winger, because of his involvement in the Oslo accords with the Palestinians. But what should we do on this of remembrance: recite Rabin’s individual life story? Condemn political violence in general? Should we critically examine the ideology that led to his murder, or is that too partisan?

> The crime wave in Lod continues, despite a virtual military occupation of the mixed Arab-Jewish city.

The Sidelines: Palestinian Land

> The Supreme Court is enraged at the government, for the constant delays in evicting settlement outposts built illegally on private Palestinian land. How enraged, you ask? Enough to give the government another 15 days to clarify its position.

> World Jewish leaders intend to present their own peace plan, including a demilitarized Palestinian state in 1967 borders with slight amendments, dividing Jerusalem and a return of a small number of refugees to Israel (Ma’ariv).

> In return to resuming direct talks with Israel, the Palestinians are asking the Obama administration– in addition to a renewal of the settlement freeze – to boycott settlement products and pressure Israel to withdraw from more West Bank areas, reopen Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem, and recognize the 1967 borders at the outset of the negotiations (Yedioth).

> The Supreme Court rejected a petition to fortify schools in the southern city of Ashkelon from rocket attacks emanating from Gaza (Yedioth).

The Bottom Lines: Loyalty Oath Law Struggles

> The loyalty oath bill might not have the votes to pass the Knesset. According to Haaretz’s headcount, the bill’s version which requires loyalty oath from Jews as well has only 56 supporters out of 120 Knesset members. The previous version, which was aimed only at none-Jews, enjoyed a clear Knesset majority.

> The state funded a convention of Rabbis, including state employees, who oppose the presence of Arabs in Safed, claiming it is a holy city.

> More details emerge about sexual harassment by a senior national-religious rabbi (Yedioth).

Roi Maor

I am an activist for social rights and human rights in Israel and Palestine, living in Tel Aviv. I’ve written several human rights reports and op-eds in ynet, Ha’aretz and the Jerusalem Post. Over the last few years, I volunteered and worked for several Israeli NGOs, including Yesh Din, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights. The views expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone, and do not necessarily represent the views of the organizations I work for.

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