With all the talk lately about concerns that there is some kind of well-organized, well-funded campaign afoot to delegitimize Israel, you'd think that even if Israeli officials are not particularly worried about the health of Israeli democracy and Israel's respect for the rule of law, someone in Israeli officialdom would be conscious of the political optics of Israeli decisions. But apparently not.
The latest example is the decision (also see here) to amend a 1969 military order pertaining to "infiltrators" who might come into the West Bank. The original order was aimed at people entering the territory from countries with which Israel was in a state of war, and who might therefore threaten Israel's security. Now, Israeli officials have taken the extraordinary step of "updating" the order so that it can be applied to a potentially huge number of Palestinians and virtually all internationals living or working in the West Bank - in effect applying to them the same order that was originally intended to apply to Lebanese and Syrian commando forces that might try to infiltrate the West Bank to do evil unto Israel.
The latest example is the decision (also see here) to amend a 1969 military order pertaining to "infiltrators" who might come into the West Bank. The original order was aimed at people entering the territory from countries with which Israel was in a state of war, and who might therefore threaten Israel's security. Now, Israeli officials have taken the extraordinary step of "updating" the order so that it can be applied to a potentially huge number of Palestinians and virtually all internationals living or working in the West Bank - in effect applying to them the same order that was originally intended to apply to Lebanese and Syrian commando forces that might try to infiltrate the West Bank to do evil unto Israel.
And let's be clear: nobody is even pretending that this is about
security. As APN noted in our statement issued today: "Before this new
order, Israeli forces were already authorized to arrest and deport
Palestinians and internationals who are engaged in illegal or violent
activities, making clear that this order is not about newly-identified
Israeli security concerns. With this new order, Israel has now
authorized its forces to arrest and deport Palestinians and
internationals who are not doing anything illegal or violent. In effect,
the order makes their mere presence in the West Bank a crime. Suspicion
is rampant that this tool will be used against those engaged in
legitimate, non-violent protest."
Did it occur to these officials that this decision would be difficult, if not impossible, to defend? It should have.
Indeed, the decision has actually shined a spotlight on another painful reality of the Palestinian "situation": Palestinians not only have no right to return or make claims to their property lost in 1948 (as compared to Jews, who today are exercising their own "right of return" to Hebron and Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood), they now have no "right" to live in the West Bank. Their presence in the West Bank, rather, is a privilege that Israel can grant or rescind, as it sees fit. And according to the ambiguous language of this new order, that right to rescind could apply to huge numbers of Palestinians residing in the West Bank.
And that's not all.
Many believe that the immediate target of the decision will not be Palestinians, but internationals. Because pretty much all internationals living and working in the West Bank are, technically, illegal. Why? Because Israel doesn't grant "working" or "living" visas to internationals who want to spend time in the West Bank. Whether they are going there to work for an international organization, or to volunteer for a church group, or to take part in protest activities, internationals have to enter Israel on a tourist visa. It is easy for Israeli officials to argue that by working, or living, or even staying too long in the West Bank, they are violating that visa and are present illegally in the West Bank. Which under this new decision renders them... yes, infiltrators. And means they can be virtually summarily arrested and deported. (For insight into this bizarre arrangement, check out this story about an American lawyer who Israeli officials have apparently decided shouldn't be allowed to work for UNRWA anymore).
Do Israeli officials think they can spin this as anything other than an arbitrary, discriminatory, anti-democratic policy that targets law-abiding Palestinian civilians and internationals in the West Bank? Apparently yes.
Check out the Israeli official rationalizations reported by the Jerusalem Post and others. Or there is this almost surreal video, in which a Jerusalem Post writer, speaking to Al Jazeera, argues that the new order is necessary to keep order, since so many people want to move to the West Bank, including from the United States, to enjoy the amazing "economic prosperity" there (as compared to the US), which he notes is the result of generous Israeli investment and policies.
Clearly some folks in the IDF and the Israeli government are in desperate needs of a reality check. Because arguments like these make no sense. Especially when there are really smart (Israeli) lawyers who have carefully examined what the language of the new order actually says - which of course is far more important than what IDF spin-meisters say it means. And there are serious journalists - Israeli and foreign - who are taking a serious look at this story.
And of course, there are groups like Americans for Peace Now. We generally don't wade into internal Israeli military decisions, focusing our efforts on the American people and the US government. But we just could not keep silent about this (you can read our statement here). And we are proud that our colleagues at J Street echoed our statement.
To quote ourselves:
"This move is bad for peace and bad for Israel. At a time when Israel is worried about an international campaign to de-legitimize it, one is hard pressed to understand why Israel's leaders would implement a new policy that can only paint Israel as a country that tramples on Palestinian civilians and is determined to stamp out peaceful protest.
"Even if the order does not indicate an intention to start deporting Palestinians and internationals, Israel should think carefully about the messages it is sending to both Palestinians and the world. This order risks sending a message to Palestinians that they cannot even aspire to make the West Bank their homeland, a message that risks refocusing their aspirations on Haifa and Jaffa, rather than on Ramallah and Nablus. To the international community it risks sending a message that Israel has become a country that does not respect the democratic ideals of free speech, free assembly and the right to peaceful protest. It sends a message that Israel is prepared to manufacture any legal pretext necessary in order to clamp down on Palestinian protest and isolate the Palestinians from their supporters in the international community.
"This order is not only inconsistent with the rule of law and democracy, and is not only an affront to Palestinians and the international community, but directly contradicts Israel's own interests. Only a peace agreement with the Palestinians -- one that establishes a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza -- can preserve Israel's character as a Jewish, democratic state. This order plays to the worst fears of the Palestinians, who have lived in stateless insecurity for generations, thus undermining the chances of reaching such a goal. It is time for a reality check. It seems that Israeli leaders are oblivious to how their actions are perceived and how some of their actions are impossible for even Israel's closest supporters to defend."
Did it occur to these officials that this decision would be difficult, if not impossible, to defend? It should have.
Indeed, the decision has actually shined a spotlight on another painful reality of the Palestinian "situation": Palestinians not only have no right to return or make claims to their property lost in 1948 (as compared to Jews, who today are exercising their own "right of return" to Hebron and Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood), they now have no "right" to live in the West Bank. Their presence in the West Bank, rather, is a privilege that Israel can grant or rescind, as it sees fit. And according to the ambiguous language of this new order, that right to rescind could apply to huge numbers of Palestinians residing in the West Bank.
And that's not all.
Many believe that the immediate target of the decision will not be Palestinians, but internationals. Because pretty much all internationals living and working in the West Bank are, technically, illegal. Why? Because Israel doesn't grant "working" or "living" visas to internationals who want to spend time in the West Bank. Whether they are going there to work for an international organization, or to volunteer for a church group, or to take part in protest activities, internationals have to enter Israel on a tourist visa. It is easy for Israeli officials to argue that by working, or living, or even staying too long in the West Bank, they are violating that visa and are present illegally in the West Bank. Which under this new decision renders them... yes, infiltrators. And means they can be virtually summarily arrested and deported. (For insight into this bizarre arrangement, check out this story about an American lawyer who Israeli officials have apparently decided shouldn't be allowed to work for UNRWA anymore).
Do Israeli officials think they can spin this as anything other than an arbitrary, discriminatory, anti-democratic policy that targets law-abiding Palestinian civilians and internationals in the West Bank? Apparently yes.
Check out the Israeli official rationalizations reported by the Jerusalem Post and others. Or there is this almost surreal video, in which a Jerusalem Post writer, speaking to Al Jazeera, argues that the new order is necessary to keep order, since so many people want to move to the West Bank, including from the United States, to enjoy the amazing "economic prosperity" there (as compared to the US), which he notes is the result of generous Israeli investment and policies.
Clearly some folks in the IDF and the Israeli government are in desperate needs of a reality check. Because arguments like these make no sense. Especially when there are really smart (Israeli) lawyers who have carefully examined what the language of the new order actually says - which of course is far more important than what IDF spin-meisters say it means. And there are serious journalists - Israeli and foreign - who are taking a serious look at this story.
And of course, there are groups like Americans for Peace Now. We generally don't wade into internal Israeli military decisions, focusing our efforts on the American people and the US government. But we just could not keep silent about this (you can read our statement here). And we are proud that our colleagues at J Street echoed our statement.
To quote ourselves:
"This move is bad for peace and bad for Israel. At a time when Israel is worried about an international campaign to de-legitimize it, one is hard pressed to understand why Israel's leaders would implement a new policy that can only paint Israel as a country that tramples on Palestinian civilians and is determined to stamp out peaceful protest.
"Even if the order does not indicate an intention to start deporting Palestinians and internationals, Israel should think carefully about the messages it is sending to both Palestinians and the world. This order risks sending a message to Palestinians that they cannot even aspire to make the West Bank their homeland, a message that risks refocusing their aspirations on Haifa and Jaffa, rather than on Ramallah and Nablus. To the international community it risks sending a message that Israel has become a country that does not respect the democratic ideals of free speech, free assembly and the right to peaceful protest. It sends a message that Israel is prepared to manufacture any legal pretext necessary in order to clamp down on Palestinian protest and isolate the Palestinians from their supporters in the international community.
"This order is not only inconsistent with the rule of law and democracy, and is not only an affront to Palestinians and the international community, but directly contradicts Israel's own interests. Only a peace agreement with the Palestinians -- one that establishes a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza -- can preserve Israel's character as a Jewish, democratic state. This order plays to the worst fears of the Palestinians, who have lived in stateless insecurity for generations, thus undermining the chances of reaching such a goal. It is time for a reality check. It seems that Israeli leaders are oblivious to how their actions are perceived and how some of their actions are impossible for even Israel's closest supporters to defend."
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