Jonathan Cook gives concrete examples of the various forms of Apartheid practiced in Israel by Jews toward Palestinian-Israelis and Palestinians.
An important recent policy announcement makes it possible for the Israelis to expel from the West Bank any Palestinians who do not have what the Israeli authorities consider the proper identification papers.
The Israeli law resembles the one recently enacted in Arizona in one respect. Recently-arrived European Jews are demanding that Palestinians, who have inhabited the West Bank for thousands of years, must be able to show their papers in order to stay. In the same way, some of the Latinos who will be hassled by police in Arizona with demands that they ‘show their papers’ will be Hispanics, i.e. the old pre-US elite from the days of the Spanish Empire and early Mexico. The Arizonan yahoos who made this racist law to harass Latinos are recent, uncultured immigrants from the point of view of proud old Hispanic families. Others so hassled will be of mixed Latino and Native American heritage, so that some of their ancestors were in Arizona perhaps 10,000 – 16,000 years ago, but ignorant Euro-Americans are now demanding proof that they belong there.
Racism everywhere tells itself the same transparent lies about blood and soil, and makes the same sleight-of-hand exclusions on the basis of ‘purity’ of blood.
Not so odd, really. When individuals or states criticized Nazi Germany’s anti-miscegenation laws directed against Jews, Nazi officials pointed out they had modelled their laws after America’s anit-miscegination laws directed against Blacks.
If my relatively long life has taught me anything it is that humans are all basically alike. As Edgar Guest put it, There is so much bad in the best of us, and so much good in the worst of us, that is scarely behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us. The military ideology of Israel (and the U.S.) shoule be greatly abhorred as it invariably leads to arrogance and harm to others.
As an American I have to show my “papers” several times a week. My tail light was out the other night and a cop pulled me over. He asked for my license, registration and proof of insurance. When I enrolled into community college I had to show them my birth certificate, vaccination records, and high transcripts. And there was even a random checkpoint near my house where I had to give the police officer my drivers license and answer a few questions. Sure, I feel bad for the Hispanic population with this new draconian law but this “show you papers” police state has been going on for a long time.
Hi Eric,
All states require one to have a drivers’ license on them when they operate a motor vehicle and I am glad they do as one shouldn’t drive if one does not have a license. Proof of insurance and registration are non invasive as these papers are kept in the automobile. There are sound reasons for these.
But proof of citizenship is a whole new deal. I never carry proof of citizenship with me. My birth certificate is locked away. Even when visiting Europe or Japan, I lock my passport in the hotel safe when walking the city I am in. In Arizona, a hispanic citizen out for a walk had better have a copy of his birth certificate with him. Does anyone know if a drivers license serves as proof of citizenship in Arizona?
danh
[…] the West Bank Palestinians who lack appropriate documentation. Apparently, so has Juan Cole. He wrote earlier this week: The Israeli law resembles the one recently enacted in Arizona in one respect. […]
When travelling in Mexico, I had to show my tourist papers, guess you’d have to show a passport now.
Blood-and-soil sounds like la raza and Aztlan.
[…] recently enjoyed reading a post by Juan Cole which pretty much covers the hypocrisy seeping out from the new law from Arizona […]
Thanks Juan for taking this “Arizona SB1070 vs. Israel” issue closer to the limelight. In fact, as I explained a few days ago, the routine situation *inside Israel proper* is very much like a post-SB1070 Arizona on steroids:
link to dailykos.com…In-Israel,-it-has-been-Arizona-all-along!-%28w-Update%29
All Israeli residents are required to show papers, but in practice this is enforced only on Arab-looking persons (and nowadays, also on 3rd-world migrant laborers). Since Israel has no Constitution, there is really no recourse against this policy except to complain about it in the rather tone-deaf public-opinion sphere.
According to one Israeli commenter to my post, the police are actually *required* to demand an ID from anyone Arab-looking! Just to make sure you understood, that’s inside Israel. In the West Bank it’s of course much worse.