This week, a small New Jersey town, Jackson Township, agreed to settle a dispute with the legal authorities in New Jersey, regarding alleged discriminatory by-laws and zoning regulations that are aimed at keeping Orthodox Jews out of Jackson Township.
The issue of Orthodox Jews moving into the township has been smoldering for several years because the neighboring town of Lakewood, which has a substantial Orthodox Jewish population, has become crowded and people including the Jews, have been looking for other opportunities to live and establish a community.
The legal authorities have argued throughout the dispute, that regulations aimed at keeping out a specific population group are discriminatory and will not be tolerated. Discrimination against the Orthodox Jewish population is unacceptable and in the end, the Jackson Township municipality had to relent. This while in the background of course the simple fact that Orthodox Jews, with their own lifestyle and it restrictions will cause changes in living conditions for others living in the township. It may start with road closures on Saturdays and Jewish Holydays, but may reach as far as demands that women will walk one side of the street and men on the other, clothing regulations and potentially many more.
But still, discrimination against Orthodox Jews cannot be allowed and the American law protects the Jews (and many others) against such discrimination.
So how is it, that while Jews in the U.S. have the protection of the Law, in Israel, the Israeli Jews have the right to discriminate against others?
A law exists in Israel, allowing “small” communities to set up “selection committees” that enable such towns and villages to decide who is allowed to live in these communities and who is not suitable. Recently the Israeli parliament has broadened this law and it now includes also larger villages.
The law enables these “admissions committees” to screen potential residents for their compatibility with the “sociocultural fabric” of a community. This vague description, which still gives these committees full discretion about who to except or reject, leaves the option to discriminate against many sections of the Israeli population. It is hard to believe though that if an Orthodox Israeli would apply to live in such a village that any committee would reject him based on his orthodoxy, or an Ethiopian Israeli would be rejected because of the color of his skin.
The admission committees are a “legal” basis to reject Arab Israelis and are part of the widespread discrimination against Arab Israelis (and non-Jews in general) and since the installation of the “full right-wing” government consisting of racists and fascists, this process has been accelerated.
On a personal note, I have lived in a small Moshav (a rural village) for thirty years and as far as I am aware, no admission committee exists here. However, after my wife and I bought the house we needed to register the land in our name (the land is officially owned by the State of Israel is leased to homeowners for usually a period of 99 years).
The reply that was received from the authorities was plain and simple: the law forbids the sale or lease of Israeli land to non-Jews and I, being not Jewish, could not lease the land. The head of the community was appalled by the fact that I had not told him I was not Jewish (would he have prevented the purchase of the house???). Or did he expect me to wear a yellow “GOY” sign on my shirt?
The option given to us was simple: register the land in my wife’s name only. She is Jewish and it would pass automatically. However, this would cause problem with the Mortgage bank who would not transfer the mortgage to the house we bought if it was not in both our names.
To make a long story short, a good lawyer and the threat to make a scandal of this (officially still) forbidden discrimination quickly made the Lands Administration fold and even our demands for compensation were met. In retrospect, the fact that I was not an Arab, and could “pass” for Jewish convinced the authorities that a scandal was not in their interest and the case did not even reach the court. (Again, with thanks to the excellent lawyer).
My story ended well. Other instances some published and surely many kept silent, where Arab Israelis tried to obtain housing in “Jewish” areas, did in most cases end with the Arab Israeli look for a “suitable” place to live, away from Jews.
Israel does have laws (and not to forget the Declaration of Independence) that are supposed to protect the population against discrimination, by individuals and by the State. However, it becomes more and more clear that these laws only apply to you if you are Jewish. Israel is becoming more and more of a racist state and the current government is doing all in its power to speed up this dangerous process, which will destroy the democracy, including the “Jewish” democracy and the overall democracy, if there ever was such a thing.
When will the (Jewish) Israelis wake up?
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