-Caveat Lector- Euphorian spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.
------- Note from Euphorian: Democracy in action ... ------- To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk Knesset moves to bar Arab members Israel's impending general election is colouring committee hearings on the expulsion and barring of three 'hostile' parliamentarians Chris McGreal in Jerusalem Sunday December 29 2002 The Observer The knesset has begun proceedings to bar three Arab members and their parties from next month's general election because of their support for the Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation. The hearings by a knesset committee are expected to result in the expulsion of Israel's leading Arab politician, Azmi Bishara, and two colleagues. Their parties are likely to be banned, stripping Israel's one million Arabs of their principal voices in parliament. Mr Bishara has already been stripped of his parliamentary immunity and put on trial for alleged crimes against the state. If he is now banned from the knesset, he and his colleagues will be the first Arab members to be expelled. The knesset has previously banned extreme rightwing Jewish parties and politicians. The Labour opposition says that expulsion could create "turmoil" and an "uprising" by Israeli Arabs who believe they are being denied democratic rights. The ostensible reason for barring Mr Bishara and his National Democratic Assembly is his attendance at the funeral of President Hafez Assad of Syria in June 2000, when he made a speech in which he implicitly endorsed the Hizbullah military campaign that drove Israel out of southern Lebanon two years ago. He also accused the Israeli government of resorting to war against Palestinians, and said they were left with little choice but to escalate the struggle against occupation. He called on Arab countries to unite behind the resistance. "There is no possibility of continuing with the... way of resistance other than by means of the renewed expansion of this sphere, so that people will be able to struggle and carry out resistance," he said. The Israeli attorney general, Elyakim Rubenstein, told the knesset that Mr Bishara's support for "resistance" endorsed suicide bombings, and his call for Arab backing was an invitation to destroy the state. Mr Bishara says resistance to occupation is a recognised right under international law and that it can take many forms. "I never called for armed struggle. I have always opposed the suicide bombs in writing and in speaking, and the targeting of civilians in general," he said. "What I did do is show understanding of the option of resistance to occupation, which referred to strikes, demonstrations, mass rallies, even studies. "And I said that a united Arab stand and international activity will prevent war and prevent a political dictate." But the real issue is wider than his comments at the funeral. The knesset hearings are being held in the politically charged atmosphere of a general election and after two years of intifada which has created new depths of distrust of Israeli Arabs. Some rightwing politicians portray them as a fifth column. That suspicion has been reinforced by Mr Bishara's questioning of whether Israel can be both a Jewish and a democratic state, and his demands for better treatment of the one in five of its citizens who suffer discrimination because they are Arabs. He also believes that an independent Palestinian state should be established alongside Israel. Under a new law introduced in May, the knesset can disqualify a candidate or party for denying Israel's existence as a Jewish or democratic state or for support of armed struggle, terrorism or an enemy of Israel. Mr Rubenstein has chosen to interpret Mr Bishara's desire for an overhaul of Israeli democracy as a threat to the existence of the state and therefore in breach of the law. In these circumstances, Mr Bishara is not hopeful of a fair hearing before the knesset committee. "In the atmosphere of the elections in Israel, and the chauvinist atmosphere, people are competing to be anti-Arab and I think it's going to be very very hard to get a rational decision," he said. That view is confirmed by a far-right politician, Michael Kleiner, who is among those pressing for Mr Bishara's expulsion. "In any normal country, they would put him before a firing squad," he said. "It's inconceivable that an Israeli knesset member would encourage Arab states to launch a full-scale war against Israel." Mr Bishara is already being prosecuted under the anti-terrorism laws and for illegally arranging visits to reunite elderly Palestinians with their refugee relatives in Syria. But the trial has stalled and so the attorney general is looking to the knesset to act. · The Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has ordered an increase in "targeted assassinations" and arrests after the murder of four Jewish religious students at a settlement near Hebron on Friday. Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
