In the Israeli judicial system, judges are almost always more lenient with Jews and come down harder on Israeli Arabs. Emad Gad deals with one more form of discrimination As efforts are increasing to confront racism against Jews in countries across the world -- indeed, even as the United States is making the fight against anti-Jewish sentiment around the world a priority, seen in the recently passed Global Anti- Semitism Review -- no international or US efforts are being made to combat racism and discrimination as practised by Israel against both non-Jews and other Jews as well, such as Sephardic or African Jews who migrated to Israel in great numbers. Although Israel has institutionalised many forms of discrimination and racism against non-Jews in general, the international community and the US in particular focuses exclusively on monitoring anti-Semitism, often ignoring racism against other groups and turning a blind eye to discrimination and racism inside Israel or as practised by Israeli institutions. Discussions of racism and discrimination in Israel is not simply empty talk but is supported by copious evidence. Arabs Against Discrimination monitors discrimination and racism in the Israeli media in no less than 14 categories, and there are plenty of Jewish Israeli testimonies to support these claims. One recent example is a study conducted by Gideon Fishman and Arye Rattner from Haifa University on discrimination against Israeli Arabs in the Israeli judicial system. The study was published in Attorney magazine, a publication of the Israeli Bar Association, and some of the findings appeared in a 24 September article by Moshe Cohen on www.bambili.com, entitled "New Study: the Judiciary Discriminates against Arabs". The article quoted the findings as follows: "Charges are dismissed against 42 per cent of Jewish defendants and 39 per cent of Arab defendants. The chances that a 25-year-old Jewish man with no prior criminal record will be convicted of a crime are 12 per cent. The chances that a 25-year-old Arab man with no prior criminal record will be convicted of a crime are 20 per cent. The chances that a Jewish man with three prior convictions will be convicted are 22 per cent. The chances that an Arab man with three prior convictions will be convicted are 38 per cent. The chances that a Jewish man with no prior criminal record who is convicted of a violent crime will be sentenced to prison are eight per cent. The chances that an Arab man with no prior criminal record who is convicted of a violent crime will be sentenced to prison are 19 per cent. The chances that a court will imprison a single Jewish man with a prior criminal record who has served time in prison are 61 per cent, compared to 80 per cent for an Arab in the same situation. In the case of Jewish judges, the chances that the court will issue a prison sentence to a Jewish male defendant with no criminal record are 39 per cent, compared to 51 per cent for an Arab in the same situation. In the case of Arab judges, the chances that the court will issue a prison sentence to a Jewish male defendant with no criminal record are 22 per cent, compared to 59 per cent for an Arab in the same situation. The chances that a Jewish judge will imprison a Jewish defendant with a criminal record are 33 per cent, compared to seven per cent for an Arab defendant in the same situation. The chances that an Arab judge will imprison a Jewish defendant with a criminal record are 44 per cent, compared to 80 per cent for an Arab defendant in the same situation." In an article in Yediot Aharonot published 25 August, entitled "I would have done it differently", Lior Al-Hai writes, "In a press conference held to mark the end of his service as northern district police commander, Gen Yaakov Borovsky warned of the consequences of what he called Israel's discrimination against the Arab sector. 'There is discrimination against the Arab sector, which may lead to another clash in the future,' he said. Borovsky, who assumed his position only a few months after the Intifada of September 2000 began, believes that without a policy of affirmative action, another clash with Israeli Arabs may occur. 'We must say honestly that there is flagrant discrimination against the Arab sector by various government ministries,' he said. 'There is a need for affirmative action. This problem may lead to another clash in the future.'" A Ha'aretz editorial entitled "The dangers of the rabbis' declaration", published on 9 September, notes, "The Talmudic saying, 'If someone comes to kill you, kill him first,' was quoted in a joint statement issued by the heads of the Hesder yeshivas and the Rabbinical Settlers' Council in response to this week's pilots' letter. The rabbis urged the government to operate according to this principle and not to be afraid of fighting the enemy, even if it is known that civilians will be killed. "The rabbis' adoption of this rule demonstrates the extent to which they -- who are the object of much trust among the Zionist-religious public -- do not recognise the legitimacy of expressing an opinion on a political-military-moral matter of this kind, no matter how legitimate that opinion may be. Although at least superficially they speak to the government and hope to affect its policies, the danger is that some soldiers and officers will see this as a legitimate ethical order that should be obeyed and carried out in daily life in the occupied territories. "In addition, rabbis like Yuval Sharlo, head of the Hesder yeshiva in the city of Petah Tikva, who is considered a moderate centrist, and his colleagues conceal behind this recommendation an ideology unacceptable to a state seeking a settlement with its neighbours. Legitimising a fierce war means that the confrontation between Israel and the Palestinians is not a political struggle resolvable through a settlement, but rather an ongoing divine war, the battle of God against the Amalekites. "There is no sign in the rabbis' statements that there is another way to manage the conflict -- through dialogue, for example. Their statements do not address the fact, unacceptable to many of these rabbis and their students, that the current violence was born in the shadow of the occupation. Murder and terrorism should not be justified, and the Palestinian side lost not a few opportunities to use dialogue for political gain. Nevertheless, the complete denial of the general outlines of the conflict makes the rabbis' statement a militant expression devoid of content. "The Torah's position towards the Amalekite people has seen a sharp transformation over the thousands of years of interpretation and exegesis that form the basis of Jewish religion and culture. Unfortunately, the official rabbinate and the religious leadership of the settlement movement have taken over the Israeli dialogue. These factions have been trying for years to take the modern Israeli state, which faces complex military and political challenges, back to a one-dimensional, traditional interpretation of the Torah story. They are enlisting religious sources and Israel's rabbis across various generations to serve a narrow- minded nationalist agenda that is destructive and intolerant. "The secularist camp, whose culture over time has come to bear some of Judaism's treasures, is weak in the face of these developments. It may receive help from another type of religious leadership who can speak to their feelings and, unlike the signatories to the statement, do not represent a limited, narrow stance. But this aid is slow in coming; indeed, there is no indication that it has even begun." It is worth pointing out that the one-dimensional Torah story of the Amalekites supported by the religious nationalist camp involves the complete destruction of the Amalekites, an ancient Semitic people associated with the Palestinians by contemporary Israeli religious discourse. In Samuel I 15:3, for example, God instructs Saul to "utterly destroy all that they have... slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." In other Biblical passages, the Israelites are commanded to blot out the remembrance of Amalek completely. These are only a few examples of the type of discrimination and racism present in Israel, both in official and unofficial quarters. For more examples and information, please visit the website of Arabs Against Discrimination www.aad-online.org.
