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Human rights - la Friedmann By Haaretz Editorial Tags: Israel, Immigration Thousands of immigrants are knocking at the gates of the State of Israel seeking a new life, and very few receive refugee status and are granted work permits and residency papers. All the others are subject to arbitrary and chance decisions by bureaucrats. The state has not yet succeeded in establishing a consistent, realistic and humane immigration policy, and this fluid situation opens the door to discriminatory decisions. The need to establish an immigration policy applies to every country, and most especially to a state like Israel, where there is reverse discrimination in favor of Jews in the Law of Return, and where the Citizenship Law in any case applies only to non-Jews. Until now the immigration of non-Jews has been dealt with by the method of putting out fires. At a time when the interior minister was more sensitive, the children of migrant workers were given legal status. At a time when the interior minister was religious, non-Jews were treated harshly. In recent years, there has been discrimination against Arab Israelis who seek to live with Palestinians they have married. Their requests for family reunification are systematically refused in accordance with the temporary amendment to the Citizenship Law in 2003, which is extended every six months. This discrimination is explained by security considerations, even when there is no concrete security information about the family that is seeking to live in Israel. Advertisement This week the High Court of Justice again discussed the matter of family reunification. The state admitted that only recently has it established a committee to consider humanitarian exceptions, as it had committed itself to do before the High Court of Justice. Two hundred applications for family reunification have been submitted to this committee, and during the past two years it has managed to discuss only about 30 of them, and has approved only one family's application. Apparently the Supreme Court has formed the impression that the state has failed in dealing with the matter, and it has issued an order to show cause. The state will have to respond to the petitions within two months, apparently before an expanded bench. Civil law must not discriminate against immigrants for invalid reasons. A citizenship law cannot discriminate against immigrants, homosexuals, blacks or short people. Presumably, discrimination against Muslim or Christians is also unacceptable discrimination, as the need to preserve the Jewish character of the state is already protected by the Law of Return. Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann has initiated an amendment to the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom that would prevent the High Court of Justice from intervening in legislation that concerns citizenship. This is the way he has chosen, from among all the possibilities, to deal with the sensitive issue of immigration. Removing this delicate issue from the jurisdiction of the High Court of Justice opens the way to real damage to human rights. If there is no longer judicial review of legislation on matters of citizenship, the Knesset will be able to discriminate concerning the immigration of any group or individual, without the High Court of Justice being able to have its say. Today they are dealing with Palestinians, tomorrow it could be a matter of harming some other group. Any change in The Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom opens the way to the possibility of a roller coaster of damage to human rights. In the past, Friedmann has already proposed preventing the High Court of Justice from deliberating on matters of security and the budget. Now he is limiting the High Court of Justice on an issue that is connected to human rights. If the Labor Party does not veto this proposal, it could be the first step on the way to neutering judicial review and rendering it devoid of contents. Bookmark to del.icio.us   A few good celebs Some of Hollywood's top guns congratulate Israel in a clip played in Times Square. Chosen, shmosen 'Religion is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions,' wrote Albert Einstein.   1.   Law of Return -Haaretz Editorial FLABBER GASTED 14:59  |  HAL 13/05/08   2.   Israel along with all countries in the world has the right to 16:00  |  JB 13/05/08   3.   Why ? 16:42  |  Aby 13/05/08   4.   post-zionist nonsense 16:47  |  Jane 13/05/08   5.   Correcting 60 years of land dispossession 17:18  |  Amoz 13/05/08   6.   Immigrants 21:56  |  Leah 13/05/08   7.   to aby 22:50  |  Ang 13/05/08   8.   Very carefully 22:58  |  Rogelio 13/05/08

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