Another Jewish town adds 'Zionist loyalty' to bylaws
Resident of the northern town of Misgav says the law is 'solely to prevent Arab citizens from living here.'
By Jack Khoury Tags: Israel newsLess than six months after two northern communities proposed changing their bylaws to make "loyalty to the Zionist vision" a condition of acceptance into the community, a third has just followed suit.
All three locales are small communities where houses can legally be sold only to people approved by a vetting committee. All are also located in the Misgav Regional Council.
In June, after Haaretz's report on the proposed bylaw change in Manof and Yuvalim raised a storm, both communities decided to reconsider the move, and are still in the process of thinking it over. At the time, Arab Knesset members and Adalah, an Arab advocacy group, had charged that the new bylaws were an attempt to circumvent a High Court of Justice ruling barring such communities from refusing to sell houses to Arabs who meet all the other requirements for membership.
Last Thursday, however, another Misgav community, Mitzpeh Aviv, approved new bylaws stressing the town's Jewish and Zionist character - an issue that had gone unmentioned in the old bylaws. In a section titled "goals and powers," the new document lists the community's primary goals as "settlement; Zionism; the heritage of Israel; the values of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, in the spirit of the vision of the State of Israel's Declaration of Independence; tolerance; and human dignity."
Moreover, it said, "the community's Israeli Zionist essence is emphasized in daily life, by celebrating Israeli holidays communally, organizing activities for the youth in connection with their bar-mitzvah year and having members' children join Zionist youth movements, all while taking part in the Zionist enterprise."
Finally, the section on membership stated that new members must share "the basic worldview and goals of the association as presented in the 'goals and powers' section."
This change was adopted by a large majority of Mitzpeh Aviv members who bothered voting - though in fact, the majority did not vote at all.
One resident, who said he opposed the change but did not bother to vote, said the new bylaws were mild compared to those originally proposed in Yuvalim and Manof. Nevertheless, he added, he disapproved of a change "whose goal, ultimately, is solely to prevent Arab citizens from living here."
That allegation was indignantly rejected by the town's administration. Nir Yarkoni, a member of Mitzpeh Aviv's executive, said the change was necessitated by changes in lifestyle of the residents themselves.
"The original bylaws related to the members as farmers, but most of us no longer work in agriculture," he explained. Moreover, he said, whereas the local vetting committee used to have sole control, there are now also regional vetting committees, making it necessary to redefine the local committees' goals and powers. They therefore decided to introduce a definition that constitutes "as broad a common denominator as possible and characterizes the community."
However, he insisted, the definition adopted last week is broad enough to accommodate any member of a Zionist party - and these parties "have more than a few Arab members."
Misgav Regional Council chairman Ron Shani is a Mitzpeh Aviv resident, and as such, he supported the change. However, he said, the regional council was not involved; this was a strictly local decision.
When Manof and Yuvalim first proposed changing their bylaws, however, he publicly supported them. Back then, he declared that "the council's position is that we must strengthen the community and character of every town that sees Zionist values and the heritage of Israel as the heart of its existence and way of life and seeks to bring in people who view these values as dear to their hearts. We don't see this as racism, just as we don't see Zionism as a racist movement. Nor do we perceive racism in minority rights that enable Arab communities to accept only locals [i.e., other Arabs]."
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1. Talkback #17. was NOT posted by As`ad Abukhalil (angryarab.blogpost.com) Haaretz, who is engaged in false posting? 2. Forcing individuals to swear to be loyal to the concept of a Jewish state illustrates a lack of democracy and precisely why Carter used the word 'apartheid' to describe separation/segregation practices and laws.
Because it is not like that in every muslim country.I invite you to Morocco where Jews are free to run their business, practice their religion and live in peace with the Muslim population. Segregation and walls are not a part of the israeli solution, those are Nazi methods that every jew should condemn!
What happens to anyone advocating the overthrow of the US Govt ? Loyalty to the State of Israel is no different.
of so much attention being paid to Israel's faults all the time. What about all the good and positive things that emanate from there, huh? No country is perfect, we know that, and yet very few countries with Israel's problems and difficulties have achieved as much as Israel in ALL spheres of life, if any at all. What about all the other countries out there, including other western countries, that when compared with Israel apples with apples so to speak, fall far short of her? Maybe then Israelis will be more open to some meaningful dialogue, instead of always being forced into a defensive stance? Consider that please.
But then Israel should stop claiming to be a western democracy and call itself a jewish theocracy with all consequences. Nobody would wonder about anything anymore, like nobody wonders about religigious extremism in an islamic republic..
Loyalty is the foundation stone of survival. Especially a tiny nation Israel that is surrounded by enemies, has every right to demand loyalty and establish laws to enforce such loyalty, especially since it also has the enemy WITHIN. Only then can friend and foe stand out.
Is that all it takes? If Israel were to stop calling herself a democracy, all of a sudden all the Leftists will be treating her as respectively as they treat Saudi Arabia, Iran, Libya, et.al.? One would think that Leftists would be much more concerned about totalitarian regimes that a tiny non-perfect democracy.
So you are comparing Israel to these nations..so there is no difference between these countries and your country and these backwards nations?
"I would never live in a country, nor can I support a country, that allows this." Every Condo and gated community has a vetting committee... This is no different then those prestigious communites all over America.
Last I checked, Mecca and Medina is not in what purports to be a democratic country.
There, clever people found all sorts of ways of discriminating against blacks without using the word "negro". Similarly, in the Protestant areas of Northern Ireland. Eventually, of course, it was stopped because the national government realised that this sort of discrimination was contrary to their vision of the country. Don't hold your breath for Israel.
in the end that is all that matters...that the US governmnet says its OK.
Yet not a single Leftist, who gasp with horror at this law, has even the slightest problem with it. Not a single Leftist demands that non-Moslems be allowed in Mecca or Medina. Is it at all possible to be a leftist and NOT be a hypocrite?
A Jewish community has the right to maintain its Jewish charachter and Zionist values. Can a Jew live in Um al-Fahm or Nablus? Stop this hypocrisy. NOW. Israel is the only true democracy in that region. (Thanks Olivia)
Do you mean "blight" unto nations?
"the proposed bylaw change in Manof and Yuvalim raised a storm, both communities decided to reconsider the move, and are still in the process of thinking it over. At the time, Arab Knesset members and Adalah, an Arab advocacy group, had charged that the new bylaws were an attempt to circumvent a High Court of Justice ruling barring such communities from refusing to sell houses to Arabs who meet all the other requirements for membership." Clearly there is recourse in law in the High Court of Israel.Thats democracy!!!!
Another fine target for the Israel=Apartheid lobby
"Arabs caught selling land to Jews get killed." (1) Please provide your source of information and some statistics to prove your point. (2) Assuming what you say is true, it implies that there are Arabs who are willing to sell land to Jews; whereas Jews living in these 3 locals don't allow Arabs to live next door - let alone selling them land!
"It`s reasonable that people want to live next to peaceful neighbors and not those who oppose your very existence." Is it also reasonable that Palestinians in the WB also "want to live next to peaceful neighbors and not those who oppose" their very existence, which makes YOU a persona non grata?
land to Jews get killed.
When my parents wanted to buy a home in Mountain Brook Alabama at first they would not sell it to Jews.Later when they needed more White faces they suddenly agreed at first to let the Joos to buy homes in a three block GHETTO. Later they had no choice but to allow Joos to move through out the community. As to life here in Israel most Arab villages would never allow a Joo to live among them. Yet predjudice and hatred is ripe in the Middle East since the Religious have spawned hatred and they have forgotten that life is short and all of us need each other. Just walk into any hospital Jewish and Arab doctors work together because they are educated. Religious intolerance is killing us all.
"I know that Arab countries discriminate against Jews as well." ... but they do not pretend living up to western democratic standards.
Add a demand for "loyalty to the Arab and Palestinian question", effectively making areas of Israel off-limits to Jews, just like Jewish racists do to them... and see how the state reacts.
It's reasonable that people want to live next to peaceful neighbors and not those who oppose your very existence.
MY family could not buy a house in Hampton, LI because Jewish owner did not want to sale it to Muslim. I know that Arab countries discriminate against Jews as well.
is beginning to manifest itself in israeli society. one small step at a time.
none of these places..Manof,Yuvalim or Mitzpe Aviv are "towns"..they are all community villages
I would never live in a country, nor can I support a country, that allows this.
Only integration will bring us peace and respect within our borders. This is true also for the so called, religious only communities.