Adalah's Response to Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked's Remarks

19/02/2018

The remarks made by Minister Shaked are contrary to and violates human rights

Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked made inflammatory, anti-democratic remarks against human rights and against Palestinian citizens of Israel when she spoke on Monday 12 February 2018 at a conference held by the “Israeli Congress on Judaism and Democracy”.

Regarding the amendment to the Citizenship Law, which prevents the unification of Palestinian families, Minister Shaked stated that “There is place to maintain a Jewish majority even at the expense of the violation of human rights”, and that “I was disturbed that in both the state’s position and the reasoning of the justices, the State did not defend the law for national demographic reasons.”

Regarding the pending Jewish Nation State bill, Minister Shaked stated that its goal is to prevent [Israeli Supreme Court] decisions such as the Qa’adan judgment, and that [contrary to that ruling] she supports the establishment of towns solely for Jews.

Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel stated in response that:

"The remarks made by Minister Shaked regarding the proposed Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People prove that this bill, as well as the definition of the state as Jewish in the existing Basic Laws, is contrary to and violates human rights, particularly regarding the status of the Arab population.

Hence, it is also no coincidence that Minister Shaked justified the law prohibiting family unification, which primarily affects Arab citizens. This law has no equivalent in democratic countries. According to this law, citizens are prohibited from exercising their right to family life solely on the basis of their national affiliation.

With all of these anti-human rights, anti-democratic remarks, Minister Shaked declared, in effect, that as Israel’s Minister of Justice, she regards the law as a tool to advance her own political perceptions. In her view, clearly, Arab citizens are enemies of the state by virtue of their being Arabs, and she intends to act to consolidate the supremacy of the Jewish majority above all else.”