Israeli Immigration Law - Debate

Debate

Those in favor of the law, such as Ze'ev Boim, say it is aimed at preventing terrorist attacks and that "We have to maintain the state's democratic nature, but also its Jewish nature."

Critics argue that the law is discriminatory because it disproportionately affects Israeli Arabs, since Israeli Arabs are far more likely to have spouses from the West Bank and Gaza Strip than other Israeli citizens. Such critics have included the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which unanimously approved a resolution stating that the Israeli law violated an international human rights treaty against racism; and Amnesty International, which has argued that "n its current form the law is discriminatory and violates fundamental principles of equality, human dignity, personal freedom and privacy, enshrined in the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, as well as the right of children to live with both parents, and other fundamental rights enshrined in international human rights treaties to which Israel is a party and which it is obliged to uphold." When the law was renewed in June 2008, the publisher of the Israeli daily Ha'aretz argued that its existence makes Israel into an apartheid state.

In January 2012, Arab Knesset member Jamal Zahalka expressed concern that the law would lead to large-scale emigration of Arab-Israelis from Israel into Palestinian Authority areas, and claimed that Israel was taking advantage of the Supreme Court's decision to bring about an exodus of Arabs from Israel.

The suspect in custody of the November 21, 2012 Tel Aviv bus bombing, was originally from the Palestinian town of Beit Liqya but had been granted residence in Israel under the law, and was living with his family in Tayibe. The man used his employer's car to gain access to Tel Aviv.