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Education As Well
It's no different in education under a segregated system based ethnicity, religion and class, and since the 1970s, increasingly impacted by market forces, the result of budget cuts creating fewer public choices and more private ones based on the ability to pay. Those who can't lose out, especially for higher education with rising tuition fees and expenses, putting it out of the reach of growing numbers.
Israeli Values - Zionism or Exclusion
In November, the Mitzpeh Aviv community, under the jurisdiction of the Galilee Misgav Regional Council, passed an amendment to its internal bylaws, stipulating that land allocation be conditional on residents' placing the "highest priorities (on) Zionist values and the values of the state as a Jewish and democratic state."
Then on December 10, a new Knesset bill passed its preliminary reading by a large majority after the Ministerial Committee on Legislation adopted it. It aims to "preserv(e) the ability to realize the Zionist vision in practice" throughout Israel by imposing a "loyalty" condition on persons seeking residency applications in Jewish communities.
The bill affects Jews primarily as almost no Arabs live in Jewish areas. However, it entrenches racism and discrimination against non-Jews by letting communities choose their own residents. Mitzpeh Aviv isn't the first town to do it, as earlier, Manof and Yuvalim (also under the Misfav Regional Council's jurisdiction) enacted similar amendments. Others throughout the country will follow, and they cover more than housing.
For example, the Ministry of Education wants Arab candidates for senior positions to demonstrate a "positive attitude" toward Israeli values. The chilling conclusion is a nation increasingly following Avigdor Lieberman's vision - the foreign minister and deputy prime minister who demands loyalty as a condition for citizenship at the expense of democratic freedom, and for Arabs he wants none.
Yet in November 2008, the Israeli Supreme Court (in the Qa'adan case) ruled that an Arab family be allowed to rent a home from the Jewish Moshav Nevatim family despite his racist objections. It held that Jews and Arab citizens be treated equally in all matters pertaining to the allocation of land and housing. Nonetheless, Israeli politicians and IDF commanders have a long history of ignoring unfavorable rulings and getting away with it, so it's doubtful this one will stick.
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