@Andrew Brehm
Regarding the unequal treatment of non-Jewish citizens of Israel:
From the Dec. 2000 edition of Colorlines Magazine:
“Many other special privileges are reserved for those who have served in the Israeli military. And military service is compulsory for all Jews (male and female), except for the ultra-Orthodox who get the same privileges as other Jews, but excludes Palestinians, who do not.
Over 80 percent of the land within Israel that was once owned by Palestinians has been confiscated. All told, 93 percent of Israel’s land can only be leased or owned by Jews or Jewish agencies….
Unlike any other country in the world, Israel does not define itself as a state of its residents, or even a state of its citizens, but as a state of all the Jews in the world. Jews from anywhere in the world, like me, can travel to Israel, declare citizenship, and be granted all the privileges of being Jewish that are denied to Palestinians who have lived in the area for hundreds of years.
Of course, there’s an entire book written about this subject detailing it further if you are interested Andrew.
The Arab Minority in Israel’s Economy: Patterns of Ethnic Inequality by Noah Lewin-Epstein, Moshe Semyonov. 169 pgs.
Or review the information on Adalah.com or read this commentary on Jewish Journal: http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=16509
It’s just ridiculous to suggest that a state that proffers itself a home to jews the world over and offers them benefits (land, grants, etc.) only to people of Jewish heritage or the Jewish religion is somehow equal. It’s just not. And the money that is uses to pay for these programs, where does this come from? And the land many of these people are settled on (for free) from where do they get this land and from whom?
