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Shrinking Spaces in Israel. Contraction of Democratic Space, Consolidation of Occupation, and Ongoing Human Rights Violations Ca

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Shrinking Spaces in Israel. Contraction of Democratic Space, Consolidation of Occupation, and Ongoing Human Rights Violations Ca www.ssoar.info Shrinking spaces in Israel: contraction of democratic space, consolidation of occupation, and ongoing human rights violations call for a pradigm shift in Europe's policies Asseburg, Muriel Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Stellungnahme / comment Zur Verfügung gestellt in Kooperation mit / provided in cooperation with: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Asseburg, M. (2017). Shrinking spaces in Israel: contraction of democratic space, consolidation of occupation, and ongoing human rights violations call for a pradigm shift in Europe's policies. (SWP Comment, 36/2017). Berlin: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik -SWP- Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit. https://nbn-resolving.org/ urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-54348-3 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Deposit-Lizenz (Keine This document is made available under Deposit Licence (No Weiterverbreitung - keine Bearbeitung) zur Verfügung gestellt. Redistribution - no modifications). We grant a non-exclusive, non- Gewährt wird ein nicht exklusives, nicht übertragbares, transferable, individual and limited right to using this document. persönliches und beschränktes Recht auf Nutzung dieses This document is solely intended for your personal, non- Dokuments. Dieses Dokument ist ausschließlich für commercial use. All of the copies of this documents must retain den persönlichen, nicht-kommerziellen Gebrauch bestimmt. all copyright information and other information regarding legal Auf sämtlichen Kopien dieses Dokuments müssen alle protection. 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Introduction Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Comments Shrinking Spaces in Israel WP Contraction of Democratic Space, Consolidation of Occupation, and Ongoing Human Rights Violations Call for a Paradigm Shift in Europe’s Policies S Muriel Asseburg Israel has always claimed to be the only democracy in the Middle East. Yet the current government coalition is dominated by right-wing, ultra-Orthodox and national-religious parties advocating illiberal policies and seeking Jewish dominance across “Eretz Israel” – Israel itself and the occupied Palestinian territories. Accordingly, the government is working firstly to emphasise the Jewish elements in Israel’s identity. It is secondly pushing ahead with settlement-building in and de facto annexation of parts of the occupied territories. Thirdly, it is steadily shrinking the spaces for Israel’s civil society and human rights organisations. Germany and the EU should press Israel to comply with international law, improve the human rights situation and preserve spaces for civil society to thrive. In their policies, working towards respect for human rights and international law should no longer come second to conflict resolution. Israel attaches great importance to being non-governmental organisations that re- regarded as the only democracy in the ceive more than half of their funding from Middle East and the West’s partner of choice. foreign state entities to report the origins It does truly stand out from other countries of their grants and publicise the fact in in the region, offering its citizens regular various specified contexts. The legislation free and fair elections, an effective division primarily targets organisations that criti- of powers, and functioning checks and bal- cise the Israeli government’s occupation ances. In recent years, however, the scope for policies, argue for equality for Israel’s non- civil society actors has shrunk considerably. Jewish citizens, and defend human rights, Individuals and institutions who express including those of refugees. The Justice critical positions on Israel’s policies in the Ministry published a list of 27 NGOs that occupied territories, human rights violations, receive more than 50 percent of their and the country’s identity are especially af- funding from foreign state entities. Right- fected by repressive legislation and massive leaning NGOs, think tanks, and media defamation and intimidation campaigns. outlets as well as settler organisations, etc. In July 2016 the Knesset passed the so- are funded almost entirely through private called NGO Transparency Law requiring donations and as such unaffected by the Dr. Muriel Asseburg is a Senior Fellow in SWP’s Middle East and Africa Division SWP Comments 36 September 2017 1 law’s provisions. Even though the legisla- for withdrawal of public funding from any tion itself does not directly restrict freedom organisation that concurs with the Palestin- of expression and assembly, the debate ac- ian narrative that Israel’s struggle for in- companying the legislative process made it dependence was responsible for the forcible very clear that it is designed to stigmatise displacement of Palestinians, or partici- particular NGOs as agents of foreign inter- pates in associated commemorations. The ests. Expulsion Law of July 2016 enables depu- The efforts to clamp down on critical ties accused of incitement, racism or sup- voices in Israel continue. Various draft bills port of armed struggle against the state to currently before the Knesset would further be excluded from parliament by a qualified tighten the constraints on NGOs. Measures majority, while the Anti-BDS Law of March under consideration include charging 2017 allows individuals who advocate a the relevant NGOs for public information boycott of Israel or its settlements to be pre- requests, banning particular organisations, vented from entering the country. Already requiring the NGOs to be labelled as “for- in March 2014, before the last general elec- eign agents”, and taxing funding from tion, the threshold for entry to the Knesset foreign state entities. In June 2017 Prime was raised from 2 to 3.25 percent to exclude Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced those parties representing overwhelmingly a draft bill that would prohibit Israeli Arab citizens. The manoeuvre failed after NGOs from accepting any funding at all Hadash, Raam, Balad and Taal joined to from foreign state entities. form a single list. Above all, aggressive campaigns against human rights organisations have prolifer- ated in recent years. Right-leaning politi- Discrimination cians, think tanks and NGOs (such as NGO Israel’s self-image as a “Jewish and demo- Monitor and Im Tirtzu), as well as media cratic state” has always been characterised close to the prime minister, have branded by internal tensions, manifested above all such NGOs traitors, terrorist collaborators, in discrimination against non-Jewish sec- and foreign agents, and their staff have tions of the population. In 2003, in response been threatened, in some cases massively. to demographic trends, Israel banned immi- Such attacks have concentrated especially gration and naturalisation of Palestinian on those that cooperate with United Nations spouses and family members from the occu- and International Criminal Court investiga- pied Palestinian territories and so-called tions into human rights violations and war enemy states on principle. While the gov- crimes. It is above all these campaigns that ernment and the high court (which con- are the most important impediment to the firmed the law in 2006 and 2012) justify activities of Israeli civil society, peace move- this discrimination on the basis of security ment and human rights defenders, as they concerns, this problematic argument places are seriously delegitimising their work in all Palestinians under blanket suspicion. the Israeli public sphere and burdening them Non-Jews are disadvantaged in property with the costs of personal and IT security, matters too, with the Jewish National Fund legal response and defensive PR. (JNF), which owns about 13 percent of the The measures described above must be land in Israel, leasing exclusively to Jews. seen in connection with other laws and The JNF also holds great sway over the initiatives that also aim at silencing critical decisions of the Israel Land Authority (ILA), voices in Israeli public life – voices that chal- which controls the state-owned land. Al- lenge the official self-image of the Jewish together about 93 percent of the land is state and the dominant interpretation of publicly owned – including a considerable its history. These measures include the proportion expropriated from Palestinians. Nakba Law of March 2011, which provides In many towns and communities local SWP Comments 36 September 2017 2 selection committees ensure that property 2017 the Knesset passed the first reading is only leased or rented to those regarded as of a Likud bill proposing a Basic Law that “suitable”. Municipality-level budget data defines Israel as the “nation state of the also reveals that the government privileges Jewish people” where the “right to national the development of Jewish communities, self-determination”
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