Israel Matzav: UN special rapporteur accuses Israel of 'Judaization'

Monday, February 13, 2012

UN special rapporteur accuses Israel of 'Judaization'

Every time I see us accused of 'Judaization' - an accusation frequently leveled at Israel by the 'Palestinians' regarding Jerusalem - my instinctive response is "What else do you expect us to do? Encourage Arabs to settle there? It's a Jewish place in a Jewish country."

On Sunday, a UN investigator accused Israel of 'Judaization' in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the Negev. Yes, the Negev. In case you're wondering what the next frontier is if the 'Palestinians' ever - God forbid - get their reichlet in Judea and Samaria (with Jerusalem as its capital).

In any event, here's the story of the UN special rapporteur. Israeli activity against Negev Beduin and Palestinians in both east Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank “are the new frontiers of dispossession of the traditional inhabitants and the implementation of a strategy of Judaization and control of the territory,” said Raquel Rolnik, a special UN rapporteur on adequate housing.

...

In addition, the Beduin and Palestinians suffer from discriminatory practices, including land expropriation, she said.

In east Jerusalem, Palestinians can apply for building permits on only 13% of the area, Rolnik said.

“The number of permits issued is grossly inadequate to housing needs, leading many Palestinians to build without obtaining a permit,” she said.

As a result, tens of thousands of Palestinians’ homes are at risk of being demolished, she added.

More than 70% of the demolitions in Jerusalem are carried out against Palestinian residents, even though they make up only 20% of the infractions, Rolnik said.

Wow does she sound confused. Does that mean Jews can't get building permits either? (Answer - yes).

In the West Bank, security and administrative measures result in the demolition of Palestinian homes, she said, and also limit Palestinian growth and access to livelihood and services.

Rolnik said she was concerned by plans to forcibly relocate the Jahalin Beduin who live in the area near Ma’aleh Adumim.

Last year, Israel demolished 622 Palestinian structures, including 222 that were family homes [What were the rest? CiJ], she said, and 1,094 people were displaced. “This is almost double the number from 2010,” she said.

The largest number of demolitions occurred in the Jordan Valley, she said.

She also took issue with plans by Palestinians to construct a new city in the West Bank, called Rawabi, because it will not provide affordable housing to “numerous communities living in inadequate conditions.”

Rawabi is Israel's first racist city. No Jews allowed. In fact, some Jewish contractors aren't allowed either.

But here's the coup de grace:

The Foreign Ministry, which assisted Rolnik during her visit, took issue with her comments.

Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said her statements “manifest such a profound misunderstanding of basic realities that one really feels obliged to request the honorable rapporteur to go back to square one and do her homework properly.”

Why did the Foreign Ministry 'help' her? Her 'conclusions' were entirely predictable before she stepped off the plane!(By the way, the part of the article I omitted blames the Israeli government's land policies for the high price of housing here - a problem that mostly affects the Jewish community but she didn't mention that).

NGO Monitor has called for Rolnik to resign:

In response to the use of an antisemitic slur by Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor today demanded her immediate resignation. Rolnik utilized the term "Judaization" to describe Israeli government housing policy in the Negev, Jerusalem, and the West Bank. NGO Monitor notes that the term originated with Arab rejectionists and has been promoted by fringe non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that falsely claim the mantle of human rights.

"'Judaization' is an anti-Jewish racist term which suggests that the presence of Jews is alien and unacceptable," says Anne Herzberg, legal advisor for NGO Monitor. "This immoral rhetoric is part of the broader delegitimization campaign that is counterproductive to fostering peace in the region. As with the false 'apartheid' analogy, it is invoked with the same goal to demonize. It is the latest manifestation of the 1975 UN 'Zionism is racism' resolution and the 2001 Durban Conference NGO Forum declaration."

NGO Monitor notes that Article 4 of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination "condemn[s] all propaganda and all organizations which are based on ideas or theories of superiority of one race or group of persons of one colour or ethnic origin, or which attempt to justify or promote racial hatred and discrimination in any form..."

NGO Monitor also notes that it is immoral for human rights organizations and UN officials to use phrases such as "Judaization," which explicitly endorses ethnically-based exclusion.

"The term Judaization is immoral and employed for antisemitic goals; we expect that it would not be invoked by a UN Special Rapporteur claiming to operate with a human rights framework," Herzberg adds. "Raquel Rolnik's use of it makes peace more difficult to achieve, and in light of this she should resign immediately."

Well, yeah, but don't hold your breaths waiting for it to happen.

Labels: housing crisis, Judaization, NGO Monitor, Palestinian, Rawabi, United Nations