The State Cannot Legislate on Matters of Love

[Violet_Crumble]

Recently Israeli President Moshe Katsav publicly stated that human rights are basic rights and cannot be based on obligations set by the state – in other words, these rights are inherent to being human and cannot be taken away or limited by the state. In Israel where the desire for the security of the state and its citizens is used as a pretext to limit the advancement of human and civil rights both in Israel and the Occupied Territories, this is enlightened thinking coming from the head of state.



The Citizenship and Family Unification Law is a perfect example. No matter where people live in the world, they take their right to marry for granted. It certainly isn’t something to be negotiated with the state.



But the government legislation is causing severe hardship in the lives of people attempting to marry, have children and spend time together by denying citizenship rights to Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza married to Israeli citizens.



In the 18th and 19th centuries, European and North American countries discriminated against the Jewish community and other minority populations and often denied them citizenship on this basis. France became the first country to extend citizenship rights to Jews in 1791.



In a few weeks, the Government of Israel will decide whether to renew the legislation which was passed last year as a temporary law. While under international law Israel is allowed to give preferential treatment to a specific population in cases of citizenship such as the Law of Return, it does not have the right to discriminate against Arab citizens of Israel and Palestinians specifically.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=22&ItemID=5850