A High Court of Justice ruling turning down a left-wing petition against the Citizenship Law has led to an angry response from Israel’s left-wing and Arab parliamentarians. The law empowers the government to regulate and limit reunification of families, setting guidelines for reuniting families including Israeli Arab citizens and residents from the PA (Palestinian Authority). The court voted 6-5 against the petitioners. The Citizenship Law was voted in by the government in 2003 to prevent an influx of Arabs into pre-1967 Green Line Israel.

In the court’s decision, two of the justices wrote that while on the one hand there is the consideration of basic rights and a desire to reunify families, on the other hand “the state is not required to commit suicide”.

The law was originally legislated when it became apparent that a growing number of PA residents were registering as married to Israeli Arab citizens towards gaining a facilitated ability to travel and cross into Green Line Israel as well as other perks. Government officials realized this was becoming a demographic intifada, leading to the law, which outraged the left-wing and Arab community. Another effort was made now to repeal the law, but it failed.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)