Every year since 2003, the Israeli Knesset has renewed a “temporary” law banning family reunification. This racist law has kept tens of thousands of Palestinian families apart, and perpetuated “illegal” marriage situations in which one half cannot drive, get healthcare, open a bank account or walk down the street without looking over their shoulder.
This year, mostly due to a fluke of coalition politics, we have a chance to strike down this law. The Fada Coalition, made up of Palestinian Women against Violence, the Palestinian Women’s Coalition for Implementing UNSCR 1325, and the Alternative 1325 Coalition within the Green Line, is pushing for a repeal of the so-called “citizenship law,” and they are planning to protest in front of the Knesset as lawmakers debate the law inside.
While the ruling right-wing parties speak of “security” and “demographics,” members of this coalition are talking about the denial of human rights and the very real damage done to lives of Palestinian men and women separated by a few thin lines drawn on a map in 1948 and 1967.
The Fada Coalition’s statement:
We as women coalitions, per our strong belief in justice and universal human rights values, affirm the demand of those most impacted by this unjust law for its total repeal, and that all attempts aimed at 'improving its conditions,’ or treating women’s rights as a priority compared to other rights, must be rejected, as human rights and the prevention of discrimination are complementary and interdependent, and therefore cannot be separated.
Its members call on the international community to oppose this form of discrimination and pressure the Israeli government to repeal this law once and for all.
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