Israel, since its early beginnings, was built on a racial and religious background. The more than one million of Arabs living now inside the 1948-usurped Palestine, like their brethren of the 1967 occupied territories, live under unbearable and harsh discriminatory conditions. Israel has exploited Arabs there as a tool in its so called fake democracy; an Israeli tailored democracy, which fits but the elite among the Israelis and never any of the Arabs living there, even members of Knesset among them!

We have seen recently scores of humiliation, provocation acts and aggressions by Israeli occupation forces targeting several Arab MPs inside Israel including Mr. al-Tibbi. And Mr. Baraka. The case of Dr. Azmi Bishara, the voice of Palestinian yearning for freedom and justice, remains, however, a testimony to the Israeli on and off so-called democracy. Dr. Bishara, a renowned lecturer of philosophy, intellectual and writer, was prosecuted by the Israelis, just because he was outspoken and courageous enough to time and again reflect and criticize the Israeli new apartheid-like practices and policies against Palestinians. He was indeed a man of humanitarian mission in the interest of bridging the huge gaps at times of social, and political dilemmas. Had Israel been genuinely serious about Mideast peace process, it wouldn’t have stripped the immunity of Mr. Bishara, whose trial has been postponed several times due to its illegality as many law sources indicated.

Dr. Azmi Bishara, has represented the National Democratic Assembly, a progressive political party of Palestinian citizens of Israel, in the Israeli parliament since 1996. On 7 November 2001 the House Committee of the Israeli Knesset voted to lift the parliamentary immunity of Mr. Bishara On 11 November 2001, Attorney General Elyakim Rubenstein, who also serves as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s legal advisor, filed two indictments against Mr. Bishara. The first indictment, which charges Bishara with violating the "Prevention of Terror Ordinance" (1948), concerns two public speeches made. The second indictment, which charges Mr. Bishara with violating Regulation 18(d) of the "Emergency Regulations" (Foreign Travel) (1948), concerns Mr. Bishara's arrangement of humanitarian visits for elderly Palestinian citizens of Israel to reunite with their refugee relatives in Syria.

"The indictments against Dr. Bishara are part of a systematic attempt to intimidate, silence, and de-legitimize the democratic voice of the Palestinian citizens of Israel" said a document posted on Dr. Bishara’s website. Bishara is a vigorous intellectual and a well-known critic of the Israeli state. In numerous writings and public appearances, he has protested that the Israeli state’s self-definition as "Jewish and democratic" is unrealistic and discriminatory. Thus, this is the Israeli democracy, to lift the immunity and prosecute those who dare to criticize!

At one of the court hearings in Bishara’s trial, Attorney Hassan Jabareen, General Director of Adalah, stressed that the preliminary arguments alone provide sufficient grounds for the immediate dismissal of the indictment, which is legally flawed. Mr. Jabareen made the following arguments, as web-posted, Regulation 17(c) of the Emergency Regulations (Foreign Travel) (1948) states that the Regulations, in full, shall not apply to a person in possession of a diplomatic passport or a service passport of the State of Israel. Given that Mr. Bishara has been in possession of a service passport since his election to the Knesset in 1996, prior to organizing the Syria visits, Regulation 17(c) makes it impossible to charge him with a violation of the Emergency Regulations (Foreign Travel). Thus, the indictment fails to state an offense. After making this argument, Mr. Jabareen presented Bishara’s service passport to the Court. Since Regulation 17(c) of the Emergency Regulations (Foreign Travel) exempts an member of parliament who possesses a service passport, the removal of MP Bishara’s immunity was itself invalid, as it was based on incorrect legal information. According to law, the exemption makes an MP immune from prosecution on this charge. Mr. Jabareen noted that the Attorney General did not inform the Knesset of the terms of Regulation 17(c) when he requested and recommended the removal of MP Bishara’s immunity.

Further, Mr. Jabareen added that the prosecutor cannot amend the indictment and/or substitute the existing charge with a different one, because MP Bishara’s immunity was removed only for this specific charge. Should the Attorney General wish to amend the indictment, he will have to go back to the Knesset to seek the removal of MP Bishara’s immunity once again. Article 2A of the Prevention of Infiltration (Offences and Jurisdiction) Law lists places where Israeli citizens are prohibited from traveling under the terms of the Emergency Regulations (Foreign Travel). It has not been amended to reflect changes in Israel’s agreements with other countries. The Article still includes Egypt and Jordan, places to which Israeli citizens can freely travel, as well as East Jerusalem. Therefore, the article is misleading and unclear. Because of this ambiguity, the Attorney General should never have initiated prosecution based on this law.

Attorney Riad Anes, a member of the legal defense team, added that this case is a humanitarian issue, as it relates to relatives meeting after fifty years of separation. Prosecuting the case is itself contradictory to the principles of justice. In such a situation, Mr. Anes stressed, the Court has the authority to dismiss the indictment in the interests of justice. Mr.Bishara said the charges were political, the case designed not to punish him but "to shut up me and other Arab parliamentarians" asserting the humanitarian nature of his statements and moves, "It is like bringing the Red Cross to court." Yes, Mr. Bishara, so it is. Why not? This is Israel, the outlawed garrison state of the 21^st century! Israel breaks every law and norm, violates every international legitimacy resolution; yet it claims itself as the only democracy in this part of the world, if not all over the world!

Mohammad Abdo Al-Ibrahim

Abdo88@ureach.com

Policy  HOME    Golan   News