Extending Israeli Law to Judea and Samaria: the “Civil Law”

26 Nisan 5776

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Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day,

will begin in two hours–at 8 pm Israel time. 

 

UPDATES 6:00 pm Israel time:

…Palestinian terrorism so far today…

*Less than two days after PM Netanyahu stood on the Gaza Border and crowed about how “stable” the situation was, Hamas has launched three mortar attacks against IDF soldiers near Nahal Oz.

The attacks have taken place throughout the day beginning at about 9:40 am this morning.

*In addition to the mortar fire, there have been more than 20 “rock” attacks at such places as Neria, Qalandiya, the Old City of Jerusalem, Yatma, Zeit, and Qalqilya.

…Palestinian terrorism yesterday…

*At 6:58 pm, three IDF soldiers were run over near the Jewish community of Dolev. One soldier remains in “grave” condition at this hour–sedated and on a respirator. The other two soldiers are hospitalized in “moderate condition. The terrorist who carried out the attack was shot and killed.

*The flood of “rock” attacks continued at Nazareth, Hawara, Salem, Issawiya, Silwan, the Mt. of Olives, Shuafat, Beit Ummar, Beit El, Dura, Shechem, and Seit Attil. Israelis were physically wounded (Hawara), and emotionally traumatized (numerous locations). There was significant damage to the Jerusalem Light Rail Train (Shuafat), buses (Beit Ummar, Nazareth), and cars (numerous locations).

…Joshua’s Day…

10,000 Jews entered Kifi Haris overnight to pray at the grave of Joshua–in celebration of Joshua’s Day.

Belonging to the tribe of Ephraim, Joshua is revered for transmitting the Oral Law from Moses directly to the elders of Israel, succeeding Moses, and leading the Israelites in battle against the tribes of Canaan.

TODAY’S BLOG:

Two days ago, speaking before the Legal Forum for the land of Israel, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked announced that she is going to personally push for approval of the “Civil Law”–which was first proposed back in 2014, but was never approved by the Knesset:

“As Justice Minister I’m giving this matter priority and will dedicate resources to it so that we will have a genuinely equal legislative process.”

You might be asking yourself “What is the Civil Law?” and “Why is it important?”

Let’s begin by giving some context.

As you may or may not know, dear reader, the legal situation in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem is complex. 

After the 1967 war, Israel did not immediately apply Israeli law over the territory that was captured. Instead, a military governorship was established. That governor (who also heads the IDF Central Command) was empowered to issue military directives related to all aspects of civilian life. These directives applied to all residents–both Israelis and Palestinians.

Why didn’t Israel apply Israeli law over Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem?

For a number of reasons, including:

(1) Israel succumbed to political correctness; international entities were already condemning the country for capturing the territories–to apply Israeli law would have been tantamount to annexation and immediate condemnation;

(2) at the time, relatively few Jews actually lived in those territories; there was the feeling that laws administered by a military governor, working in conjunction with existing Jordanian laws and Turkish traditions dating back to the Ottoman occupation of the territory, would be better received by the Palestinian population as well as the international community.

However in 1980, the situation dramatically changed when the Israel Knesset passed a Basic Law declaring that all of Jerusalem, east and west, is the eternal capital of Israel. This law redrew Jerusalem’s municipal boundary and extended Israeli law to eastern Jerusalem. Jews and Arabs living in this area were immediately given civil legal rights the same as those living in Israel proper. These rights included considerations in regard to such things as maternity leave, labor rights, environmental concerns, and commerce.

But these civil rights have never been extended to Judea and Samaria.

Enter the “Civil Law” which would begin the process of extending Israeli law to Judea and Samaria. It would extend Israeli civil law to anyone–Palestinian or Jew–who is working for an Israeli business in Judea and Samaria. As Shaked pointed out in her speech:

“What we’re trying to do is to make the process more orderly. At the end of the day, hundreds of thousands of people live there, and just like you can’t fire a woman for being pregnant in Israel, that should also apply to women in Judea and Samaria. . . this law would apply in the same way to Palestinian women employed by Israeli businesses.” 

Your humble servant has long advocated approval of the Civil Law and earnestly hopes it will be more successful in the Knesset this time around. However, knowing how PM Netanyahu is prone to kowtowing to the international community–and knowing that no bill gets through the Knesset without Netanyahu’s approval, I am not holding my breath until the bill passes.