Friday, February 20, 2009

Arabs 'Identify With Our Enemy''


Nissan Ratzlav-Katz Arabs 'Identify With Our Enemy''

Addressing the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Minister of Justice Daniel Friedmann addressed the global outrage against Israel regarding alleged violation of human rights. He pointed to the legal protection of the rights of Israeli Arabs, who identify with their country's enemies, as an indication of the international hypocrisy as regards Israel.
"We always supported human rights but have been accused of human rights violations over the ages. We have to fight those who want to destroy us, and we do it as humanely as possible," Minister Friedmann said, adding:

"International law recognizes that in certain circumstances, innocents can be hurt. If a child is brought in front of a military target, it is still a military target. If you have one soldier trapped in a city, you do not destroy an entire city to get there. The Israeli army has taken every precaution to prevent injury and death to civilians. We are going to great lengths to avoid harm and even endanger our own soldiers to avoid casualties on the other side.

"The terrorists we fight against, however, commit atrocities by using their own people as human shields. This is not just a war crime. But for them, the more killed, the better. They exploit their citizens, hospitals, mosques, schools, UN buildings for storage of ammunition, while the international law protection applies only if an apparatus is used for its intended purpose, and not for terror."

The allegations against Israel, Friedmann said, in and of themselves constituted "a complete abuse of human rights."

On the Status of Arabs and Jews in Israel

Regarding Israel's internal human rights situation, the Justice Minister said, "There is no country in the world treating a minority more liberally than Israel treats the Israeli Arabs. They identify with our enemies, but we take care of them. Imagine if they had done that in another country. They are represented in Parliament. This would not happen anywhere else in the world."

Touching on an issue of concern to many American Jewish organizations, Friedmann said, "There is a dire need for the defense of the rights of non-Orthodox groups to exercise rights, such as making Aliyah and the Law of Return. I hope non-Orthodox Jews like Conservative and Reform will get stronger support."

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