Daily Alert Archives

There is No "Right" of Return

(Jerusalem Post) Amnon Rubinstein - Is the State of Israel allowed to act to maintain its Jewish majority and, if so, what measures can it legitimately employ for that purpose? Responsibility for putting the subject on the table rests primarily with the Palestinian leadership, which brought up the right of the descendants of refugees to return to Israel as a main item on the agenda. It is clear that their intention is to flood Israel so that its character (and name) disappear with the creation of an Arab majority in the country. Drowning the Jewish state in an Arab majority means there would be two states for one people, thereby denying the Jewish people its right to self-determination. Israel's Supreme Court justices have already stated explicitly that the meaning of a "Jewish state" includes the existence of a Jewish majority. In a nation state, the national majority has the right to safeguard its existence and the identity of its state. Because of that natural right, special rights are granted to minorities who cannot become majorities and who have the right to defend their culture so they are not assimilated into the majority culture. A nation's right of self-definition must include its right to maintain a democratic majority in its country - and if that is true for all peoples, it is all the truer for the Jews: The national majorities of North Ireland and Cyprus have other states (Britain, Greece) where they can realize their cultural identity and speak their language. The Jews have no other such state except for Israel. Because of that right, international law allows states to discriminate between nationalities when it comes to immigration and acquiring citizenship. That is why the various laws of return of the European countries have not been attacked in the European Court of Human Rights. Israel, therefore, is entitled to object to the "right of return," as opposed to family unification on a humanitarian basis. The Supreme Court offered a fine analogy: The key for entering the Israeli home is held by the Jews, but inside the home there has to be full equality between Jews and Arabs.
2005-03-17 00:00:00
Full Article