June 10, 2008
Translated by Adam Keller
There are some acts for which in retrospect we will not be able to forgive ourselves – moments that will cause us to ask ourselves “how could we have been so stupid? “or “how could we have been so blind?” Then, we will try to suppress our shame and embarrassment by saying that “it was different then” or “everyone thought that way then” – or by coming up with security justifications.
Such moments also exist in the life spans of elected institutions, legislatures, and governments, which, in the heat of the moment, and out of self-righteousness or security hysteria, pass laws or implement policies which are not possible to explain afterward. Such moments also exist within the courts, when they neglect their fundamental duty to uproot any manifestation of racism.
The US Supreme Court experienced such a moment with the Dred Scott Case (1856). That year, the Court decided that black people cannot be citizens and realize rights enshrined in the Constitution because they belong to an inferior race. Another such moment was the notorious Justice Holms ruling (1927) approving a Virginia State law permitting the forced sterilization of retarded people because “three generations of imbeciles are more than enough.”
Israel’s Supreme Court is currently approaching such a moment. Lying on the desks of its judges is the petition submitted by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and by local Palestinians against the Defense Minister’s decision to prohibit Palestinian traffic on the part of Route 443 which winds through the West Bank (Modi’in to Jerusalem); the decision effectively allows only Israelis to travel on the road. In response to the petition, the Defense Minster issued an order to create a network of alternative roads for the Palestinian residents of the area, known as the “Fabric of Life Roads” – all for security reasons, of course.
If words could die of shame, the words “Fabric of Life Roads” would have perished long ago. Route 443 was expanded in the 1980s, through the confiscation of lands from the Palestinian villagers it was built to serve — the same Palestinian villagers who are now prohibited from using it. Today, the State is confiscating additional lands to build attractively- and cynically-named roads for the Palestinians.
“Security” has been used, more than any other word, to justify acts of infamy. This word is like a suitcase with a false bottom, outwardly purporting to have a legitimate objective, but in fact carrying negative, illegal baggage.
On March 3, 2008, the Supreme Court decided not to rule on ACRI’s petition for the time being, but ordered the Defense Minster to report on its progress on the construction of the “Fabric of Life Roads” within six months. At the beginning of June 2008, the Court rejected a Request for Ruling appeal by ACRI to hold a hearing on the subject. In doing so, the court effectively endorsed the Defense Minister’s initial decision, a decision which has brought us past the threshold of Apartheid.
The rolling thunder of the Defense Minister’s decision is so strong that it’s impossible to ignore it. The Supreme Court’s support of the decision serves as its powerful amplifier.
Sometimes, we prefer to become voluntarily blind, and rely on various bodies to make decisions in our place. “It’s a fact,” we tell our conscience. “The judges convened and issued a decision; we are no longer personally responsible.” Silencing our conscience in this way tends to turn into a chronic disease, until eventually even the most heinous of deeds are obscured.
To be sure, the Supreme Court will continue to express its astonishment at individual acts of discrimination (“an Arab was not allowed to enter the water park,” “Ethiopians were not allowed to register their children at a Petach Tikva school”), but will continue to shrug off a systematic and criminal policy carried out officially by the State.
So, what can we do? It is not always viable to trust communal decisions, institutions, or courts. It is possible to travel to Jerusalem on Route 1 only. ACRI should distribute bumper stickers proclaiming, “I don’t travel on Route 443,” and we should not use this road until the decree has been lifted.
