Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, Dr.Ahmad Tibi, Speaks at LSE

                                                                                             Jay Stoll

The Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, MK Dr Ahmad Tibi, spoke at an LSESU Palestine Society event this evening In Clement House, to an LSE students only event. He was accompanied by the Palestinian Ambassador to the UK.

Dr Tibi is an Arab-Israeli politician and leader of Ta'al, an Arab party in Israel.  He describes himself as Arab-Palestinian in nationality, and Israeli in citizenship. His main focus of his talk was advertised to be on how the Arab Spring had affected discourse and the realities inside of Israel, yet he instead focussed on the political status and discrimination against Arabs living in the country.

The framework of his speech was to describe the Palestinian people as a triangular structure. The base of the triangle are the occupied, the second level is the diaspora and the third is the 48 arabs inside the Green Line. He stated that without the latter, the Palestinian people would cease to be nothing like a political movement. It makes sense, considering his personal experience, that he chose to divulge on this demographic.

First he spoke of their character, stating that "In the personality of every Arab in israel there are two main components - national (part of the Arab nation) and civic component (citizens of Israel). Struggling to strengthen both elements by pushing forwards identity and character to be equal citizens."

Tibi then talked rather more empirically, citing the legislative realities behind his rhetoric on his own citizenship. "At any feat we are not equal - Apart from voting, there is a huge gap between Jewish citizens and Arab citizens"  Mentioning specifically the remits of education, infrastructure, health and agriculture as examples of "pure discrimination",  he noted that despite accounting for 20% of population, Arab-Israelis equate to only 7.5% employees in public sector. 

The next element of Dr. Tibi's speech revolved around the contradictions of the notion of a "Jewish State", a view of which he firmly believed relegated Arab citizens of Israel to a third-class status, "According to basic law, Israel is defined as Jewish and Democratic. Saying there is a pure contradiction between two values. If you are democratic you believe equal rights for all without consideration for ethnicity. But if you are defining state as ethnically jewish, you are directly saying Jews are superior. I cannot accept that. They are demanding us to accept 3rd degree citizenship."

The focus for his anger for the propagation of the 'Jewish State' undoubtedly lay with the "fascists" currently governing the most "racist Knesset of all time". Tibi emphasised the hypocrisy of those guiding citizenship legislation having only lived in the region for 30/40 years. A particular individual focus was placed upon the "chutzpah" of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. "He's talking about Arab citizens to recognise a 'Jewish Israel' to be deemed as loyal. We are indigenous. We did not immigrate. We were born there.He is the immigrant, talking about population transfer.. this is Israeli chutzpah."

The remainder of his talk focussed on Israel as what he perceived to be a democracy by name, but little else. He stated that the "weekly flash of racist laws against Arab minorities" meant that Israel is abiding by three kinds of rules. 

The first rule its preferential democracy for its Jewish population, which works to target Arab citizens through discriminatory laws on land purchase, amongst other things, Tibi labelled it as "an ethnocracy, Judocracy". The second 'rule': Racial Discrimination policy against the 20% Arab population contained in the same policies.The third 'rule'  he described as 'occupation and apartheid since 1967'.

He subsequently shifted his scrutiny to the international community who focus on the only the first 'rule', ergo its treatment of the 80%. The problems with this, he states, is the ignorance of a "massive violation of human rights" that should be punished. However, with a subsequent resignation, he cited the low cost, high profit nature of the Occupation as the reason for "nobody saying nothing". The control of the Jordan Valley, he said, provides almost $1bn in revenue for the Israeli government. 

On closing his address, Tibi focussed on two particular laws that he believed expressed a degree of lunacy in the oppression. One law was "against family unification - an Arab citizen of Israel who is willing to marry a Palestinian woman from the WB is totally forbidden from having her inside his house unless he is willing to leave the country." 

He stated in his capacity as Deputy-Speaker, there had been consecutive appeals against the law to no avail. "The law is being renewed year after year. Only Israel is dealing with love as a conspiracy. This kind of marriage is a real intimidation to security and threat of Israel (sic)" His next example was the 'banning of Palestinian communities from commemorating Nakba'

He then finished on a defiant, personal note. "To say they can stop us commemorating our history - we will not agree. You can bring me to court, law can not change narrative."

Dr Tibi, in full flow, in the Knesset.