Twofer

Or would you punctuate that "two'fer"? I dunno.

Onefer. What's the deal with Israel discriminating against the Palestinians? Those of you who are perhaps better informed might ask, um, Liz, what planet have you been inhabiting, low these many years? Planet Oblivion, obviously.

But we digress. How, how, how can a people so universally trod upon and discriminated against pass laws like the Civil Wrongs/Civil Torts (Liability of the State) Law and the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law? According to Amnesty International (that's my source for all of this, as no one else seems to be covering it that I can find), under the former law, Palestinians (most assuredly not Jews, though) in the West Bank and Gaza strip have been stripped of their ability to claim compensation from the Israeli government in cases of death, injury or property damage inflicted on them by Israeli armed forces.

So the Israeli army can run roughshod over these Palestinians and there will be no legal recourse, no recompense, no nothing if they do so?

Even more disturbing, though is the Citizenship and Entry into Israel law. This one "bars family unification for Israelis who are married to Palestinian women aged under 25 and to Palestinian men aged under 35" according to AI. Why? "Instead of making it easier for Palestinians who want to get citizenship, we should make the process much more difficult, in order to guarantee Israel's security and a Jewish majority in Israel," said Netanyahu. Sharon chimed in with another statement about the importance of preserving the Jewish nature of Israel.

Guarantee a Jewish majority in Israel. Boy, this kind of rhetoric sounds really familiar. I just can't quite recall in which country it was previously used. WWII Germany does come to mind, though.

Twofer. There's a fabulous op-ed in the NYT today about French Family Values. Boils down to less work time, less money, better health care, better education, and more time with your family. Would you like some freedom fries with your crow, Republicans?

Until tomorrow,
Liz