I can think of no better way to make crystal clear the racism, enforced by laws enacted without the input of the affected population, policy of the Israeli regime than by its building policy in Jerusalem. Racism in Israel is not simply by mere personal prejudice, but it is systematic in law and practice. It is a policy of apartheid, right in the heart of Jerusalem.
The Israeli military is destroying homes of Palestinians in Jerusalem. See the post "House demolitions in Jerusalem continue unabated" of Jan 25.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=124&topic_id=113126&mesg_id=113126 On this day we mourn the loss of a brave Civil Rights leader in the US, I would hope we would not seek to justify such blatant discrimination and racism abroad, policies that are, tragically, subsidized by US tax money.
We should instead celebrate the resistance of Palestinians. The goal of the Israeli regime is to make Palestinian people disappear. Yet they remain. They will not go away. Therefore, building permits or not, they build for their future in their homeland.
http://www.btselem.org/English/Jerusalem/Discriminating_Policy.aspPolicy of discrimination in planning, building and land expropriationPlanning policy in East Jerusalem since its annexation in 1967 is affected by political considerations and infected by systematic discrimination against the Palestinians living there. While extensive building and enormous budget allocations have been the rule in Jewish neighborhoods, the Israeli government has choked development and building for the Palestinian population.
In June 1967, Israel annexed 70,500 dunams <4 dunams = 1 acre> of East Jerusalem and the West Bank and incorporated them within Jerusalem’s borders. From this annexed territory, Israel has expropriated about one-third of the annexed territory – 24,000 dunams – most of it privately-owned Arab property. Israel used this expropriated land for residential construction.
By the end of 2001, 46,978 housing units had been built for Jews on this land, but not one unit for Palestinians, who constitute one-third of the city’s population.At the same time, Israel choked construction in Palestinian neighborhoods, and restricted new construction. Immediately upon annexation of East Jerusalem, and contrary to its actions in the rest of the West Bank, the Jordanian outline plans were nullified, thus creating a planning void that took a long time to fill. In the first decade following annexation, construction was only allowed ad hoc in a few areas in East Jerusalem.
Much land surrounding Palestinian villages and neighborhoods were expropriated to build Jewish neighborhoods, leaving no room for Palestinian construction. <snip>
The consequences of this policy are evident in Palestinian neighborhoods. For example, at the end of 2002, housing density in Arab neighborhoods was almost twice that of Jewish neighborhoods, 11.9 square meters per person compared to 23.8 square meters per person. The existing situation has forced many Palestinians to build homes without first obtaining a building permit. The Jerusalem Municipality enforces the building laws on Palestinians much more stringently than on the Jewish population, even though the number of violations is much higher in the Jewish neighborhoods.
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Above material from B'TSELEM - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories was established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members. It endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel.
http://www.btselem.org/English/