Wednesday, March 21, 2012

ME:JEWISH. you: palestinian

Me: Jewish, You: Palestinian

If I had been born Jewish in South America, the US, Africa, or any nation of the world I would be an automatic citizen of Israel with all rights contained therein.
You, had you been born Palestinian in the West Bank or Gaza, could never have citizenship in Israel, nor could you travel in Israel without a special permit. You could not fly out of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, but you would have to travel to Jordan to fly internationally.

I would travel throughout Israel and Palestine on new, 4-lane highways specifically designed to make sure I do not see Palestinian villages, but which go directly to all settlements and to all major cities. All roads are protected by either the wall or electronic fences so no undesirable person could get onto them.
You would only travel over Palestinian roads, all in poor repair, many with enough water in huge potholes to swallow up a Volkswagen. You could not take your car into Israel even if you had a pass. You could go, but the car cannot. You are prohibited from being on Israeli roads. It will take you much longer than it used to because now you can only take the back roads as the newer roads have been declared Israeli only.

I would have proper plumbing that allows me to throw toilet paper into the toilet.
You would have to put used toilet paper into a bin next to the toilet, and if you failed to do so the toilet would back up unmercifully.

I could repair my roof, add a room to my house, and go onto the roof as I wish.
You can do nothing without a permit, and permits are not approved in area B or C. If you happen to live in area A you can apply for a permit and it may be granted. If you lived in area C you could not even repair a broken window, and if you went up on your roof you might have soldiers shooting at you.

I can marry anyone I want and bring that person with me to Israel and they will also be granted citizenship.
If you lived in one of several of the smaller villages, if you marry someone from another village (which you will want to do because you are related to everyone in your village) your new spouse will not be able to enter your village.

I could tear out your olive trees and plant cabbage. The court might order that the cabbage be removed, but every time you plant anything on your own land I can tear it up without having any consequences. And as I get funding from the US, I can plant over your crops until you give up.
Your crops will be in danger of being polluted by my sewage which runs down the hill and into your land. Then, because you cannot plant, I will declare your land to be untended and can legally take it from you. When we get into planting wars you will lose lots of your own money continually buying new plants. You can go to court every time and while you will win, I can bankrupt you after a few cases in court.

I can travel wherever I want whenever I want.
You will have to pass through checkpoints where you will show your ID and fingerprints, you will go through a metal detector, and depending n the time of day it might take you up to 2 hours to get to the other side. Your hours inside Israeli territory will be limited as per your particular pass. Once on the other side you are limited to public transportation. Your children will never see the Mediterranean Sea, cannot travel to Haifa or any other part of Israel, and you may be denied the opportunity to pray in one of your holy places at certain times of the year.

All of my holidays are observed nationally.
Your holidays are not observed unless they coincide with my holidays, and often the checkpoints will be closed on my holidays so you cannot get to work or go through for any reason at all.

I have the freedom to vote, to be protected by soldiers wherever I go, and to due process.
You can vote in Palestinian elections, soldiers will always protect the Israeli, and in any situation you are likely to be detained for weeks or months without formal charges being made. If you are a male you are likely to spend time in jail before you reach adulthood. Your family will have to pay the cost of food and housing while you are in jail. That money will have to be paid before you can be released.

Which would you rather be?

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