“Jewish and Arab MKs exchanged fiery words during a special Knesset hearing on Wednesday to discuss the resettling of Bedouin communities, accusing each other of deliberately thwarting plans to solve the ongoing land ownership crises in Israel’s south. The hearing, led by Likud MK Miri Regev, was interrupted several times by MKs on both sides of the debate, leading to the removal of some participates from the Knesset hall. The “Bill on the Arrangement of Bedouin Settlement in the Negev,” on which debate was held during the hearing, is based on a plan drawn up by former Likud minister Benny Begin………… MK Dov Khenin of Hadash also expressed his concern about the law and said that it sets the stage for the evictions of entire communities on a nationalist basis.………..”

This sounds vaguely but eerily familiar. It evokes a terrible part of history, with words like Lebensraum, Resettlement, etc. Of course I am exaggerating here to make a point: the scale is tiny, the fate of the victims is not as dire, and the issue is being debated openly. But the victims are “selected”, and you see what I mean, or do you?

Cheers
mhg