Weekly Commentary: B'Tstelem Drops The Mask By Opposing Law of Return
Dr. Aaron Lerner 24 January 2021

"Any Jew in the world and his or her children, grandchildren and spouses are
entitled to immigrate to Israel at any time and receive Israeli citizenship,
with all of its associated rights....The Nation State Basic Law, enacted in
2018...establishes that distinguishing Jews in Israel (and throughout the
world) from non-Jews is fundamental and legitimate."

B'Tselem - A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the
Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid
12 January 2021

Days before the Biden Administration was sworn in, B'Tselem dropped all
pretense and openly proclaimed that they oppose the Law of Return as part of
"apartheid" as it establishes the special right for Jews to immigrate to
Israel.

B'Tselem then went on to deride the 2018 Nation State Basic Law because it
extends Basic Law protection from Supreme Court action against the special
treatment of Jews in The Law of Return.

This is useful because it serves to clear the air.

The true purpose of The Nation State Basic Law is indeed to protect The Law
of Return from possible future Supreme Court action.

And when Israeli Arab politicians say that this law violates their equal
rights any reporter who makes the effort to delve further will learn that
the "equal rights" they have in mind is Israel either dropping the Law of
Return or, alternatively, extending the Law of Return to apply to any Arab
overseas who is a descendent of someone who resided in the area for any
period of time from the 1917 Balfour Declaration to 1948.

I have no illusions. B'Tselem is hardly alone among left wingers who oppose
the right of Jews to immigrate to Israel.

But making it clear that the Law of Return is, indeed a core, if not THE
core issue, puts The Nation State Basic Law controversy into its true
context.

I am not going to argue here the legitimacy of the Law of Return by the same
token that I am not about to engage in a debate over the the legitimacy of
the existence of the State of Israel.

I would only note that the Law of Return is, by definition, not a "racist
law". After all, the Law of Return applies to an Eskimo who converts to
Judaism just as it does to someone who can trace his ancestry to King David.

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