This
volume of Adalah’s Review opens its pages to an examination of the ways
in which forms of political activity and resistance are criminalized by
the State of Israel, on pretexts of ‘security offenses’ or ‘terror’.
Whereas
the criminal justice system is commonly perceived as being aimed at
removing ‘criminals’ from the general population, it is often exploited
by states in pursuit of other goals. These goals range from general
goals, such as the creation of a compliant citizenry, to more specific
goals, like curbing flows of immigration or repressing ‘undesirable’
groups, for instance, the holders of certain religious or political
beliefs, members of specific ethnic communities, people with particular
sexual preferences, and those suffering from mental illnesses. States
also use criminal laws to restrict the movement of certain populations
within their territories (e.g. the Pass Laws in Apartheid South
Africa), to prohibit interracial marriage (e.g. the anti-miscegenation
laws enforced in Nazi Germany, and in the United States prior to 1967),
and to exclude specific national groups from entering a state (e.g.,
Israel’s Prevention of Infiltration Law of 1954).
One
of the other uses to which Israel puts its criminal justice system is
as a means of removing political acts and expression by Palestinian
citizens of Israel from the sphere of legitimate action, thereby
neutralizing the political dimension of such acts and expression. More...
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Adalah’s Newsletter is a monthly publication issued in Arabic, Hebrew
and English. It highlights Adalah’s main activities, provides analysis
of human rights issues, and links to new reports. Suggestions, articles
and commentaries from our readers are welcome.
