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| Opening Remarks |
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October 2000 & Colonial Law
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| 2007 marks the seventh anniversary of the October 2000 events. As is well known, no indictments have yet been filed against those responsible for the shooting and killing of thirteen young Arab men. The Or Commission decided that the shooting and killing of Israeli citizens was illegal and unwarranted. However, some of the police officers implicated in these crimes are still serving in the police force, and others were promoted in the civil service. It is significant that the Attorney General (AG) filed indictments without delay regarding October 2000 only against Arab citizens: against citizens from Jisr al-Zarqa in the case of the killing of a Jewish citizen; against a father from Sakhnin who attacked a police officer involved in the killing of his son; against the brother of one of the dead youths from Nazareth who said in anger immediately after the issuance of the Or Commission’s recommendations that, “I will kill the police officer who killed my brother”; and against hundreds of young Arab men who demonstrated in October 2000. In the coming weeks, the AG will issue his final recommendations regarding the report of “Mahash” (the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigations Unit) issued in 2005 which found that no indictments should be filed. We do not anticipate these new recommendations to be fair, as someone who has taken no action against the criminals for seven years will take pains to justify his own shortcomings and those of the law enforcement apparatus. Colonial law is characterized essentially by the existence of two law enforcement systems, which articulate domination of the native inhabitants and their low civil status. In the context of October 2000, the rule of Israeli law provides a clear example of colonial law.
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The Association for Arab Youth – "Baladna" and the "Coalition of Youth against Civic Service" Launch Campaign against Proposed New Civic Service Requirement
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