Palestinian Citizens of Israel

During Israel’s establishment (1947-49), approximately 750,000 Palestinians fled their homes and land in fear or were driven out. After the war, around 150,000 Palestinians remained inside of what became Israel’s internationally recognized borders. Today, there are approximately 1.6 million Palestinian citizens of Israel, comprising about 20% of the total Israeli population. Though Palestinian citizens of Israel can vote and participate in political life, they face a web of institutionalized discrimination and exclusion.

Fact Sheets

IMEU

Is Israel an Apartheid State?

The United Nations International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (1973) defines apartheid as "inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them."

on October 4, 2013

IMEU

Lehava: State-Sponsored Incitement

In recent weeks, numerous requests, including from the Israeli police, have been made to Israel's Attorney General to launch a criminal investigation into a group called Lehava, which is dedicated to preventing Jews, particularly Jewish women, from mixing with Palestinians and other non-Jews. The requests come in the wake of a series of violent assaults carried out against Palestinians by Israeli Jews fueled by rumors or the mistaken belief that Jewish women had been harassed by Palestinian men. So far, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has failed to take any action against Lehava, which receives indirect financial and political support from the government.

on September 10, 2012