A Palestinian citizen in Israel lives as a second-class citizen, denied basic rights.
By Nimer Sultany | The Guardian | May 19, 2021
In the context of Israel’s rule over us, however, coexistence is a fiction that conceals a reality of separate and unequal lives.
On Tuesday, in my hometown of Tira, which is inside Israel’s pre-1967 borders, the shops were closed and the streets were empty. A general strike had been declared in protest over Israel’s policies, whether the ethnic cleansing in Sheikh Jarrah, the storming of al-Aqsa mosque, or the onslaught on Gaza.
As the Palestinian death toll continues to rise, commentators lament the shattering of coexistence inside Israel between Palestinian and Jewish citizens. Yet in my experience as a Palestinian citizen in Israel, no such coexistence existed in the first place. Coexistence implies a background of equality, freedom and mutual respect. In the context of Israel’s rule over us, however, coexistence is a fiction that conceals a reality of separate and unequal lives.
Continue reading “Peaceful coexistence in Israel hasn’t been shattered – it’s always been a myth”
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