The first factor is the breach in security that such corruption results in. Arabs with Israeli identification cards are generally considered less of a security risk than those without such cards. After all, an Arab willing to admit to Israeli citizenship surely does not see it as the purpose of his life to kill innocent Jews. By selling such cards to Arabs who do not merit them, therefore, the Ministry of the Interior knowingly has been allowing members of the group from which most terrorists emanate to enter Israeli society virtually free of harassment from security authorities, and in more than one case, to commit horrendous acts of terrorism while in Israel's midst.
The second factor is the apparent legality of the whole thing. No Arab can be given an identification card that lists the place of residence as Jerusalem unless they can actually prove such residence. A large part of the reason for this is security, but social registration also comes into play, as does potential voting rights in the upcoming Palestinian elections, voting in Israeli elections, and taxation.
An earlier scandal that rocked the Rabin government, and which has still not been laid to rest, concerned the collaboration between several of Rabin's ministers and the PLO in order to convince Israeli Arabs to vote for Rabin in 1992. It is highly probable that false identification cards enabled more Arabs to vote in 1992 than were legally allowed this privilege. Those cards, sold by the Interior Ministry, lend further credence to those who claim that Rabin's henchmen unfairly bought the election by aligning themselves illegally with the Arabs.
The third factor which directs me to look deeper at this scandal is a recent visit to my home by a Jewish resident of Jerusalem, whom I will call "Boaz". Boaz is a real estate agent in Jerusalem who has been approached quite often in recent months by Arabs wanting to purchase property in Jewish sections of Jerusalem, in all sectors of the city. According to Boaz, most of the property in the Jaffa-King George area of the city is now either owned or rented by such Arabs.
When these Arabs approached Boaz, they told him that they were willing to make him rich very quickly by paying in excess of twice the market value for the properties in question. Boaz refused, claiming that he did not want to be a traitor to his country, but also said that other agents were not as scrupulous. Many, in fact did become quite wealthy engaging in such transactions.
So two questions now come to mind: first, how did the Interior Ministry manage to evade legal probe in the sale of the false identification cards, and second, from where did these Palestinians, most of whom lived in refugee camps, get all the money they used to purchase the properties in question?
Well, the first question by now is simple to answer. The Ministry saw that these Arabs were buying property in Jerusalem, so Jerusalem identification cards were legal for them. After all, property ownership is also registered with the Ministry of the Interior, especially when it involves Arab ownership in Jewish areas or vice-versa. The records were readily available to Ministry officials, and identification cards were quickly expedited in their cases.
The second question begs to be included here, and I will not fail it. While there is as yet no proof to this effect, I would not at all be surprised to find out that the Interior Ministry in fact provided the astronomical funds necessary for the Arabs to purchase Jerusalem property. This would neatly complete the picture. But why? Why would a Ministry of an Israeli government want to help Arabs surreptitiously purchase property in Jewish areas?
To answer this question, I draw the readers' attention to any of a host of articles written over the past three years about the intentions and motives of the Rabin government. I have never held any illusions about these motives. I am not the first to comment that this government was the most anti-Jewish government in Israeli history. The evidence to this effect is overwhelming, in my opinion.
My guess is that the government was knowingly pursuing policies aimed at increasing the Arab population in Jerusalem for a variety of reasons. Major among these are the government's realization that Israel's Jews would not re-elect this government, and the only way to insure re-election was to increase the Arab vote.
Also included, no doubt, is the government's desire to de-Judaize Jerusalem. Is it any wonder, in light of this evidence, that the Israeli government's response to Arafat's speech calling for Holy War for Jerusalem was muted and all but absent? The recent government was never interested in Jewish retention of Jerusalem, just as they were never interested in Jewish retention of Judea and Samaria. They were only interested in preserving their own power, which quite plainly rested on the acquiescence of the Arabs.
Israeli taxpayers should be outraged that this government misused their hard-earned money to provide Arabs with homes in Jerusalem, false identifications, and themselves with more votes. This is not what government is for. A full public inquiry should be launched, and those responsible for such actions, including the Ministers of Interior of the past government, should be arrested and imprisoned for their complicity in such harmful acts. To do anything less would be anti-Zionist.
Copyright 1995. Reproduction in electronic or print formats by permission only.
