Racism pervades nearly every level of Israeli society - from the private to the public sphere, from the legislature to the judiciary. But it is the structural discrimination within the Israeli legal system which provides the foundation for an institutionalized bias which precludes Palestinians in Israel from enjoying their full civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. There are, in fact, more than 20 discriminatory laws affecting the lives of Palestinians citizens of the State.

Constitutional Equality

There is no provision in Israeli law for the concept of constitutional equality. It is absent from The Basic Law: Human Dignity and Freedom, which since 1992 has served as Israel's constitutional bill of rights. The legislature has showed a concern for the equal rights of other minorities - statutory laws exist which protect the rights of women and the disabled - but no statute exists which protects the Palestinian minority from discrimination.

Military Service

The government uses military service as a requirement for various public benefits. As the vast majority of Palestinian Arabs do not serve in the Israeli military, this requirement camouflages a racist policy which limits the ability of many Palestinian Arabs to receive housing loans, preferences in public employment, and financial aid for university study. Yeshiva students, who are granted exemptions when requested, nonetheless receive some of these benefits due to the "traditional place of Torah study in Jewish heritage."

Citizenship Rights

The Israeli Law of Return grants oleh status - automatic citizenship and financial government benefits - to any Jew looking to immigrate to Israel, to his/her spouse, children, grandchildren, and their respective spouses. Palestinian Arab refugees who were expelled from their land and homes in 1948 are not granted the right of return and are not entitled to citizenship or residency status. Even spouses of Palestinian Arab citizens can only gain citizenship or residency status through complicated and exhausting legal procedures.

Political Participation

Election to the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) is limited by 2 laws which require political parties to accept the notion of Israel as a Jewish state. In practice, these laws dictate that a political party calling for full and complete equality of the Palestinian Arab community in Israel may be disqualified. In order to become a member of the Parliament, a Palestinian politician is forced to essentially negate his/her own identity and entitlement to equal rights.

Special Status for Jewish Organizations

Under the World Zionist Organization - Jewish Agency Law, major Jewish and Zionist organizations are granted special status as quasi-governmental bodies. These organizations manage land, housing and service provision and serve the Jewish population almost exclusively. As no non-Jewish organizations are granted similar status, this yields a shamefully lower quality of life for the Palestinian Arab community.

Budget/Resource Allocations

From land allocation to health care provision and education, government budget and resource allocations are consistently greater for Jewish citizens than for Palestinian citizens. For example, only 6.7% of the 2000 inter-urban road building budget was allocated to the Arab sector. Another example can be found in "national development areas" - areas targeted by the government to receive special economic incentives - which are drawn in a way so as to exclude Arab populations.