"Obadia asserts that Palestinian citizens of Israel have “the same inalienable rights as Jews.” In fact, Israel does not have a constitution, and instead operates on a number of “basic laws.” The absence of a constitution allows Israel to employ laws that are preferential to Israeli Jews and discriminatory towards Palestinian citizens of Israel, who are restricted in every aspect of life - immigration, employment, housing, healthcare, and family reunification."
Re: “Happy 75th Israel!”
April 26, 2023
Jonathan Obadia’s letter to the editor “Happy 75th Israel!” is riddled with falsehoods and factual inaccuracies. His claim that Canadian Jews were being harassed in Montreal by “hateful thugs” who screamed chants like “dirty Jews” and “death to Jews” is completely untrue. Obadia asserts that Palestinian citizens of Israel have “the same inalienable rights as Jews.” In fact, Israel does not have a constitution, and instead operates on a number of “basic laws.” The absence of a constitution allows Israel to employ laws that are preferential to Israeli Jews and discriminatory towards Palestinian citizens of Israel, who are restricted in every aspect of life - immigration, employment, housing, healthcare, and family reunification. Obadia’s disregard of Israel’s apartheid system and oppression of Palestinians is unsurprising but does not detract from reality and the consensus opinion of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UN experts, and Israeli and Palestinian NGOs.
Tayla Shair,
Montreal, QC, H4H 1V7
613-315-7947