However Servile and
Loyal Israel’s Druze Citizens Are they are Still Arabs and they Cannot Expect Equality with Jews
Ben-Gurion
airport is notorious for racial profiling.
If you are an Arab or Black you can expect to be stopped, harassed and
abused and sometimes assaulted. It goes with the territory. It's what they call ‘security.’
Israel
has always singled out the Druze population for special treatment compared to
the rest of Israel’s Arab population. It is part of the colonial divide and rule tactic. Druze citizens of Israel (not those in the Golan) are drafted to serve in the army and
receive extra benefits and privileges because of this.
That
is why it came as a rude shock to them when Netanyahu pushed through the Jewish
Nation State Law last year which made it clear that however ‘loyal’ they were, Israel
was a state of the Jewish people not its non-Jewish citizens even if they are the worst collaborators.
Being
collaborators and court Arabs made no difference. The simple fact is that however loyal to the
state the Druze are, and many are members of Zionist organisations and parties,
they are still not part of the master race.
At
the April 2019 elections this meant that instead of the Druze voting for Likud
and even further right-Zionist parties, they voted in large numbers for Meretz,
the left-Zionist party. Without this
support Meretz would not have had representatives in the Knesset.
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| Ben Gurion Airport |
Obviously
this was not a situation that could continue. No Zionist party can expect to
rely on non-Jewish votes to remain politically viable so Meretz merged into the
Democratic Camp with right-wing former Labour Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Druze
votes transferred to the Blue and White party and I suspect the Joint List.
There
has been a radicalisation in recent years in the Druze community as it has
become more and more evident that Zionism does not have a place for them.
Ayub Kara,
a very right-wing Druze member of the Likud party, fell out with Netanyahu and
in the recent elections failed to gain a seat in the Knesset.
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| Passport Control |
The
experiences of Reda Mansour, Israel’s Ambassador to Panama, speak volumes about
the contempt and disdain that Israel has for its Arab collaborators. He was treated in the same way as any Arab
would be at Ben-Gurion airport.
However it is his own fault and one should not have sympathy for him. He has to understand, as the spokesperson for the airport made clear, that it is very difficult
for the authorities at Ben-Gurion airport to distinguish between collaborators
and people with principle.
Although
it would be helpful if collaborators carried the Mark of Cain, unfortunately
the Lord is no longer willing to oblige. In any case, most of those who carry
out security work at the Airport are of the view that all Arabs are the same
and that the only good Arab is a dead Arab.
Not being politically sophisticated Zionist liberals, they make no
distinction between the corrupt and servile and leftist activists!
One can
see and understand Reda Mansour’s pain and anger and indeed sympathise. As he says, the town he comes from
‘Isfiya is not a town in the [Palestinian]
territories, but a home to the main military cemetery for fallen Druze soldiers
who died during their service in the Israel Defense Forces."
What
can be more insulting than to treat him as if he was just another Arab living
under Occupation or, even worse, as a Palestinian.
The
reaction of the Israeli Airport Authority’s spokesman, Ofer Lefler, is
priceless. It is difficult to understand
those who accuse security bureaucrats of not having a sense of humour. She said
that the reason for the harassment is that ‘the
security guard is doing everything she can to protect her and the State of
Israel."
The
good Ambassador should know that harassment of Arabs is clearly integral to if
not essential to the security of the Jewish state. Even more amusing is
Lefler’s statement that ‘security checks are performed “regardless of religion, race or gender and equitably.” ‘
Racial
profiling at Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport, not just of Arabs but Black people is
legendary. One must take one’s hat off to an official spokesman with such a droll
sense of humour laced with a biting sense of irony.
Mansour
is of course used by Israel to show that even Arabs can become Ambassadors. Of
course he is Ambassador to the non-state of Panama, which is kind of an
extension to the United States. It is really Trump’s side office and so
although, for purposes of diplomatic niceties Mansour is called an Ambassador in
reality he is little more than an errand boy to Israel’s US Ambassador Ron
Dermer. Britain has an Ambassador (& even a Deputy Ambassador who I once knew!!) to the
Vatican but no one pretends that this is the most sought after diplomatic post.
Tony
Greenstein
i24NEWS
August 03, 2019, 5:28 PM - latest revision August
14, 2019, 12:29 PM
“Thirty
years of humiliation and you still haven't finished,” Mansour
lamented in a Facebook post
Israel's Ambassador to Panama lashed out at Ben Gurion
Airport security via social media on Saturday after he and his family were
abruptly stopped for questioning.
Dr. Reda Mansour, a Druze diplomat who has been working for
Israel's Foreign Ministry for decades, uploaded a lengthy Facebook post
recalling his latest experience including “thirty
years of humiliation” suffered at the transportation hub.
Mansour claims that airport security officials began
questioning him outside the entrance of the building after over hearing he and
his group were from Isfiya, a Druze-majority village located in northern Israel
near Haifa.
Mansour said that one security official began barking out
demands to see their passports and travel destination before letting them onto
the premises.
After security had let them through, Mansour recalled the
conversation he had with his daughter walking to their terminal, who complained
that “It's so upsetting to see how (the security
guard) talked to you while you were smiling the whole time and politely
replying to her!”
Mansur wrote that he finally began going over the incident
while he and his family were traveling through the air.
"During the night,
I thought to myself while on the plane: Go to hell Ben Gurion Airport. 30 years
of humiliation and you are still not done. In the past, you would beat us at
the terminal, today you've progressed to treating us as suspects at the
checkpoint at the entrance [to the airport]."
“Thirty years of
humiliation and you still haven't finished," he continued. "Isfiya is not a town in the [Palestinian]
territories, but a home to the main military cemetery for fallen Druze soldiers
who died during their service in the Israel Defense Forces."
Mansour concluded his post by stating: "I advise that that you take your security
guards and those in charge of their training to visit this cemetery and teach
them about self-sacrifice and respect. Until then, I have only this to tell
you: You make me sick."
In response to Mansour’s Facebook post, Israel Airports
Authority spokesman Ofer Lefler said in a statement that security checks are
performed “regardless of religion, race
or gender and equitably.”
"When
we encounter more than 25 million passengers a year, there will be those who'll
choose to be offended by a security guard who is merely doing her job. Even
before an inquiry had been launched and only from reading the Facebook post, [I
can say] there is nothing wrong with the security guard's conduct."
"My
best friends, as well as your friends and relatives are buried in military
cemeteries. I suggest that the respectable ambassador tell his daughter that
the security guard is doing everything she can to protect her and the State of
Israel," Lefler added.
Israeli Diplomat Says Humiliated by Racial Profiling at Ben-Gurion Airport: 'Makes Me Sick'
Ambassador Reda Mansour, a
Druze, says he and his family were treated as suspects upon arrival at Tel Aviv
airport. Spokesman says 'nothing wrong,'
arguing he 'chose to be offended' Foreign minister 'won't let it happen again'
Aug 04, 2019 6:46 PM
Israel's Ambassador to Panama Reda Mansour, who is
Druze, harshly criticized on Saturday the treatment he and his family received
during an inspection at Ben-Gurion Airport, saying they were humiliated and
treated as suspects by security guards.
Mansour described the incident in a Facebook post, claiming
he was asked to pull over and wait as he arrived at a checkpoint at the airport
entrance, after the security guards were told he and his family came from the Druze-majority
village of Isfiya.
Israeli Ambassador to Panama Reda Mansour.Mfclemos
"During
the night, I thought to myself while on the plane: Go to hell Ben-Gurion Airport. 30 years of humiliation and you are still not done. In the past, you
would beat us at the terminal, today you've progressed to treating us as
suspects at the checkpoint at the entrance [to the airport]," Mansour
wrote.
He added that "Isfiya is not a town in the [Palestinian] territories, but a home to
the main military cemetery for fallen Druze soldiers who died during their
service in the Israel Defense Forces.
"I
advise that that you take your security guards and those in charge of their
training to visit this cemetery and teach them about self-sacrifice and
respect. Until then, I have only this to tell you: You make me sick."
The Israel Airports Authority spokesman was the only
official to respond to Mansour's claims the same day, saying "the security inspection at Ben-Gurion
Airport is carried out regardless of race, religion, and sex. When one meets
more than 25 million passengers a year, there will be those who'll choose to be
offended by a security guard who is merely doing her job. Even before an
inquiry had been launched and only from reading the Facebook post, [I can say]
there is nothing wrong with the security guard's conduct."
"My
best friends, as well as your friends and relatives are buried in military
cemeteries. I suggest that the respectable ambassador tell his daughter that
the security guard is doing everything she can to protect her and the State of
Israel," Lefler added.
Mansour, who was born in Isfiya, is an Israeli
diplomat and poet. He held a number of senior posts in the Foreign Ministry in
addition to publishing poems and prose.
Most Druze men in Israel join the Israeli army, and
the community as a whole has traditionally set itself apart from the general
Arab public in its alliance with the state. However, the Druze minority in
Israel is still
discriminated against in many ways.
Some Israeli lawmakers also commented on the
accusations of racial profiling on Saturday and a groupd of Foreign Ministry
retirees expressed their solidarity with Mansour in a letter published Sunday,
but it was only later on Sunday that the Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin released any statements about
the incident.
Netanyahu said only
he spoke with the ambassador after the incident, adding in a statement that he
has "great appreciation for the way
he represents the State of Israel in Panama."
"The
Druze community is dear to our hearts and we would continue to act in every way
to strengthen the brotherly bond with them," Netanyahu
added.
The Foreign Ministry released a statement saying it
"would examine the incident, in
coordination with Israel Airport Authority and Ambassador Mansour.
"We
believe that the main encounter that takes place between public servants,
including those who are in charge of security, and visitors departing Israel or
arriving in the country must be carried out with professionalism while
maintaining mutual respect," the statement read.
Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz added that he was sorry
for the incident. "I cherish the
work you have done, hug you and your family and the entire Druze
community," he said in a statement.
"I
will act to make sure cases like this will not happen again," Katz
added.
Foreign Ministry retirees wrote a letter supporting
Mansour. "Dear Reda, we've decided
to write to you personally and express our sorrow for the experience you
endured," the letter read.
"We
were appalled by the treatment you, your daughter and the rest of your family
received during the security inspection at Ben Gurion Airport as well as the
condescending statement issued by the Israel Airport Authority spokesperson
following the incident, which ignored your feelings.
"Throughout
the years, we've seen you invest your heart and soul in the representation of
the State of Israel in the world. You are an excellent ambassador and a pride
to all of us. Please express our support to your daughter and the rest of your
family.
"We
are convinced that our friends at the Foreign Ministry will later find the way
to show you their support," the letter said.
Rivlin: 'What matters is that you
felt hurt'
President
Rivlin said Sunday that although he was confident a serious
investigation was underway, "what
matters is what you feel, and if you felt so hurt, then we have to give it due
consideration."
Saluting Mansour's diplomatic work, Rivlin also had a
special thought for the relationship between Jews and Druze in Israel. "The alliance between us and the Druze is an
alliance built in life, not just in death. We need to make sure we keep
building it every day, every hour, and not just in times of crisis and
battle," the president said.
On Saturday, Meretz chairman Nitzan
Horowitz said in a statement that "Ambassador
Mansour is not alone. The Netanyahu regime brands first and second-class
citizens."
Meretz lawmaker Mossi Raz added that "the arbitrary [security] inspections
at Ben-Gurion Airport are the best Hasbara campaign for those opposing Israel
in the world," while fellow party member Tamar Zandberg said "the racist profiling at the airport must
stop. It has nothing to do with security."
