Israel is a state that is committed to equality in its Declaration of Independence to its Palestinian Israeli residents, whilst such equality is overall still lacking in daily life, and remains an issue Meretz Israel continuously lobbies on.
We at Meretz
UK support an Israel that is bound by Law, including International Law,
respect for civil rights and the best attempts of achieving open
peaceful discourse with its neighbours, be they Palestinian, Lebanese,
Syrian or Iranian, or any other. We and our sister organisations
around the world have always maintained that the West Bank and Gaza are
the basis of a Palestinian stateas proposed in the Road Map to Peace and the Two State solution, and that Jewish settlements within are an obstacle to peace.
We feel that Israel is obligated to consider the Goldstone report with due respect through an independent enquiry into the events of the war in Gaza 2009.
We feel that over the last decade the New Israel Fund, now led by a former Meretz member of Knesset and deputy speaker, Naomi Chazan, represents our interests and of all those who believe in a civil Israeli society . In contrast to Im Tirzu the group who wishes to defame the NIF, we wish to stress that the NIF and Naomi Chazan in particular, have acted within their right to express their beliefs openly in a democratic society like Israel.
Who are Im Tirzu to attempt to gag these respectable people and organisations? Im Tirzu are entitled to their own views but NOT to censor other legally expressed opinions.
There area many organisations and individuals within Israel and abroad who have supported expansionist settlements and policies of dispossessing Palestinians, causes that Meretz UK object to, but they are unimpeded, especially under the current ultra right wing coalition government of Israel.
It
is on these grounds that we strongly encourage our members and friends
in Britain to continue to support the New Israel Fund and join them, Meretz
UK and other progressive organisations in our combined mission to
strengthen all corresponding groups that daily defend human rights,
civil rights, equality and meaningful engagement for peace.
Meretz UK
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