Ameinu MEDIA ALERT
New York (December 12, 2016) – “Ameinu, North America’s largest grassroots progressive Zionist movement, categorically rejects the racist and anti-democratic statements of Likud Member of Knesset David Bitan who declared that he would prefer to see Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel not vote in Israeli elections, said Ameinu President Kenneth Bob. “For the Whip of the ruling coalition to express such contempt for both a large segment of the Israeli electorate and for democracy in Israel itself, which in his case is a frequent occurrence, is disqualifying from leadership.”
Ameinu is today the leading activist and educational arm of the American Labor Zionist movement, founded as Poalei Zion in 1903. For more than 113 years our movement has fought to promote and defend the Jewish People’s right to a national home and for that nation to express core values of economic and social justice. The greatest expression of the values that Ameinu and the State of Israel share can be found in Israel’s Declaration of Independence which affirms that:
THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture…
“Ameinu remains true to these founding values – including full equality for all Israeli citizens regardless of background — and believe they should be the guide-post for all legitimate leaders of the Jewish State,” said Ameinu CEO Gideon Aronoff. “MK Bitan has shown utter contempt for these core principles and cannot remain in his position. We call on Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu to demonstrate that he truly regrets his own racist anti-Arab comments from the last Knesset election and immediately fire Bitan from his post.”
Bob concluded, “Ameinu has delivered this message loud and clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu directly by letter. Anything short of dismissal of Bitan will signal agreement with his views and the Prime Minister’s complicity to undermine democracy in Israel.”
For More Information Contact: Gideon Aronoff C.E.O Ameinu gideon@ameinu.net
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