Law of Return: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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Critics claim that the Law of Return runs counter to the claims of a democratic state.<ref>Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations. "UN Economic, Social and Cultural Committee Expresses Grave Concern Over Israel's Discriminatory Practices." [http://www.palestine-un.org/news/may99_cult.html] accessed 2 October 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/0/6d4c59c0007fd772c1256be6004d2fb8?OpenDocument&Click= Press Releases: Occupied Palestinian Territory, The international community is bargaining with the rights of the Palestinians<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

[[Palestinians]] and advocates for [[Palestinian refugee]] rights criticize the Law of Return, which they compare with the Palestinian claim to a [[Palestinian right of return]].<ref>[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2001/8/The%20Law%20of%20Return-%201950 Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Law of Return]</ref> These critics consider the Law, as contrasted against the denial of the right of return, as offensive and as institutionalized [[ethnic discrimination]].<ref>[http://www.adc.org/issue_papers/ror/issuepaper30.PDF return.PDF<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[[Jonathan Cook]]. "Hollow Visions of Palestine's Future." [http://www.antiwar.com/cook/?articleid=10029] November 18, 2006, accessed 23 February 2007.</ref> Israeli counter-arguments are two-fold. First, they argue, Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, just like the French state is the state of the French people. Because Jews have long lived in the diaspora, they are allowed to return to Israel. Palestinians, according to this argument, should return to the nation-state of the Palestinian people, which is Palestine. The second argument deals with the displacement of Palestinians during Israel's War of Independence and the Six Day War. Israel argues that since Arab and other Muslim countries expelled 800,000 Jews, a [[Population exchange#Middle East|population exchange]] took place, just like many population exchanges taking place in that decade such as in the post WWII European states and between India and Pakistan. Any responsibility for the Palestinian refugees, according to this argument, is to be borne by the Arab states which attacked Israel and subsequently received the Palestinian refugees.<ref>[http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-palestinian-wrong-of-return-perpetuating-victimhood/]</ref> Many other nations have ethnically-based laws of return.

===Law of Return as it relates to same-sex relationships===