On May 15th, the day marking Independence Day for Israel, many Arabs within Israel and throughout the world commemorate the Nakba  (the “catastrophe” in Arabic)  when most of the Arab population living within the new-born state were forced to flee in 1948.   Much of this population continues to live as refugees to this day, or as internally displaced persons within Israel. But public commemoration of Israel’s independence as a day of mourning could be penalized  should a bill approved on Sunday by a ministerial panel be brought to the Knesset and cabinet for vote. In a scathing editorial,  Haaretz laments this latest  manifestation of the undemocratic agenda of the Netanyahu-Lieberman cabinet. The Knesset yesterday put Israeli democracy to shame when it passed the “Nakba Law” at first reading with a majority of 15 against … Read entire article »