Jewish Voices

Arabs lose Israeli terror stipend
Families of Israeli Arabs shot dead on a bus in Galilee are
not considered terrorism victims because their killer was
Jewish, the defence ministry says.
Under Israeli law, only attacks by "enemies of Israel" are
considered terrorism, the ministry said.
The ruling means families of the four victims will not be entitled
to the lifelong monthly payments given to Israeli victims of
Palestinian attacks.
The ministry says it has offered them an unspecified one-off
payment.
The Arabs were killed by a 19-year-old Israeli army deserter who
was thought to be trying to derail the evacuation of Jewish
settlements in Gaza.
The architect of the Gaza plan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
called the shooting "a despicable act by a bloodthirsty terrorist".
He is reported to have asked for the Galilee dead to be treated as
terrorism victims - but to have been prevented by the law.
An Israeli Arab member of parliament, Muhammad Barak, said
there was a strong scent of racism about the decision, because it
distinguished between Jewish terrorism and Arab terrorism.
He has submitted an amendment to allow Israel to compensate
anyone hurt in "hostile activities by a terror organisation" - not
just those hurt by "organisations hostile to Israel", Haaretz
reports.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4198754.stm