Published: 4 December 2018
Last updated: 4 March 2024
THE ISRAEL ELECTRIC CORPORATION has announced that it will suspend power cutoffs of delinquent Jewish clients during the eight-day Chanukah holiday in the first week of December. The decision may have been made in good faith and not tinged by racism. It quite possibly may have been designed to enhance the IEC's tarred image.
However, these days, since the passing of the nationality law that provides the state’s Jewish majority with a clear advantage, any differentiation on the basis of religion or ethnicity can be presumed to be motivated by racism.
The IEC's announcement on Thursday said customers “in the Jewish sector” in arrears with payment would be exempt from power cutoffs throughout the Chanukah holiday, also known as the festival of lights.
The power company’s announcement was met with surprise and anger. The nationality law anchors the Jewish nature of the State of Israel and even welcomes the establishment of Jewish-only communities. Has the preferential treatment of Jews spread to such an extent that it favors Jews in enforcing the law?
FULL STORY Legal discrimination in Israel spreads to utilities, local governance (Al-Monitor)
Photo: The logo of the Israel Electric Corporation is seen on a flag next to the Israeli national flag at a power station in Hadera, Israel in 2012 (Amir Cohen/Reuters)
