Israel apartheid week
According to Lucy Owen, Israel Apartheid week at the University of Toronto is a program at the University of Toronto.
The Arab students assert that Israel is a racist, apartheid state, where the basic human rights of Palestinians are routinely denied. The Arabs allege Palestinians were ethnically cleansed when the state of Israel was established and all of their descendents thereafter have a “right to return”, and that a two-state solution is unacceptable. Their logo, a map of Israel and the Palestinian territories reads “One state, One person, One vote”.
(I’ve noticed that Oxford also has an Israel Apartheid week.)
In other words, the term apartheid is used not as a criticism of Israel but as a declaration of its illegitimacy.
South African blogger, It’s Almost Supernatural quotes someone who knows what apartheid is and rejects the comparison, South African President Mbeki:
As South Africans and activists of the ANC we knew without doubt that we had to attend Yitzhak Rabin’s funeral. This was because we too, like him, had understood, when the moment came, that the weapons of war we had taken up to attain our freedom and peace could turn into deadly instruments for the destruction of our people’s hopes for freedom and peace.
Earlier this month the Guardian featured a two part article making the claim that Israel is an Apartheid state. (HonestReporting has links to the article and commentary.) However it followed up the sin by publishing an article by Benjamin Pogrund, ‘Why depict Israel as a chamber of horrors like no other in the world?’. (h/t Daled Amos, Crossing the Rubicon2, Smooth Stone) Pogrund argues
Is Israel so different from other countries that struggle to come to terms with their minority groups? Why depict this country as a chamber of horrors like no other in the world?The glass is indeed half-full. In South Africa, change for the better was simply not possible: the apartheid system had to be eradicated. In contrast, change is possible in Israel. An accusation by a member of the Knesset, Ahmed Tibi, who is Arab, that the central Bank of Israel had a discriminatory employment policy with no Arabs among its 800 staffers, drew the assurance from the bank’s then governor that tenders would be advertised in the Arab-language press. He added: “Bank of Israel hires according to criteria of merit, and ignores differences in religion, sex, race or nationality.” Tibi also complained that the state monopoly Israel Electric did not employ Arabs; a start has since been made with the hiring of six Arabs. There is continual progress: the evidence is there if you want to see it. The first Arab was appointed to the high court of justice two years ago. Last year, for the first time, an Arab was appointed director-general of a government ministry.
There is a lot to disagree with in Pogrund’s article, but his central point is that Apartheid is illegitimate. It is something that I shouldn’t have to argue, but too many people throw around the word “Apartheid” when writing about Israel not caring about its implication.
If someone calls Israel an Apartheid state or says that Israel has Apartheid policies he is helping Israel’s enemies. He is saying that Israel is illegitimate. He is anti-Israel.
Further there’s nothing noble about someone who professes such a view. The best you can say about such a person is that he’s naive.
Technorati tags: apartheid, Israel.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.
