Find Your Voice About:

APARTHEID


  • Calling Israel an apartheid state is offensive, false, and an insult to the millions of black South Africans and others who have suffered under true apartheid regimes
  • The use of this inaccurate and highly charged label is also counterproductive to resolving issues related to injustices within Israeli society or the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict
  • Apartheid was the South African system under which a small minority of whites subjected the majority black population to severe political, economic, and social discrimination. They could not be citizens, vote, or participate in the government, and they were segregated in every aspect of daily life
  • The accusation of apartheid fundamentally distorts what Israel is:
  • Israel is a multicultural liberal democracy with a legal system that upholds equal rights for all citizens
  • Israel, like every country, has tremendous societal challenges to do better in dealing with issues of institutionalized bias, discrimination, inequity and racism, but choosing to apply the apartheid label would seem to question the legitimacy of the world’s only Jewish state and its continued existence
  • There are safeguards in Israel aimed at ensuring the equal treatment of all citizens, Jewish or Arab, and Israeli laws and democratic institutions, including the independent courts and robust free press, assigned to uphold and speak out for these rights
  • Representing over 20% of Israel’s population, Israeli Arab citizens serve as judges, ambassadors, legislators, journalists, professors, artists and play prominent roles in all aspects of Israeli society
  • Israeli policies in the West Bank and related to the Gaza Strip, are still subject to dispute and negotiation by both Israelis and Palestinians. They are complicated, and, due to the lack of final agreement, there are indeed policies and restrictions – including limitations on movement and access to certain resources that can impose tremendous hardships on Palestinians
  • From an Israeli perspective, such policies are justified by security considerations, given the past and ongoing threats posed by Palestinian terrorist organizations targeting Israeli civilians, even within Israel’s pre-1967 borders. While Israel’s policies and practices can certainly be criticized, it is not factually accurate to say they are akin to a permanent and institutionalized system motivated and designed by racism
Unpacked

Is Israel an Apartheid State?
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The Apartheid Slander
 BICOM

The Apartheid Smear
JewishLivesMatter

Israel an apartheid state?
FactsForPeace

Israel is *not* an apartheid state. Nearly 20% of the population is Arab or Muslim. Here's what they have to say