Dear Editors,
I resented the bias in the AP article, “Leading human rights group calls Israel an ‘apartheid’ state” (Jan. 12, 2021). Based on a mere opinion from one Israel-based pro-Palestinian group that Israel is an “apartheid state,” the AP reporter aggressively claimed to find a “shift in the debate” over Israel’s form of government. The report treated the apartheid accusation as a persuasive theory when it is really an inflammatory lie.
The word “apartheid” described South Africa during a period when the express purpose of its legal system was to segregate its population by race and discriminate in favor of whites. In particular, the government statutorily prohibited blacks from voting, holding public office, living in “whites-only” areas, marrying whites, and attending white schools.
Israel’s Basic Law, like the U.S. Constitution, guarantees equal rights to people of all races, religions, and other traits. The Arab citizens of Israel may vote and hold public office just like the country’s Jews. In fact, the Arab “Joint List” political party commands as many as 15 seats in Israel’s 120-seat Knesset (parliament). Arabs also hold high positions in the nation’s executive and judicial branches. Arabs may live anywhere in the country and marry whomever they want. The percentage of Arab students attending Israeli universities is nearly the same as the percentage of Arabs in Israel.
The Arabs of East Jerusalem could readily gain Israeli citizenship, but most choose to remain “permanent residents” because they refuse to swear allegiance to a Jewish state. Similarly, the Arabs of the West Bank and Gaza express their “resistance” to “Zionism” through the operations of two different Palestinian regimes. The Palestinian Authority governs in the West bank under a charter dedicated to destroying Israel. The charter of Hamas, which rules Gaza, vows to destroy Israel and kill all Jews. In these Palestinian-controlled areas, equal rights among Arabs and Jews would be considered an abomination.
Why is there legal equality between Arabs and Jews in Israel but not the surrounding territories? The reason is not apartheid. It’s antisemitism.