I saw this great write up on Dawg's blog: "Israeli apartheid: calumny or reality?" I wanted to leave a comment, but I could not. For some settings on my computer I am unable to leave a comment on many haloscan type settings so I have given up.
I do wish to point out that I agree with Dawg's reasoning. As a matter of fact, some observers have indicated that conditions in Palestinians areas, especially Gaza, are worse than they were in Apartheid South Africa because blacks in South Africa were at least able to work and earn their living. In Gaza, even that is hard to come by. There is simply too much to read and it is plain heart-wrenching. That we in Canada and the US support such apartheid is simply incredible – by "we" I mean our governments because the public in general, when they are aware of these apartheid conditions, will not support them.
Below is a video which speaks volumes. These are Australian folks who are opposed to this apartheid.
ISRAEL'S APARTHEID WALL
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ReplyDeleteSouth African Apartheid was fundamentally about race and a belief in white superiority. It was a strategically designed policy that stripped black, Asian, and mixed-race South Africans of their citizenship and civil rights with a view to gradually excluding those groups from society. The Palestinian situation has a very different origin. Calling Israel’s occupation of Gaza an “apartheid” at once trivializes the experiences of those who actually lived under South African apartheid policies, and misrepresents the complexity of the current situation in Israel and the occupied territories. In the West Bank, Palestinians arrived from Jordan, and in Gaza, they were stateless peoples living under Egyptian occupation. After the Six-Day War, they found themselves living under Israeli occupation. Israel's treatment of the Palestinians is not premised on an official policy of Jewish superiority and the progressive marginalisation of Arab peoples. It’s about preserving the security of the state from those who seek to destroy it. Israel has accepted the necessity of a two-state solution, but when it withdrew from Gaza, Gaza armed itself and promptly began raining missiles down on Israeli settlements. Sure, we need peace, but calling the situation an “Israeli apartheid” only divides people through vilification rather than unites them for peace.
ReplyDeleteDr. Dawg, thank you.
ReplyDeleteGPC, although I understand the different nature of apartheid in South Africa but there are a lot of similarities when it comes to violation of human rights. Slaughter of women and children is not defence of a country. When 1.5 million people find themselves as prisoners: with little food, unsanitary conditions, no shelter, then I do not know what you call it.
Well, there are plenty of ways to characterize the tragic situation. How about "war"? And, actually, and more precisely, a closer model to South African apartheid is right here in North America. In terms of governance, constitutional status, gradual encroachment and location, and socio-economic advancement, the historical relationship between North America's First Nations and both Canada and the United States more resembles the development of South African apartheid than does the situation in the Middle East. In other words, Canada and the US are far more guilty of apartheid-like policies than Israel is.
ReplyDeleteI do not disagree with the situation of natives in US and Canada. Lot more can be done to right the wrong.
ReplyDeleteHowever, on Israel/Gaza you need to read a lot more. It is one of the worst human rights violations in human history.
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ReplyDeleteIndeed. But this is not "apartheid." I think naming things properly is a good way to start fixing them properly.
ReplyDeleteGaza is not occupied by Israel. It is run by Hamas, so they are responsible for the condition the Palestinian live in.
ReplyDeleteIt is Israel duty to protect its citizens from terror attacks. If Hamas stops shooting missiles into Israeli towns and releases Shalit, there would be no reason for a blockade.
Apartheid? -the blacks in S. Africa were citizens of S.A. with no rights.
The arab citizens within Israel are equal citizens.The difference between the current Israeli situation and apartheid South Africa is emphasised at a very human level: Jewish and Arab babies are born in the same delivery room, with the same facilities, attended by the same doctors and nurses, with the mothers recovering in adjoining beds in a ward.
Arab Israelis can vote. S.Africa blacks could not.
Your post is of one-sided attacks on Israel.You do not say anything about Hamas daily terror attacks on Israeli civilians.
Over the past four years, Palestinian terrorists – in particular, Hamas and Islamic Jihad – have fired more than 2,000 missiles at civilian area inside Israel , which is home to mostly poor and working-class people.
Your video showing the "wall"...
ReplyDeleteRemember all the suicide bombers blowing up malls, schools and restaurantes?- that is why Israel built the wall.
The Palestinians must stop the terror and choose peace.
JR, may be it is not apartheid. It is worse than apartheid. See my next post.
ReplyDelete