Ben Heller Week 3- Amnesty International Report on Israeli Apartheid
Week 3- Amnesty International Report on Israel Apartheid
Ben Heller
February 6, 2022
Recently, on February 1, 2022, Amnesty International, an international agglomeration of human rights advocators, deemed Israel an Apartheid state in a 280 page report. Following this allegation, multiple Jewish groups and social media creators have emerged decrying the report and its assessment of the situation between Israel and its treatment of Palestineans.
The first claim laid in Israel’s Apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime against Humanity is that Palestineans are treated as an inferior racial group. This is due to Israeli segregation, dispossession, and exclusion across all territories of Israel. The first such example given by the report is that in 2018, when there were protests in Gaza over the right of return and the trade embargo, Israeli security forces used disproportionate force on protestors that “killed 214 civilians, including 46 children”. AI suggests that an arms and munitions embargo be placed on Israel to punish the “thousands of Palestinian civilians who have been unlawfully killed by Israeli forces”. The report also maintains that since the annexation of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, successive Israeli governments have allowed the problem to worsen, favoring Israeli Jewish settlers over Palestineans living in the territory. This accompanies the fact that Israeli settlers have freedom of movement in the territories, whilst Palestineans living in occupied territories must carry around ID cards and stop at all checkpoints within and without the territories in order to work. Additionally, the 700km border fence, or “apartheid wall”, as many Palestineans call it, has been the subject of a number of abuses by Israeli security forces. Amnesty attempts to put into context this situation by reminding the reader about genuine Israeli security concerns, but also says of Israeli security measures that “they have been implemented in a grossly disproportionate and discriminatory way which fails to comply with international law. Other policies have absolutely no reasonable basis in security, and are clearly shaped by the intent to oppress and dominate”.
For Amnesty International, there is a clear way forward. First, trade and munitions embargoes must be placed on Israel by the UN. For these embargoes to be lifted, Israel must grant all Palestineans (even those in occupied territories) nothing less than full citizenship. The state must also honor the Palestinean right of return, which AI claims that Israel treats with flagrant disregard. Additionally, there must be freedom of movement, and Palestineans must be given equal rights to Israeli Jews. It is worthy to mention that AI “does not challenge Israel’s desire to be a home for Jews. Similarly, it does not consider that Israel labelling itself a “Jewish state” in itself indicates an intention to oppress and dominate”.
The report has multiple implications for Zionists. This scathing report follows a string of other from Human Rights Council and B’Tzelem, accusing Israel of the same crime of Apartheid. Many times, when confronted with this accusation, we give a regurgitated answer that Israelis and Paelstineans don’t come in one specific race, therefore it cannot be apartheid by definition. This, though, does nothing to sway hearts and minds. We have to have the hard conversations if Zionism is to survive in a world where Israel is put under a microscope. Do we show non-Zionists Israelis arabs enjoying equal rights in Israel? Do we acknowledge that Palestineans in occupied territories aren’t guaranteed equal rights in area C under Israeli rule in the West Bank? Do we acknowledge that Israel is the larger force when it comes to conflicts between Israelis and Palestineans? What do you think about the report? Is Israel an Apartheid state, a completely free and democratic state (including territories)? Or is Israel somewhere in the middle, working its way to find an amicable solution to an impossible problem?
Source: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/israels-apartheid-against-palestinians-a-cruel-system-of-domination-and-a-crime-against-humanity/
The Palestinian narrative of the situation is so believable even when it is not the truth. Israel is not an apartheid state because the arabs have the same rights and representation as the Israelis. However, in a Jewish state, the Jewish people have to make up the majority of the population. The news reports try to hide the fact that area C was worked out between the Israelis and Palestinians. The relationship is not great, but no people in one country get along smoothly. Israel has to do what she can to defend herself, hence why it is called the Israel Defense Force.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Ariella. Israel is trying to do what it can do to defend itself and is not an apartheid state. Many of Israel’s issues involve military involvement, but I don't think that they have approached anything in the wrong way.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who calls Israel an apartheid state is unaware of what Israel actually is and what they do. As Hannah said, Israel is just trying to defend herself. Of course Israel has made mistakes in the military, but on a whole, Israel approaches conflict in as much of a fair way as possible.
ReplyDelete