In the Arab world and in the West, Israel is accused of apartheid, that is, of institutionalized discrimination of minorities, similar to the regime that existed in South Africa in the past. Let’s see why it is exactly the opposite, how is the status of the Israeli Arabs better than in any other country and who is responsible in the West Bank and Gaza?
What was the apartheid regime?
The apartheid regime represented an official policy of racial discrimination.
Non-whites were forbidden by law to live in white neighborhoods, to be elected to parliament, the South African citizenship of blacks was revoked, the apartheid government forcibly transferred entire populations of blacks from the big cities to the Bantustans, deporting populations and destroying neighborhoods .
The apartheid regime completely separated whites from non-whites in schools, public transportation , hospitals, movie theaters, beaches, and other public places.
Blacks were not allowed to purchase land or houses in the white neighborhoods, and the law forbade marriages between ethnic groups . Even having sex with a person from another ethnic group was defined as a criminal offense .
What is happening in Israel?
Israeli Arabs:
In the State of Israel the Arab citizens live as citizens with equal rights in everything. They are elected to the Knesset, establish parties, serve as judges (even in the Supreme Court), they are doctors in hospitals, businessmen, students in all universities in Israel, broadcasters and editors in all state and independent media channels, they are stars in the world of entertainment, active in commerce and thus in all areas of life, each as His ability and skills are
Factually, the achievements of Israeli Arabs are much higher than the average achievements of their counterparts in Arab countries and even in the Western world.
It should be noted that the Arab residents, by virtue of being a minority, are favorably discriminated against in several areas – affirmative preference for admission to the academy (as part of the “Deserving of Promotion” program, and in medical studies in particular), as well as affirmative preference in the Civil Service Commission and even enjoy an exemption from the obligation to enlist in the IDF (which grants they have an advantage over their Jewish counterparts). By the way, quite a few Israeli Arabs choose to serve in the army as fighters (especially the Bedouin and Druze in very high percentages).
To the question of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip –
The residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are not part of sovereign Israel. The West Bank and the Gaza Strip are controlled by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
Since 1995, the Arab population in the Palestinian Territories has lived under the sovereignty of an independent Palestinian government. The Palestinian Authority is actually a state with partial sovereignty. The Palestinians have a government, a legal system, representations all over the world, and even Palestinian citizenship.
The Israeli authorities left in their hands the sole control of 60 percent of the West Bank, as well as East Jerusalem
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas authorities perform local government functions and as such are obligated under international human rights law to respect civil, political and other rights.
But Human Rights Watch has extensively documented their failure to respect these rights for years, including systematic arbitrary arrests, and systematic torture of critics and opponents.
Palestinian apartheid
Some will argue that there is a type of apartheid in Judea and Samaria – but it is apartheid by the Palestinian Authority against Christians and Jews. Bethlehem is being emptied of its Christian population, which suffers from acute discrimination.
A Jew is not allowed to purchase land from a Westerner, and the punishment for an Arab who sells land to a Jew is death.
In Ramallah, the law does not prohibit a Jew from entering a movie theater, but in practice he risks his life if he does so
Apartheid in the Middle East:
A review of the Middle East shows a completely opposite picture: religious and ethnic minorities groan under regimes of discrimination and violence across almost the entire Middle East, with the exception of one prominent place: Israel.
The apartheid policy of the Arab countries caused the immigration of about two million Christians from the Middle East in the last twenty years.
In Egypt, Copts suffer discrimination and persecution. Jews and Christians cannot obtain citizenship in Saudi Arabia.
In Jordan, Jews are not allowed to purchase land.
In Saudi Arabia there is apartheid also against women; They are not allowed to drive and vote in municipal elections.
All Arab countries, from Morocco to Iraq, are in fact countries that officially adopt a policy of discrimination against the non-Muslim minorities.
In Sudan, for example, there is apartheid against blacks and Christians. The genocide in Darfur was an extreme and cruel example of ethnic cleansing and apartheid.
Since 1983, more than two million black Sudanese have been deported and murdered by the Arab government of Sudan.
Syria, Iraq and Iran pursue an apartheid policy against the Kurdish people. In 1962, the Syrian government revoked the citizenship of hundreds of thousands of Kurds, and in 2008 expelled the Kurds from what it calls the “Arab strip” of Syria. In the same year, the government also denied the Kurds the right to purchase land.
The Kurds suffer similar discrimination in Iran, not to mention Iraq. In 1988, Saddam Hussein destroyed about 5,000 Kurds with chemical weapons.
If there is one thing that cannot be argued with, it is the facts and the reality that is still in front of our eyes these days.
