An ‘Apartheid’ State

By: Ishaan Patel

Amnesty International has recently released a report that has called the state of Israel an ‘apartheid’ state. It’s a term, that especially in a recent era with the ongoing strife between Israelis and Palestinians in the Levant, has been attributed to the Israeli treatment of Arabs within the state.

However, this term is misused and is an analogy that lacks a clear correlation. While there is no denying that the state of Israel has engaged in discriminatory and oppressive practices towards Arabs, the issue is simply too nuanced to be defined into a clear black and white scenario, unlike Apartheid in South Africa.

The first fallacy of this analogy is that, unlike black people in Apartheid South Africa, Arab-Israelis have clear representation and a voice within the politics and governance of Israel. Arab-Israelis are judges, ambassadors, doctors, and lawyers in Israel, and in fact this year, Arabs have a position within the main coalition of the Knesset and have a true and purposeful role in lawmaking. This is vastly different from the official policy of South Africa at the time; one of ‘separateness’, whereas black south Africans were given zero voice, input, or say in how the country was governed; it was ruled by a white minority, which completely divided the society into two halves; a smaller, prosperous white ruling class; and an impoverished and voiceless black Africans.

In Israel, Arabs can coexist with their Jewish counterparts; there is a mix of different ethnicities, religions, peoples in Israeli occupations and cities. Apartheid, however, was completely split; there were two worlds in South Africa, not one. This is the claim that can be attested by anti-apartheid activists; Benjamin Pogrund, an anti-apartheid activist responded to a 2006 Guardian article accusing Israel of apartheid, remarking on his experience at an Israeli hospital in which Arabs and Israelis worked and treated patients together, saying: ‘What I saw in Hassadah Mt Scopus was inconceivable in South Africa where I spent most of my life, growing up and then working as a journalist specializing in Apartheid. In other words, the accusation of Apartheid is not only an incorrect label towards Arab-Israeli relations but diminishes the lived reality of Apartheid’.

Another policy that many apartheid critics of Israel point to is the restriction of movement between the West Bank, Gaza, and the rest of the country. However, while this policy is flawed, it is also due to legitimate concerns with the rising extremism and radicalization occurring in these territories. Hamas, an ultranationalist organization hellbent on destroying the state of Israel, has gained great popularity and influence in these areas and has been the perpetrator of a multitude of terror attacks, such as suicide bombings, as well as direct attacks on Israel itself. In fact, it was only last year when Hamas rockets were fired directly at Israeli settlements like Tel Aviv(which thanks to the Iron Dome, remained relatively unscathed). Yes, the policy is ugly and messy, however, given the great instability that the region is facing, the context provided shows that this policy is not at all analogous to apartheid practices.

Now, this is not at all to say that Arabs are completely equal in Israel, and no sort of racist, religious, and ethnic discrimination or oppression exists again Arabs in Israel. There are clear, stark differences in poverty, median wage, and education. Arab-Israelis are more likely to be discriminated against, for jobs and opportunities, and the illegal settlement of the West Bank is completely unwarranted and an infringement on the rights of Palestinians.

But, quite simply, the usage of the rem of ‘apartheid’; is one that is factually incorrect and completely mispaints the reality of Palestinian and Arab-Israelis within the state. Are there gaps in education, poverty, and opportunity between Arabs and Israelites? Yes, and this is an issue that needs to be addressed if Israel can truly claim to be a positive and inclusive state that represents all of its inhabitants. But do these disparities directly translate to an intentional system of ‘apartness’?.

The clear answer is No.

References

ADL. “Allegation: Israel Is an Apartheid State.” Anti-Defamation League, https://www.adl.org/resources/glossary-terms/allegation-israel-is-an-apartheid-state. Accessed 21 Mar. 2022.

Montague, Marcus. “Don’t Call What Israel Is Doing Apartheid | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson.” The Harvard Crimson, 27 June 2021, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/6/27/montague-mfuni-apartheid/.

Pogrund, Benjamin. “Opinion | Why Israel Is Nothing Like Apartheid South Africa - The New York Times.” The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos, 31 Mar. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/opinion/why-israel-is-nothing-like-apartheid-south-africa.html.

Robinson, Kali. “What to Know About the Arab Citizens of Israel | Council on Foreign Relations.” Council on Foreign Relations, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-know-about-arab-citizens-israel. Accessed 21 Mar. 2022.

Sabel, Robbie. “The Campaign to Delegitimize Israel with the False Charge of Apartheid.” Jewish Political Studies Review, vol. 23, no. 3/4, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, pp. 18–31, doi:10.2307/41575857. Accessed 21 Mar. 2022.