The Apartheid Myth

Palestinians, Israel, and Apartheid

I had a doctor’s appointment in Jerusalem this morning with a Muslim doctor, and while riding on the bus, I thought to myself: Israel has the diversity, equity, and inclusion that many societies dream of. I looked around and saw Muslim women in hijabs board a bus with Charedi Jewish men and black Ethiopian immigrants. The bus was driven by an Israeli Arab. Israel did not create apartheid; apartheid South Africa created that system, and using it to label Israel an apartheid state is an insult to the real victims of apartheid. Apartheid was the systematic separation of races based on Afrikaner nationalism. Black South Africans were restricted in where they could live, they had to carry a special pass to enter white neighborhoods, and they were treated as second-class citizens. Black South Africans could serve in the military, but with great restrictions, and their employment in the police force was also subject to great restrictions and discrimination. Those forces, which were tasked with upholding the apartheid system, systematically abused, murdered, and tortured black South Africans.

Sam Nzima, Soweto South Africa, June 16, 1976

On June 16, 1976, Hector Pieterson, a 12-year-old African boy, was gunned down by white police in the South African township of Soweto. His only crime was that he was classified as “black” by the racist South African government. The image of the boy, fatally wounded in the hands of Mbuyisa Makhubo, with his sister running beside him, sent shockwaves around the globe and became the defining image of apartheid. The students were protesting the fact that the white racist government was forcing them to learn subjects such as geography and mathematics in Afrikaans.

Contrast that with the State of Israel. Arab children in Israel can attend state-funded Arabic-language schools where Arabic is encouraged. Arab Israelis can own land just like Jews and can live in Jewish neighborhoods. Arab Israelis are free to legally live and work in Judea and Samaria and even serve as doctors employed by Israeli insurance companies in so-called settlements. Israel observes Friday as the first day of the weekend, which is the holy day for Muslims. Arab Israelis can openly serve in the police and military and hold senior positions. In addition, Arab Israelis also serve in the judiciary. They have unrestricted employment in the civil service, and there are laws that ban discrimination. In fact, Arab Israelis are often allowed to enter areas that are strictly forbidden to Jewish Israelis.

Now let’s compare this to the Palestinian Authority. Since its creation in 1994 by the Oslo Accords, the Palestinians have had two presidential and two parliamentary elections. Mahmoud Abbas, or Abu Mazen, depending on which identity he identifies with today, was “elected” in 2005 and has been in power with absolute power for 21 years.

In the Palestinian-controlled territories, there are no Jewish doctors employed, Jews are not allowed to participate in elections, Jews are not allowed to own property, no shuls exist, gays are murdered, women are abused, and the general population has been so radicalized that Hamas is now the most popular faction. There are no Jewish taxi drivers, no Jewish bus drivers, and certainly no Jews in their so-called parliament.

The last parliamentary election was held in 2006, and Hamas won a majority, but the parliament is not functioning, and Mahmoud Abbas has governed by decree for years without a functioning parliament. So the next time someone calls Israel an apartheid state, you should be able to set the record straight. The only people practicing apartheid are the Palestinians themselves, and frankly, that is the crux of the argument. The past three years have taught us Jews one thing, and that is that we cannot accept a two-state solution. This is a given, and it will never happen.