2. Mr Minto falsely claims Israel is an apartheid state
Mr Minto references “apartheid” sixteen times in his speech. This is a false allegation. The comparison Mr Minto tries to make between Israel and Apartheid South Africa is baseless and diminishes the suffering of black South Africans. Under the Apartheid laws, South Africans of different races were compelled to live in separate places and forbidden to intermarry. Municipal grounds could be reserved for a particular race, creating, among other things, separate beaches, buses, hospitals, schools and universities. Signboards such as “whites only” applied to public areas, even including park benches. In Israel, there are no such laws. Arabs are equal citizens and have been Supreme Court judges and the people’s choice of Masterchef.
Social and racial discrimination exists in Israel, just as it does in all countries – but this is in spite of Israeli laws, not because of them. Where discrimination takes place, Arabs have avenues for redress because the law is clear that the only legal distinction between Arab and Jewish citizens is not one of rights, but rather of civic duty. Since Israel’s establishment, Arab citizens have been exempted from compulsory service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as are religious Jews.
Some anti-Israel activists suggest that the term should be applied to the situation in the disputed territories (Gaza, Judea and Samaria), rather than within Israel’s borders. However, the disputed territories are governed by independent authorities and the relationship between Israel and these territories is akin to the situation between two countries. Indeed, these territories have their own seat at the United Nations and are generally acknowledged, by other nations, as sovereign entities – so Israel can’t be held responsible for the lot of those under Palestinian rule.
Sadly, there is apartheid-like discrimination against Arab Palestinians throughout the Middle East. In Lebanon and Jordan, they can’t become citizens, even if they’re born in one of those countries – and, in Lebanon, there has been a ban on Palestinians seeking professional employment since 2005 – although the Lebanese Minister of Labor does now permit Palestinians to work legally in manual and clerical jobs.
By contrast, the thousands of Palestinians who cross the border between Palestine territories and Israel, each day, to participate in jobs in Israel, receive comparable pay and benefits to their Israeli counterparts. None of this was true for South African blacks.
Arabs in Israel, just like Christians in Israel, Ba’hai in Israel, and especially Jews in Israel are freer and more successful than in any other Middle Eastern country. This is something to be celebrated, not reduced to a cheap and false insult that minimises the suffering of so many under white South African rule.