For the last three years, Amnesty International has been accusing Israel’s policies toward Palestinians of being “apartheid” and Israel of being an apartheid state. The allegation is a critical issue because Israel is increasingly being accused of being racist. If the accusations are true, Christians who support Israel are thus supporting racism.
The debate has intensified dramatically after the two-year-long war following Hamas’s massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023. This large-scale, well-coordinated terrorist attack killed the most Jews in a single day since the Holocaust. In the aftermath, a global surge of antisemitism resurrected the accusations of Israeli “apartheid” and called the Gaza war an effort to carry out genocide of the Palestinians, often masking the reality that Israel was responding to an unprecedented act of terrorism rather than enforcing racial domination.
Does the situation in Israel meet the definition and standard of what apartheid is? Let’s examine the facts.
What Is an Apartheid State?
Apartheid is an Afrikaans word that means “apartness” or “separateness.” It describes the former legal system in South Africa that enforced racial segregation and discrimination of the black majority by a white minority government from 1948 until the mid-90s. However, significant international and domestic opposition brought this racist system to an end, and in 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first black President.
Why Is Israel Accused of Being Apartheid?
The accusation of apartheid regarding Israel is false. However, before we look at the facts to refute this, let’s consider what is behind the charge.
While classic antisemitism blames Jewish individuals for the world’s ills, a new antisemitism, anti-Zionism, blames the Jewish collective—the Jewish State. This antisemitic movement demonizes Israel, questions its right to exist, and calls the world to act through boycotts and sanctions.
Not surprisingly, since the October 7 attacks, activist groups and some international bodies have amplified the already existing apartheid accusation—even while Israel was fighting a seven-front war against enemies attempting to wipe her people off the map. The apartheid charge was used as a political weapon aimed at isolating Israel during a time of national trauma—and it hasn’t stopped.
It's a dangerous campaign, and if pro-Palestinian activists succeed in making Israel look so bad that the international community believes it needs to act, the future of the Jewish State could be threatened. Israel’s enemies have found a politically correct and sophisticated way to follow the South African apartheid precedent and force Israel to be dismantled.
This campaign has infiltrated the United Nations, other international bodies, left-wing organizations, and college campuses. Every March, universities in dozens of cities worldwide host events to mark “Israeli Apartheid Week.” The event calls for boycotts, divestments, and sanctions against Israel until “apartheid policies against the Palestinians” end. The week has become known for its antisemitism and is a dangerous atmosphere for Jewish and pro-Israel students. After October 7, these anti-Israel events intensified, as activists became even more hostile toward Jewish and pro-Israel students. The apartheid label was further absorbed into a radical ideological framework that distorts the realities of Israeli society.
Facts about Israel and the Arabs
When discussing Israel’s treatment of the Arabs, we must first differentiate between the three groups of Arabs who live in very different situations.
Israeli Arabs
Twenty percent of Israel’s population is Arab. They are Israeli citizens with full rights and opportunities. Every country has its minorities, and every minority struggles to have full rights—it’s just a part of life. The Israeli Arab minority, however, has an extra challenge that complicates their lives, and that is the security situation. They are part of the larger Arab world, some of which is in a state of war with Israel. Most are Muslim, and Muslim jihadist groups outside of Israel are using mosques to radicalize them and urge them to attack Israel from within.
Nevertheless, most Israeli Arabs are loyal and appreciative of their life as Israelis. They vote, have Arab representatives in the Knesset, and have a party that has been part of a governing coalition. They serve in Israel’s foreign service and on the Supreme Court. They are not required to serve in the army, but a growing number of them are volunteering anyway. Despite their challenges, they have full rights as Israeli citizens and more opportunities to excel than they would in most Arab countries.
Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank
These Arabs live in the area known as the “West Bank,” and the Oslo Peace process established the Palestinian Authority government that rules over their population centers. That plan included negotiating their full statehood and sovereignty, but the process stalled, and for the most part, it is dead. Therefore, Palestinian Arabs do not have a state, even though they have a government.
Their government leaders have pocketed billions of dollars sent to aid their people. Their capital city, Ramallah, reflects great affluence, with magnificent mansions and nice shopping centers. However, their government has kept Palestinians in refugee camps in the West Bank with high poverty and unemployment levels—a travesty and unjust situation—the blame for which should be laid on their own leaders and not upon Israel.
Palestinian Arabs in Gaza
The Palestinian Arabs in Gaza are a little different. In 2007, they overthrew the Palestinian Authority government and put into place a terrorist organization to rule over them—Hamas. With the money flowing into Gaza, Hamas could have built a beautiful city like Singapore or Hong Kong, or a luxury resort on the Mediterranean coast. Hamas leaders had every opportunity to build a life for their people. Instead, they have spent all the money that was supposed to help the Palestinian people on weapons and building underground bunkers and tunnels.
The horrific events of October 7 highlighted the consequences of 16 years of Hamas’ rule in Gaza, which they had turned into a military base from which they would destroy Israel. After Hamas fighters and Gazan citizens breached the border, murdering over 1,200 Israeli civilians and taking 250 more hostage, they were met with the full might of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Over the course of the two-year war that ensued, much of Gaza was destroyed. While Hamas is the cause of the war, pro-Palestinian activists use the apartheid accusation to obscure this reality. Clearly, the source of Palestinian suffering stems from extremist Hamas leadership—not racial segregation or discrimination by Israel.
When addressing the injustices and hardships of the Palestinian Arabs, we must place blame where blame is due—on their own corrupt leaders. When it comes to Israel’s treatment of the Arab people, one need only look to its Arab citizens to see that Israel is clearly not a racist, apartheid state.
This article was originally published on April 12, 2022, at: https://icejusa.org/2022/04/12/is-israel-a-racist-apartheid-state/
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Paul Souders
