Susser's conclusion is right - his explanation is wrong.

Reader comment on: Israeli Apartheid Week's Distortion of Reality

Submitted by Mel Shalev (Israel), Mar 16, 2010 06:50

Prof Susser is missing the point. The main difference is not whether Jews in Israel are a minority or majority (either can repress the rest of the population). Segragation in the USA - a variant of Apartheid - was a majority initiated repression. The real reason that the Apartheid designation is false is that Israeli law - which does not apply to West Bank (Gaza is no longer occupied) provides exactly the same civil rights and defenses to all citizens regardless of ethnicity or religion. Though the primary and secondary educational systems are largely streamed along language and religious lines - which is what the various communities prefer - the secular public system accepts all, regardless of mother tongue or religion. Tertiary education is, and always was non-streamed. Though there are villages or neighborhoods which are self-designated as 'Arab' or 'Jewish', there are many more that are mixed. One has the choice where to live according to one's preferences. There are not - and there never have been (in contrast to Apartheid South Africa and many USA States during the era of segragation) laws against marriage between the groups. As marriage is religously ofifciated in Israel - such marriage needs to be performed outside of Israel (often in Cyprus) but is fully recognized.

The false - pernicious - use of the term apartheid as applied to Israel, is not only insulting to Israelis. It is also insulting to the myriads of South Africans who were victims of severe economic and psychological repression as well as physical violence during that sorry chapter in South African history.

Mel Shalev, Nahariya, Israel

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. This site reserves the right to reject anything found to be objectionable.

Other reader comments on this item

Comment on this item

Name	Email Address (optional)
Title of Comments
Comments:
Email me if someone replies to my comment Mark my comment as a response to Susser's conclusion is right - his explanation is wrong. by Mel Shalev Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. This site reserves the right to reject anything found to be objectionable.