B’Tselem’s report on the Gaza genocide missed an opportunity to advance a clear and unequivocal legal argument that Israel’s actions constitute a textbook case of genocide.
The use of the word apartheid to describe Israel’s treatment of Palestinians just keeps growing. David Rothkopf, the former editor of Foreign Policy, baldly states that Israel is an apartheid state in a piece published by Haaretz last weekend.
The “demise” of the two state solution has made it untenable not to talk about Israeli apartheid, even inside the Washington establishment.
The New York Times appears to be tired of cheerleading for Israel, witness two opinion pieces this weekend: a long report by Thomas Friedman in which the columnist admitted at the start that “the prospect for a two-state solution has all but vanished;” then, a full page offering by the entire Editorial Board headlined that says that Benjamin Netanyahu’s likely next coalition government “is a significant threat to the future of Israel.” Neither article mentions apartheid.
The B’Tselem report on the May 11 killing of Shireen Abu Akleh emphasizes eyewitness accounts, including the stunning heroism of Sharif al-‘Azab who tried to save her life amid gunfire. And it blows up the U.S. claim that the Israeli shooting was “tragic” not “intentional.” Such a finding is “detached from reality” — in this case, repeated “shooting directly at unarmed civilians” demonstrates that Israel uses live fire in non-life-threatening circumstances and takes no action against killers. And Israel is whitewashing the Abu Akleh killing, like 100s of cases before it, B’Tselem says.
The State Department declares after examining the bullet that the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh was likely by an Israeli soldier but definitely not “intentional.” Really? The U.S. whitewash is brazen. It’s no surprise the State Department hoped Americans were too distracted by Fourth of July fireworks to pay attention. But why does the “New York Times” play along?
The New England Conference of the United Methodist Church condemned Israel’s apartheid system June 11 by an 88 percent to 12 percent vote. The move comes at a key moment in the movement by Christian churches to attack by name the apartheid treatment of Palestinians. The Presbyterian Church will vote on their apartheid “overtures” in the first week in July, while the Episcopal Church is expected to vote on apartheid the following week.
Israel continues its time-honored strategy of manipulating the mainstream U.S. media — this time muddying the coverage of the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
News that Amnesty International will issue a report tomorrow declaring Israel an apartheid state has caused panic and outrage among Israel lobbyists. Jonathan Greenblatt of ADL says that Amnesty “must accept responsibility” for attacks on Jews that will ensue from the report casting aspersions on Israel. While David Harris of the American Jewish Committee shrills, “Israel has nothing to do with apartheid and apartheid has nothing to do with Israel.”
The Israeli government “fully supports and assists” the recent spike in settler violence against Palestinians. Because “Continuous, systemic violence meted out by settlers is part of Israel’s official policy, driving massive takeover of Palestinian” lands, B’Tselem says in a groundbreaking report. But the Washington Post’s recent article on settler violence suggests that the Israeli government is taking it on vigorously.
One year after Chicago Episcopalians knocked down a resolution condemning Israeli apartheid by a sizeable margin, its convention approved a similar resolution by 72 to 28 percent. The turnaround is a measure of the dramatic rise in American awareness of the Israeli system, and reflects the judgments of two leading human rights organizations earlier this year.