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APARTHEID AND GENOCIDE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
The Wesleyan Argus
Feb 24 2015
February 24, 2015, 12:41 am by Rebecca Sussman, Matthew Renetzky,
Elisa Greenberg, and Rachel Alpert, Class of 2018
You are going to hear a lot in the coming weeks. You are going to
hear that Israel is an apartheid state, and you will likely hear
it accused of genocide. These accusations are part of the message
of Apartheid Week, a university-based movement that "seeks to raise
awareness about Israel's apartheid policies towards the Palestinians
and to build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions
(BDS) campaign." We, the members of Wesleyan United with Israel, are
fully prepared to acknowledge Israel's faults, but we must take care
when selecting our terminology. The words 'apartheid' and 'genocide'
carry a lot of weight. In the case of Israel, they grossly misrepresent
the situation, and thus inhibit meaningful discourse on our campus.
Apartheid refers to a "system or practice that separates people
according to color, ethnicity, etc." Apartheid policies involve
"economically and politically oppressing an entire population"
(dictionary.com). The most famous example occurred in South Africa. In
Israel, there have been 69 Arab members of Parliament. Each citizen
has an equal opportunity to vote. In the West Bank and Gaza, the
local populations elect their own governments. Israel supports the
West Bank and Gaza by helping to supply power and other necessities
daily. Jews and Muslims serve side by side in the Israeli army. These
few examples alone demonstrate how Israel is easily distinguishable
from an apartheid state.
Genocide refers to the "deliberate killing of a large group of
people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation"
(dictionary.com). Two of the most famous examples are the Holocaust
and Armenian genocide. In Israel, there are no policies in place that
come close to deserving the word 'genocide.' The Israeli government
is not trying to eliminate the Palestinian population, nor would it
have any incentive to do so. On the contrary, it engages in consistent
efforts for peace talks with Palestinian leadership, and even goes
to unprecedented lengths to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians.
For example, before the counterterrorist Operation Protective Edge
this summer, hundreds of Israeli Arabic-speaking technicians recorded
phone messages that were dialed into the phones of more than 160,000
Arabs in the Gaza Strip, warning them to evacuate. The IDF willingly
surrendered the element of surprise as it warned Hamas of the precise
timing and location of the operation. In addition, Israel delivers
truckloads of aid to the citizens of Gaza, even during wartime,
when there is a risk of the aid ending up in the hands of Hamas.
Israel does not have an untainted military record, but neither
does any country that is forced to deal with violent borders and
cultural clashes. Nonetheless, the Israeli government continues to
reexamine and investigate controversial military action in an effort
to maintain a moral, accountable army. Israel is a flawed state,
but it is a state that is actively seeking to better itself and
to protect human life. Referring to Israel as an apartheid state
delegitimizes the struggle of blacks against the Apartheid South
African government and undermines the plight of other groups that have
faced genuine apartheid policies. It is one thing to try to shed light
on injustices, but it is another to fabricate them. What's happening
in the West Bank is an occupation, but it is a far cry from apartheid
and genocide. Using such extreme terminology to describe Israel also
distracts from real, present day problems in the Middle East. In the
face of true human rights abuses, such as those involving the Syrian
government and ISIS, it is both contradictory and counterproductive
to direct our energy against Israel, a country whose human rights
abuses are grossly exaggerated.
Furthermore, open and baseless hostility towards Israel decreases the
possibility of peace. No country that feels threatened, both by its
allies and its enemies, will willingly make concessions at the expense
of its own security. Since any ceded land could potentially fall into
the hands of terrorist organizations like Hamas, we must recognize
that Israel will only make territorial concessions when it feels its
allies, particularly the United States, would support it under attack.
In fact, when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and former Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert nearly reached a peace deal in 2008,
American-Israeli relations were at an all time high. Blindly condemning
Israel and engaging in practices like boycott and divestment makes
Israel feel threatened and thereby inhibits peace.
We believe that our words should be used to have a healthy, balanced
Israel dialogue on campus, and this is especially important during
Apartheid Week. We encourage criticism of existing policies
and institutions in the Middle East--Israel included. However,
the reactions to our Facebook event for Free Israeli Late Night
demonstrates how problematic the Israel dialogue can be on this
campus. Something is wrong when students are attacked for celebrating
simply the food and culture of a vibrant democracy. We implore
you to keep your words grounded in facts rather than unfounded,
sensationalized information. It is this rationale of truth that will
ultimately bring about the social change we all wish to see.
http://wesleyanargus.com/2015/02/24/apartheid-and-genocide-in-the-middle-east/
From: Baghdasarian
The Wesleyan Argus
Feb 24 2015
February 24, 2015, 12:41 am by Rebecca Sussman, Matthew Renetzky,
Elisa Greenberg, and Rachel Alpert, Class of 2018
You are going to hear a lot in the coming weeks. You are going to
hear that Israel is an apartheid state, and you will likely hear
it accused of genocide. These accusations are part of the message
of Apartheid Week, a university-based movement that "seeks to raise
awareness about Israel's apartheid policies towards the Palestinians
and to build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions
(BDS) campaign." We, the members of Wesleyan United with Israel, are
fully prepared to acknowledge Israel's faults, but we must take care
when selecting our terminology. The words 'apartheid' and 'genocide'
carry a lot of weight. In the case of Israel, they grossly misrepresent
the situation, and thus inhibit meaningful discourse on our campus.
Apartheid refers to a "system or practice that separates people
according to color, ethnicity, etc." Apartheid policies involve
"economically and politically oppressing an entire population"
(dictionary.com). The most famous example occurred in South Africa. In
Israel, there have been 69 Arab members of Parliament. Each citizen
has an equal opportunity to vote. In the West Bank and Gaza, the
local populations elect their own governments. Israel supports the
West Bank and Gaza by helping to supply power and other necessities
daily. Jews and Muslims serve side by side in the Israeli army. These
few examples alone demonstrate how Israel is easily distinguishable
from an apartheid state.
Genocide refers to the "deliberate killing of a large group of
people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation"
(dictionary.com). Two of the most famous examples are the Holocaust
and Armenian genocide. In Israel, there are no policies in place that
come close to deserving the word 'genocide.' The Israeli government
is not trying to eliminate the Palestinian population, nor would it
have any incentive to do so. On the contrary, it engages in consistent
efforts for peace talks with Palestinian leadership, and even goes
to unprecedented lengths to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians.
For example, before the counterterrorist Operation Protective Edge
this summer, hundreds of Israeli Arabic-speaking technicians recorded
phone messages that were dialed into the phones of more than 160,000
Arabs in the Gaza Strip, warning them to evacuate. The IDF willingly
surrendered the element of surprise as it warned Hamas of the precise
timing and location of the operation. In addition, Israel delivers
truckloads of aid to the citizens of Gaza, even during wartime,
when there is a risk of the aid ending up in the hands of Hamas.
Israel does not have an untainted military record, but neither
does any country that is forced to deal with violent borders and
cultural clashes. Nonetheless, the Israeli government continues to
reexamine and investigate controversial military action in an effort
to maintain a moral, accountable army. Israel is a flawed state,
but it is a state that is actively seeking to better itself and
to protect human life. Referring to Israel as an apartheid state
delegitimizes the struggle of blacks against the Apartheid South
African government and undermines the plight of other groups that have
faced genuine apartheid policies. It is one thing to try to shed light
on injustices, but it is another to fabricate them. What's happening
in the West Bank is an occupation, but it is a far cry from apartheid
and genocide. Using such extreme terminology to describe Israel also
distracts from real, present day problems in the Middle East. In the
face of true human rights abuses, such as those involving the Syrian
government and ISIS, it is both contradictory and counterproductive
to direct our energy against Israel, a country whose human rights
abuses are grossly exaggerated.
Furthermore, open and baseless hostility towards Israel decreases the
possibility of peace. No country that feels threatened, both by its
allies and its enemies, will willingly make concessions at the expense
of its own security. Since any ceded land could potentially fall into
the hands of terrorist organizations like Hamas, we must recognize
that Israel will only make territorial concessions when it feels its
allies, particularly the United States, would support it under attack.
In fact, when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and former Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert nearly reached a peace deal in 2008,
American-Israeli relations were at an all time high. Blindly condemning
Israel and engaging in practices like boycott and divestment makes
Israel feel threatened and thereby inhibits peace.
We believe that our words should be used to have a healthy, balanced
Israel dialogue on campus, and this is especially important during
Apartheid Week. We encourage criticism of existing policies
and institutions in the Middle East--Israel included. However,
the reactions to our Facebook event for Free Israeli Late Night
demonstrates how problematic the Israel dialogue can be on this
campus. Something is wrong when students are attacked for celebrating
simply the food and culture of a vibrant democracy. We implore
you to keep your words grounded in facts rather than unfounded,
sensationalized information. It is this rationale of truth that will
ultimately bring about the social change we all wish to see.
http://wesleyanargus.com/2015/02/24/apartheid-and-genocide-in-the-middle-east/
From: Baghdasarian