Former South African Parliament Member and victim of apartheid, Dr. Kenneth Meshoe, explains in the short video clip below why Israel is not an Apartheid State. Dr. Meshoe discusses why stating that apartheid occurs in Israel is inaccurate, betraying the memory of real apartheid and minimizing the suffering of those who had to endure it. Israel, on the other hand, grants equality before the law for all her citizens.

Dr. Meshoe states that Mandela fought for the right to live and travel freely, to be educated, to vote, etc. All citizens of Israel have this right. Arabs are members of Israel’s parliament, one of the Supreme Court Justices of Israel is an Arab, and many are in the military, as well as in various other segments of Israeli society. In Israel, Arabs are especially well-represented in the health care field, comprising 57% of all pharmacists working in the Israeli drugstore chain SuperPharm, despite only making up about 20% of the population.

Apartheid week rolls onto campuses all over the country every year, when anti-Israel students and organizations attempt to perpetuate the lie on campus that Israel is an Apartheid state. This is done, as Dr. Meshoe explains, to demonize, deligitimize and isolate Israel. Such comparisons are ridiculous and illogical.

As for the rights of Palestinians living in areas controlled by Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, every country restricts the rights of those living under different governments. For example, the US does not allow most people to enter without a visa, and Switzerland has implemented restrictions regarding the ability of non-citizens to buy property in their country.

Many places have even worse restrictions. For example, the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) has repeatedly stated that Jews will not be allowed to be citizens in a future Palestinian state. Some Palestinian Authority officials have also asked that Jews be restricted from entering areas controlled by the P.A. Why aren’t students who oppose apartheid on campus protesting against this? Why has the media been silent about this?

Those who claim to oppose Israel’s policies, lobbying false claims of racism at the country yet remaining silent regarding the rhetoric and actions of the Palestinian Authority, are hypocritical. They should be asked about this double standard.

By Gilad Skolnick

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