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E-PrinceThis week, groups at a number of colleges and universities, including Princeton, will engage in activities to support “Israel Apartheid Week.” Having spent the better part of 40 years studying, teaching and conducting diplomacy related to Israel, I have given ...(back to the article)
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How can you call Israel a democracy when half the population under its rule is ghetto-ized and has no rights or say in the government?
Israel is the last vestige of western imperialism which continues to this day in subjugating native populations while encouraging immigration from select ethnic/religious groups to bolster population.
our government can't hear you. lololol
I took this op-ed seriously until the reference to biblical promises.
Thank you so much Professor Kurtzer, for guiding us on "how to think" about this issue with your great wisdom. We really would have no idea how to think about it by ourselves.
@hmz, i don't know where you get your facts from, but how can you call yourself an informed person if you claim half israel's population is ghetto-ized and has no rights or say in the government? actually, they do have a say in the israeli government, and they also have their own government. go figure.
@yitzhak, "Some believe that Israel has a claim to these territories based on Biblical promises." so you didn't take this op-ed seriously because professor kurtzer mentioned that somewhere out there, someone believes that israel has a claim due to biblical promises? hm.
@enlightened, thank you for understanding that in an op-ed, the writer presents his opinions! i really would not have gotten that without your comment.
• HMZ wrote, “How can you call Israel a democracy when half the population under its rule is ghetto-ized and has no rights or say in the government?
Israel is the last vestige of western imperialism which continues to this day in subjugating native populations while encouraging immigration from select ethnic/religious groups to bolster population.”
It would take an hour to respond to all the BS contained in these few sentences. I don’t have the time so I’ll do the best I can.
“..when half the population is ghetto-ized and has no rights or say in the government?”
Many Palestinians have been extremely successful in Israel. Both Jews and Muslims live in ghettos in Israel. It is no different than most western countries. Where one does see near complete “ghetto-ized” people is throughout the Muslim world. Sudan, Somalia, Mauritania, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia are just some of the countries where Muslims are “ghetto-ized” .
“Israel is the last vestige of western imperialism which continues to this day in subjugating native populations while encouraging immigration from select ethnic/religious groups to bolster population.”
This is misinformation. It is something a 13 year old might write. Islam is the only major religion in the world where subjugating native populations is one of its core beliefs. In fact, Islam takes this one step further and actually eliminates native populations just as Mohammed did in the Arabian Peninsula. I’ve made a short list to illustrate this point. When checking out this list remember to ask yourself the following questions:
• How is it that the world’s youngest major religion come to rule over all this land?
• What happened to the native populations in these lands? For instance what happened to the vital and ancient Buddhist civilization that once flourished in Afghanistan? Why is it that today there is not one single Buddhist left living in Afghanistan?
I have listed the percentage of Muslim citizens in a handful of countries. In each of the countries listed the trends are toward the percentage of Muslims increasing, except, of course, where it is already 100% Muslim.
Saudi Arabia: 100% Muslim/Not one non-Muslim citizen.
Iran: 98% Muslim.
Turkey: 98% Muslim.
Afghanistan: 100% Muslim.
Pakistan: 95% Muslim.
Somalia: 100% Muslim.
Sudan: Estimated 70% Muslim. I wonder how long the genocide will continue before it is 100% Muslim?
Libya: 97% Muslim.
Yemen: 100% Muslim.
Mauritania: 100% Muslim
Algeria: 100% Muslim.
Israel: 75% Jewish. 16% Muslim with the Muslim population the fastest growing.
@Arafat: you da best.
You're a fool. Learn how to do some math.
Horrible article. Essentially the argument is just "I don't think Israel is an apartheid state." "I don't think so" is not a good enough argument Mr. Kurtzer. That's great that you were a diplomat, and that you have a lot of experience, but just leaving it at "I don't think Israel is an apartheid state" and then going on to talk about what should be done instead of Israel apartheid week doesn't address the point. Convince me that Israel isn't an apartheid state first. This is the same song and dance, over and over. Israel demands that Palestinians must meet a certain criteria before negotiations begin, but when Palestinians demand things of Israelis, its "counter-productive." Stop the settlements, and end the occupation, and end the blockade on Gaza (de facto occupation) and thats how the bombs on your Kindergartens will stop. cut the bullshit and get the point. not an apologist for Israel my ass.
The definition of Israel as a Jewish state makes it an apartheid state. How is it not an apartheid state. I have family members in Nazareth who are Palestinian citizens of Israel and they are served by completely different institutions than Israelis are. On an Israeli ID, if one is Jewish, one has his Jewish birthdate printed on his ID. If one isn't Jewish (or selects not to have it printed, but the option to have it not printed is fairly recent and not at all a common practice) then your Jewish birthdate isn't printed, not to mention that many ID cards also have "nationality" printed in them. Arab citizens of Israel are for the most part completely segregated from the rest of Israeli society. In Haifa and Jaffa, they have their own run-down neighborhoods seperate from the rest of the city which constantly lack the same infrastructure that exists in Jewish neighborhoods. Education is in arabic for Arab citizens, and so this prevents them from learning Hebrew, which is the functional working language, and thus prevents sufficient access to Israeli Universities. Arab citizens are also exempt from serving the army. There are different rules set aside for the dominant ethnic group and the minority ethnic group. This is not the mention the non-citizens in the occupied territories. The fact that Israel is defined as a "Jewish" state makes it inherently racist. If the United States was defined as a "white" state or a "Christian" state, or an "Anglo-Saxon Protestant" state, with a set of rules and institutions for the ethno-religious group in control, and diferent rules and institutions for the others, a lot of people complain, and rightfully so. Israel is very much a racist state, (apartheid is irrelevant, but it applies if you consider residents of the occupied territories), and arguing that "Israel has a pluralist and open political system and an array of democratic institutions that safeguard basic freedoms and liberties" is just not valid.