The March 13, 2013, letter “Don’t condemn initiatives trying to open minds” displays either naivete or grossly misinformation about the on-the-ground situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It denies Israel is an apartheid state but did not address the original letter about Israel’s Transportation Ministry announcing segregated buses for Palestinians from March 11, 2013, titled “Students Should Speak Out Against Israel’s Policies.”
Using the word “apartheid” to describe Israel isn’t an arbitrary term used by Israel’s enemies. Independent and respected groups on the ground describe Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as “systematic discrimination merely because of their race, ethnicity, and national origin,” as referenced in Human Rights Watch, and holding Palestinians “without charge or trial under renewable detention orders, denying them any semblance of justice,” according to Amnesty International. The U.S. State Department annual human rights reports described among “the most significant human rights issue during the year [In Israel] … Institutional and societal discrimination against Arab citizens.”
So please, try informing yourself of the facts.
Champions of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, from Nelson Mandela to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, all condemn Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians, describe the situation as apartheid and endorse a boycott of Israel as a solution to end its madness.
Ali Haddad
Class of 2010
