Today (Feb. 1), London-based Amnesty International became the third international NGO within the last six weeks to declare Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as apartheid. “…territorial fragmentation; segregation and control; dispossession of land and property; and denial of economic and social rights…amounts to apartheid.”
B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group in Jerusalem itself declared on Jan. 12, “A Regime of Jewish Supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is Apartheid.”
On Dec. 14 the New York-based Human Rights Watch wrote, “the particularly severe repression against Palestinians living in the OPT, amounts to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution.”
14 million people live in Israel-Palestine today. About half are Jewish; the other half Palestinian. Is it in Israel’s self-interest to deny human rights to half of the people living under its control? Is this sustainable, or just, or righteous? Why should we care? $4 billion of our tax dollars goes to support this important ally and friend of ours. Write our leaders, especially President Biden, asking them to demand of our friends the same respect for human rights we cherish at home.
“Justice can only be effective when each of the following… is present: mercy, truth, righteousness, and peace. Justice without mercy leads to further injustice. It is impossible to achieve justice without addressing truth. And where is the virtue of justice if it does not bring peace?” Salim Munayer
Bart Den Boer
Kairos West Michigan