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I Grew Up in South Africa, Israel Is Not an Apartheid State

(New Statesman-UK) Ephraim Mirvis - Growing up in South Africa, I found myself confronted every day by a society that would routinely degrade and demean black South Africans, not just culturally or socially, but also in the eyes of the law. My father, who is a rabbi, preached against apartheid and visited political prisoners. My late mother was the principal of what was at the time the only college for black pre-school teachers. University campuses across the UK held "Israel Apartheid Week." Note: not Palestinian "nationalism" or "awareness" week, which might focus on the well-being of the Palestinian people, but a week dedicated to attacking Israel - its government, its people, its very existence. The implied message - that Israel today is where South Africa was - is a grave insult to those who suffered under apartheid and a tragic obstacle to peace. Israel is a country whose Arab, Druze, Bedouin, Ethiopian, Russian, Baha'i, Armenian and other citizens have equal status under the law. Anyone who truly understands what apartheid was cannot possibly look around Israel today and honestly claim there is any kind of parity. The writer is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth.
2016-04-05 00:00:00
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