Haaretz Service: Jimmy Carter: Israel's 'apartheid' policies worse than South Africa's
Talkback
Title: the Arab-Israeli conflict in black & white. literally. Name: Mike City: Sacramento State:
When people compare Israel to South Africa, they are deliberately appealing to the West`s sensitivity about race. These critics deliberately choose an example of obviously "white" European peoples colonizing a land inhabited by "black" sub-Saharan Africans. The contrast could not be more stark. But what "race" are the Jews in Israel? This is not as naive a question as some would like to pretend. Where did the current Israeli people come from? (They did not all come from Europe.) What happened to the Jews who used to live in Arab lands, anyway? And what "race" are they? On that note, can anyone become a Palestinian? Can I? Is there a conversion process, or do I have to marry a refugee? The problem with Carter`s schtick is that we all know that "apartheid" = "racism". But if this is what he thinks, he needs to wake up to the reality of Arab racism, as well. Israel may still have racial problems, but its neighbors are far more hateful/xenophobic.