Last week, Israel was accused by a UN agency of instituting an “Apartheid Regime” within its borders. This is the first the the UN itself has definitively charged Israel of such human rights violations. The report included that a variety of aspects of Israeli life was influenced by “strategic fragmentation” of the the two people groups living there: the Palestinian Arabs and the Israelis. The report goes on to describe “racial domination” with different sets of laws for the two people groups, vastly favoring the Israelis. The reality of the situation is that Palestinians are directly subjected to oppression of not being Jewish. Education, healthcare, where they can live and work are all affected under the oppression of this “apartheid regime.”
The UN Economic and Social Commission of Western Asia (ESCWA), the agency responsible for the report, has recently tried to distance itself from the report and its findings, even resulting in the resignation of the UN official responsible and the removal of the report from the agency's website. Apparently the report was issued without any consultations with the UN Secretariat, and “does not represent the views of the Secretary General” of the UN. The UN-Israeli ambassador commented that it is “despicable” and "constitutes a blatant lie.” He went on to compare it to an anti-semeti, Nazi propaganda publication "Der Sturmer."
This report and the reality of its controversy is one of many pieces of the ongoing debate over Palestinians self-determination and the sovereignty that Israel has had over the region. Officials in the UN have said that there is growing anti-Israel sentiment among certain departments and the resignation of the official responsible for the report was a step in the direction of "fairness". Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on thursday that “the issue of terrorism can’t be handled without solving the Palestinian question,” making very clear the severity of the situation in Palestine. Hopefully this discounted accusation will drive more awareness and support into actively trying to remedy the Palestinian conflict for the long term.
-Written by Steven Rayburn
So were there credible findings to back these accusations? Were they dismissed because of legitimacy or because nobody asked for the study?
ReplyDeleteI think the report was dismissed immediately because of illegitimate claims, or a few bold claims with little supporting evidence. This explains a little too.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nationalreview.com/article/445879/un-report-israel-apartheid-accusation-outrageous-anti-Semitic
-Noah O'Kelley
This reminds me a bit about the email scandals in the USA....
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting the way the report was released and then shortly thereafter rescinded. It makes me wonder how biased the UN is within these matters, especially after reading Resolution 242 today wherein they failed to even mention the Palestinians, and how they would define the 'fairness' they seem to be pursuing.
ReplyDeleteI watched a video of the Israeli delegate dismissing the claims, and he had some great points. However, I think it is important that Israel is challenged on its actions in the West Bank, there is clearly infringement on Palestinian territory, and they should not be given a free pass to take advantage of Palestine.
ReplyDeleteWhether the report is correct or not, apartheid-style prejudice and segregation does not need to be practiced or endorsed at an official governmental level for it to exist. Sadly, people can and do practice prejudices in their daily lives against people who they judge as different or of low value.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is surprising. I feel like Israel has always been supported by the international community, especially the US. Looks like this report has sparked a lot of controversy, and it would be great if more light could be shed on the truth.
ReplyDeleteOlive McKay
The UN is pretty biased towards Israel... I already naturally ignore most claims they make towards the country. Luckily this biased organization doesn't have real power.
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