To the editor: Israel is not an apartheid state. Arab citizens of Israel have full legal and civil rights. They have served with distinction in the Israeli military, are overrepresented in Israeli medical fields, have served on the Israeli Supreme Court, and have their own political party, which was included in a recent Israeli government coalition. (“Is Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians a form of apartheid?”, January 9)
Palestinian Arabs residing in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are not citizens of Israel and, depending on their own preferences, are governed by the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. They do not have the same rights in Israel as Israeli citizens, just as non-citizens do not have the same rights as American citizens in our country.
Implacable enemies of Israel such as Human Rights Watch (whose founder denounced its subsequent anti-Israel bias) have sought to distort and weaponize the definition of apartheid to use as a cudgel against Israel. That effort is part of the broader attempt by Israel's enemies to eliminate the country.
But Nelson Mandela obviously had no such opinion of Israel, as he accepted an award from an Israeli university in 1997.
No one should be fooled by apartheid's lie about Israel: it is just another arrow in the quiver of Israel's dishonest and implacable enemies.
Daniel H. Trigoboff, Williamsville, New York
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To the editor: For those following events in the Middle East, news of Israeli apartheid is not a surprising revelation. But we couldn't have known if we relied solely on our mainstream media. Israel's misdeeds over the past decades have either gone unreported or have been reported with a strong bias toward the Israeli side.
It is no surprise to followers of the Palestinian situation that Israel's true intention now is to destroy Gaza and force its residents to leave. Their actions have been described as genocide.
It will be interesting to see how the media covers this harsh accusation against a State whose people were subjected to the same criminal action.
Joseph Tillotson, Redondo Beach
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To the editor: The fact that Egypt has blockaded Gaza together with Israel clearly illustrates that the blockade is not based on race or religion, but rather on the prevention of terrorism.
Israel did not want Hamas to attack its citizens, and Egypt did not want Hamas to use its territory as a base from which to launch such attacks.
However, that logic is lost among the knee-jerk anti-Israel crowd, who say nothing about Egypt's actions but shout “apartheid!” when Israel takes the same measures.
Jay Hoffman, Orlando, Florida.
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To the editor: If one wants to explore this topic further, start by reading Jimmy Carter's book, “Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid.” I'm surprised his book wasn't mentioned in the article.
Pablo Burns, Granada Hills
