Israeli Apartheid Week begins Monday, and that means you are bound to hear anti-Israel propaganda spouted from those involved. Israeli Apartheid Week is “an international series of events that seeks to raise awareness about Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.”
So, if you are confronted with one of these five common arguments made against the democratic state of Israel, here’s how to respond:
Myth #1: Israel is an apartheid state.
Israel is a beacon of free democracy in an unbelievably dark region of the world. Arab-Israelis have full rights in Israel; they can vote and engage in everyday life as Israelis. To argue the contrary would be to simply ignore the truth.
It would be a bit odd for the third-largest coalition in the Knesset to be Arab if the claims of apartheid were truly accurate. The Anti-Defamation League has said regarding the charge of apartheid, “The treatment of Arabs by the State of Israel cannot be compared in any way to the treatment of the black majority in South Africa under apartheid.” The real issue with labeling Israel as “apartheid” is that it cheapens the term and is insulting to those who actually had to suffer under apartheid.
Myth #2: Israel indiscriminately kills Palestinian civilians while they are protesting.
It is quite common to hear headlines and rhetoric simply saying the death count with no additional context when discussing Palestinian riots on the Gaza-Israel border. Most of the people killed during these riots are terrorist operatives. In the most recent major riot, on the day of the U.S. embassy opening in Jerusalem, 62 Palestinians out of the tens of thousands protesting were killed. However, out of those killed, 50 were Hamas militants — the rest of those killed were being used as human shields by Hamas.
If Israel were really killing Palestinians indiscriminately at the border, I highly doubt almost all of those killed would be terrorists.
Myth #3: Israel intentionally targets civilian areas when conducting airstrikes.
When Israeli civilians are attacked by the terrorist government in Gaza, there is absolutely no doubt Israel has the right to defend itself. The Israeli Defense Forces responds by targeting terrorist facilities run by the Islamic extremist group Hamas. Unfortunately, Hamas puts its terrorist facilities in spots where it would be most likely for civilians to be killed. It put its buildings in cities, next to schools, and next to hospitals.
We need to realize that Hamas is a terrorist organization and that it simply has no regard for human life. Israel, on the other hand, uses precision strikes and warns civilians before striking a certain area. The issue is that Hamas does not care about getting its own people killed if that means the image of Israel is harmed.
Myth #4: Israel does not actually want peace.
Israel has been vying for peace for almost three-quarters of a century, yet some want to claim Israel does not actually want peace. Throughout the years, Israel has either proposed or agreed to five two-state solutions that would hypothetically result in peace. The Palestinians have rejected every single offer because their leadership will only stop the violence after the complete and utter destruction of Israel. Hamas’ platform admits as much when it says, “The Arab states surrounding Israel are required to open their borders to the Jihad fighters” or when it says, “Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors.” We need to realize that every time any country tries to outstretch a hand to solve the conflict, the terrorist leadership of Hamas slaps it away.
Myth #5: Settlements in the West Bank are a barrier to peace.
The evidence presented by those who argue the fourth myth is that Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank, and that means it is resisting peace. While Israel is indeed continuing to build settlements, it is in no way a barrier to peace. Look at the result of when Israel pulled all settlements out of the Gaza strip in 2004: Since then, there have been three wars, thousands of casualties, and ongoing violence with no end in sight.
Jack Elbaum is a high school student at Highland Park High School in Illinois.
