Amnesty’s apartheid accusation: a wake-up call that will only get louder

DOV WAXMAN: The report’s undoubted flaws should not distract us from the truths it contains. While the occupation continues, such allegations will only become more frequent

IS ISRAEL GUILTY of the crime of apartheid in its treatment of Palestinians? Merely asking this question was once taboo in many circles, but no longer. The question has moved from the margins to the mainstream of political debate. 

Indeed, in just the past two years, the question of whether Israel is committing the crime of apartheid has become the most hotly debated and contentious question in discussions, both public and private, about Israel and the Palestinians. 

What has prompted this often-acrimonious debate is a series of recent reports issued by human rights groups alleging that Israel is guilty of apartheid. Although several Palestinian human rights organisations (such as Al-Haq, Al Mezan, Adameer, and the Badil Centre) have accused Israel of practicing apartheid for years, it was not until two Israeli human rights organisations and then the two largest and most respected international human rights organisations made this accusation that it really gained public and political attention.

FULL STORY: Israel, Amnesty and the apartheid accusation: a wake-up call

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For years, I have feared the damage the occupation will do, and is doing, to the Israeli occupier (Jewish Chronicle)

Photo: A journalist holds a copy of Amnesty's report, February 1 (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo