Israel must be judged how it treats its minorities

Jonathan Cook, one of the finest reporters in the Middle East (he’s based in Nazareth), writes for The National newspaper about the largely unseen issues for Palestinians, namely Zionist discrimination.

His latest piece explains the growing anger of Israel’s Arab minority:

The increasingly harsh political climate in Israel under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government has prompted the leadership of the country’s 1.3 million Arab citizens to call the first general strike in several years.

The one-day stoppage is due to take place on October 1, a date heavy with symbolism because it marks the anniversary of another general strike, in 2000 at the start of the second intifada when 13 Arab demonstrators were shot dead by Israeli police.

The Arab leadership said it was responding to a string of what it called “racist” government measures that cast the Arab minority, a fifth of the population, as enemies of the state.

“In recent months, there has been a parallel situation of racist policies in the parliament and greater [condonation] of violence towards Arab citizens by the police and courts,” said Jafar Farah, the head of the Arab political lobbying group Mossawa. “This attitude is feeding down to the streets.”

I look forward to hearing the condemnation by the Zionist Diaspora of racist incitement in Israel proper. What, it will never happen, you say? That’s my point. Many Jews around the world have no real issue with Israeli politicians attacking Arabs. Their silence speaks volumes.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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