THE EXISTENCE OF ISRAELI APARTHEID  

In the context of people, distinction is differentiating someone from somebody else. You do this to recognize what makes someone different from the other. It is a way to set someone aside from others or to put someone apart from others. A positive way is by excellence that sets someone apart from others. But that is not in Palestine.

Now, you would raise your eyebrows when we mention 'racism' here.

Racism is inherent to perception someone has towards others that leads to prejudice or antagonism against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized. You put someone apart from the rest you (also) belong to. You do the same when you belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another.

However, we do not view discrimination as racism. Because, discrimination is the act of unjust treatment of anyone, not only because of race but also because of person's background such as religion, sexuality, disability.

But, the question is were does this all come from? In one word? Politicization. 

If you advocate for a land but only for your own people while other people are (still) on the land you designate as land for your own people, it is discrimination. When it is about people from another belief, it remains discrimination. But, when these people are also from a different ethnicity, discrimination is then also based on racism. You then politicize people by targeting them as unwanted for your cause. India's caste system is such example were the Dalit people and Muslims are the unwanted. That is what Zionism is all about too.

Apartheid comes from the word 'apart' and may literally mean "to or on one side" or "at a distance from someone".  In the context of this page, a more freely explanation is simply putting the other apart from you, which emerges in many ways.

Most known example is separation which is synonymous to apartheid as you then do the same but by viewing someone as belonging to the other (side). Separation walls are just meant for such purpose: dividing an area from the other area by viewing the divided area as not being part of the other area.

However, the Israelis are war belligerent and have to obliged to apply themselves to the Customary International Law. The walls in Jerusalem are in violation against the UN resolution on Jerusalem, while the walls erected across the West Bank are in violation against the Rules of Occupation as they partition the occupied territory into pieces. 

You can do that with roads too. That's exactly what the Israelis also do: tarmac roads for their own people and roads in poor condition for the Palestinians.

A less known example are the traffic lights: longer on green for the Israelis, longer on red for the Palestinian drivers. But, roads constructed in the occupied territory are illegal as they also partition the occupied territory into pieces.

And during the pandemic: unexpired vaccines for your own people, nearly to expire for the other. This reminds us to the Israeli health minister in an interview about COVID19 with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

In this talk show she asked him "Why are you not helping the Palestinians?" The Israeli answer: "We will help them after we have helped our people first". 

Well, that's separation or apartheid by setting the Palestinians apart to let them waiting until all of own people are vaccinated. Separation or Apartheid  in the middle of a pandemic.  As a war belligerent, the Israelis are obliged to apply themselves to the Fourth Geneva Convention and must ensure access to vaccines to Palestinians in the occupied territory.

Israelis can or are certainly to be accused of practicing a version of Apartheid. This is not the same as saying "Israelis are practicing Apartheid" as you then need to show that you have investigated that have led to your finding. This doesn't means that you can't write about this issue. You can but it depends on how you write about it: with or without explanations.

GLOSM is not an NGO, so it doesn't write in the style of an NGO. It tries to help the reader to recognize the methodology on which the Israeli Apartheid is based by providing examples the reader can recognize in every-day life. The roots of the methodology behind the Israeli Apartheid is an ideology: Zionism.

Take the judiciary system, actually three systems as the third system is military. There are two different civilian judiciary systems: one for their own people, and one against the Palestinians. So is military occupation judiciary system: one for Israeli soldiers and one against Palestinians. It begins in the procedures:

Emily Schaeffer Omer-Man, senior counsel at the Michael Sfard Law Office in Tel Aviv and a member of the legal team of Israeli human rights NGO Yesh Din, wrote:

Apartheid can also be read by the numbers. For example, if 91% of the investigations into ideological crimes against Palestinians were closed with no indictment filed, it means that the number of Palestinians behind the rate were treated differently, so unjust. Well, discrimination is the act of unjust treatment as a result of antagonism against Palestinians.

The Israeli (war belligerent) judiciary systems are subjected to the Customary International Humanitarian Law, which regulates the legal environment of the occupied territories.

The most clear visible form of separation or Apartheid is something everyone can read about or could have watched on TV: the handling of sling shooting, catapulting or throwing stones. But, the world is only familiar with images about Palestinian sling shooters, catapulters and stone throwers.

However, illegal settlers in the West Bank also use slingshots, catapults and throwing stones during their attacks on Palestinian shepherds or farmers who are working on their land. In many cases you even see soldiers nearby who just stand there and watch.

When Israeli right-wing extremists rally, you don't see troops deployed to crush the rally. When Israelis protest against their leaders, you don't see riot police deployed to crush the protest.  But, when Palestinians protest, then you see all kind of troops deployed, who immediately start firing teargas, rubber bullets and throw stun grenades, sniping and abducting protesters while these people do the same the Israelis do: expressing their views.

The Palestinians don't even need to take the initiative to express their views as this example that happens every year, shows:

Passover is a Judaic ritual, the Israelis held every year during the period from April 15th to April 23rd.  The Ramadan begins on April 12th and ends on May 12th every year. Every year, Israeli extremists use their ritual as a weapon to march to the compound under illegal protection by occupying forces.

In the same week of the Israeli extremists' provocation in April 2021, Netanyahu threw oil on the fire by announcing the forced eviction of of Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. Among these people also those who were already forced evicted from Haifa* during Nakba in 1948. That have angered the Palestinians at the Al Aqsa. So, they began to protest as their Ramadan was already disrupted by Israeli extremists. Israeli troops invaded the compound and started a violent crackdown. Tens of worshipers were killed, hundreds of others wounded.

When this development reached Sheikh Jarrah, residents went onto the streets were they met live ammunition from Israeli troops. The military wing of Hamas warned the Israelis but they ignored the warning. The Israelis intensified the crackdown against protesters, willfully causing the escalation between May 7th and May 10th themselves, leaving Hamas no other option than to seek the only way they have to protect Palestinian people: firing rockets. That's the real roots of the 11-days war on Gaza

No one have realized that the Israeli mishandling of the protests, that was triggered by Israelis themselves, and that have led to the 11-days war, is also differentiating, so setting apart the Israeli provocateurs' action from the reaction by worshipers at the Al Aqsa. The world have watched without knowing that they've witnessed an example of Apartheid.

CONCLUSION

It doesn't matter how you would describe it whether you name it differentiating, separating, distincting or setting apart. There is Apartheid. It is based on ideas, perceptions and views entrenched in an ideology invented in 1897 by Theordor Herzl.

The Israeli Apartheid is not the same as the one that was once in South Africa. Because, the Israeli version strives a goal that is aimed erase all references to the Palestinian existence. It is comparable to the one the Chinese are using in East Turkestan which also aims to erase all reference but to the Uyghur existence.

The South African version is different because it didn't include politics that leads to annexation, assimilation and erasure. South Africa's Apartheid was only aimed to concentrate native people in designated areas in the country. It was pure based on racism while those of the Israelis is more than just about racism.