Why I Believe Israel Is An Apartheid State: Separate Is Never Equal

I could simply spout my own opinions and biases, instead I will replicate the Copilot answer to whether or not Israel is an Apartheid State. You get to make up your own mind.

Full Citizenship based on religion is apartheid.

"**Israel's policies and actions** in its ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories have led to accusations that it is committing the crime of **apartheid**. Here are some key points regarding this contentious issue:

1. **Accusations of Apartheid**:

- Leading **Palestinian**, **Israeli**, and **international human rights groups** assert that the totality and severity of human rights violations against the Palestinian population in the occupied territories, as well as some within Israel proper, amount to the crime against humanity of apartheid.

- **Israel** and some Western allies reject this accusation, often labeling it as **antisemitic**.

- Comparisons between **Israel–Palestine** and **South African apartheid** were prevalent in the mid-1990s and early 2000s.

- Since the definition of apartheid as a crime in the **2002 Rome Statute**, attention has shifted to the question of **international law**².

2. **Recent Developments**:

- In **December 2019**, the **Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination** initiated a review of the Palestinian complaint that Israel's policies in the West Bank amount to apartheid.

- **Israeli human rights NGOs**, **Yesh Din** (July 2020) and **B'Tselem** (January 2021), issued separate reports concluding that "the bar for labeling the Israeli regime as apartheid has been met."

- In **April 2021**, **Human Rights Watch** became the first major international human rights body to accuse Israel of apartheid and called for prosecution of Israeli officials under international law.

- **Amnesty International** also issued a report with similar findings in **February 2022**².

3. **Support for the Accusation**:

- The accusation that Israel is committing apartheid is supported by **United Nations investigators**, the **African National Congress (ANC)**, several **human rights groups**, and many prominent **Israeli political and cultural figures**.

- Supporters argue that certain laws explicitly or implicitly discriminate based on **creed or race**, privileging Jewish citizens and disadvantaging non-Jewish, particularly Arab, citizens.

- These laws include the **Law of Return**, the **2003 Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law**, and various laws related to **security**, **land and planning**, **citizenship**, **political representation**, **education**, and **culture**.

- The **Nation-State Law**, enacted in **2018**, was widely condemned as discriminatory and has been called an "apartheid law" by members of the **Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)** and other Arab and Jewish Israelis².

In summary, the debate over whether Israel's policies constitute apartheid remains highly contentious, with strong arguments on both sides. It involves complex legal, political, and historical dimensions, and opinions vary widely depending on one's perspective.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 3/15/2024

(1) Israel and apartheid - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_and_apartheid.

(2) undefined. https://sway.cloud.microsoft/WxwGXAcAH4uDoMiC?ref=Link.

(3) Israel is an apartheid state | The Spectator. https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/israel-is-an-apartheid-state/.

(4) Israel is a complicated country, not an apartheid state. https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israel-is-a-complicated-country-not-an-apartheid-state/.

(5) Why Israel is not an apartheid state - The Jewish Chronicle. https://www.thejc.com/news/news/why-israel-is-not-an-apartheid-state-1.449043.

(6) Is Israel an apartheid state? Answers from someone who’d know. https://www.timesofisrael.com/is-israel-an-apartheid-state-answers-from-someone-whod-know/."

You have the right to honestly disagree with all of this post. However, I believe that the facts support the accusation.  

For those who disagree, and there are many who will disagree, I hope you will lay out your case in the comments section. I'll answer all and will publish any that don't spread hatred and lies.

The Green Man