David Suissa

March 23, 2011

Murdering Israel’s name

By David Suissa

Tweet

Share

While five Israeli Jews were being murdered in Itamar last week, something else was being murdered on college campuses across America: Israel’s name.

This murder rampage is called Israel Apartheid Week.

There are few things worse for a country today than being labeled apartheid. This insult has it all: racism, decades of violent and racist oppression, international boycotts, even a global hero (Nelson Mandela) who conquered the demon.

No wonder the accusation has done so much damage to Israel. As Natalie Menaged, a pro-Israel activist, wrote recently in the Jerusalem Post: “Passing through many North American campuses this month — from New York and Boston to Chicago and Los Angeles — students are likely to draw the conclusion that Israel is a brutally oppressive regime, worthy of global boycotts and sanctions.”

In fact, if there is one word that has fueled the global campaign to delegitimize Israel, and the ensuing BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement, you can be sure it is the dirty word apartheid.

Even groups like J Street, who are not known for their passionate defense of Israeli policies, have gone on record against this racist accusation.

And yet, despite the obvious slander, the “Israel is apartheid” movement grows stronger every year.

What can Israel do to defend itself?

One approach would be to go positive, like many pro-Israel activists did this year, by playing up messages like Israel’s desire for peace and its history of making compromises for peace.

This approach is noble, but it is not enough.

It is not enough because the forces that hurl extremist accusations like “Israel is apartheid” are not looking for peace. They claim that all of Israel is apartheid and worthy of boycotts. Their aim is not to engage in debate but to destroy Israel’s name.

And let’s face it: They’re winning.

They have lodged a racist accusation in people’s heads that can’t be dislodged with feel-good language. The only way to get at this poison is with a specific and powerful antidote.

In other words, Israel must develop a PR message that will destroy the enemy’s accusation while reclaiming the higher ground.

Here’s my candidate: “Israel is the ONLY country in the Middle East that is NOT apartheid.”

Now imagine if Israel took this PR message and made it the focus of a global campaign on banners, Facebook pages, billboards, print ads, T-shirts, YouTube clips, etc. Who would be on the defensive then?

Unfair, you say? Not accurate? My answer: It’s certainly a lot more fair and accurate than “Israel is apartheid” — but if you disagree, well, then, let’s debate!

With the widespread revolts going on right now in the Middle East against decades of oppression, the world could use a debate comparing the democratic policies of Israel with those of her neighbors. 

As Arsen Ostrovsky, an attorney for human rights and international law, writes: “The real apartheid today is in places such as Saudi Arabia, where the government totally forbids the public practice of non-Muslim religions, the presence of a Bible there, officially labels both Christians and Jews ‘unbelievers’ and cautions Muslims not to befriend Christians or Jews.”

He goes on: “If Israel were an apartheid State, people like Arab Israeli Salim Jurban would not have been elected to Israel’s Supreme Court … and there would not be five different Arab parties and 14 Arab Israeli members of Knesset, some of whom are the most outspoken and harshest critics of Israel.”

But what about the suffering of Palestinians, you ask? In a recent article in the Jerusalem Post (“Where Is the Outcry Against Arab Apartheid?”), Palestinian journalist Khaled Abu Tomaeh reported on the “hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who live in impoverished refugee camps in Lebanon and who are the victims of an apartheid system that denies them access to work, education and medical care.”

Tomaeh also reported on the 180,000 Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, who, in the past year alone, were welcomed into Israel to receive some of the finest medical care in the world, whether they could afford it or not. I can think of a few hundred million Arabs in the Middle East who wouldn’t mind this kind of service.

So, yes, let’s debate. Let’s hear Israel’s apartheid accusers defend the apartheid abuses in Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Yemen, Jordan and other Middle East countries — where, as Ostrovsky notes, “people are being jailed, tortured and often killed fighting for their human rights.”

Let’s compare those regimes with Israel’s democracy, and let’s see who’s apartheid and who’s not.

The truth is, when you look at the Middle East, the more liberal you are, the more you should defend Israel. At the very least, you should push back against the absurdly unfair apartheid slander. Israel might have an imperfect democracy with its share of flaws and inequities, but it hardly merits the vicious and unjust apartheid libel — a libel that even leftist groups agree goes way beyond the dispute with the Palestinians.

If you call yourself pro-Israel, you must fight this injustice.

David Suissa is a branding consultant and the founder of OLAM magazine. For speaking engagements and other inquiries, he can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or davidsuissa.com.

A version of this article appeared in print.

---

Post your comment below!

Click here to return to the homepage.

COMMENTS

We welcome your feedback. Comments may not exceed 700 characters.

Privacy Policy

Your information will not be shared or sold without your consent. Get all the details.

Terms of Service

JewishJournal.com has rules for its commenting community.Get all the details.

I think the reason a lot of people hold an anti-isreal stance (NOT an Anti-Jewish stance mind you.) IS because when you look at a time progression map of palestine/isreal territory from 60’s to current. It’s VERY VERY obvious that Israel is the one expanding, always has been and they haven’t stopped.

Israel is just as responsible if not more for the secular extremist hate which many Palestinians hold for the state of Israel.

That’s just my 2 cents.

Comment by Tai on 3/23/11 at 2:43 pm

Oh and when people talk down on Isreal. It’s not racism.
There are many worse things these days than being called apartheid. You could be labeled a terrorist like many people of middle eastern descent, You could be labeled an illegal alien, or you could just be labeled mind controlled crazy like north korea.

When people disagree with the policies of your countries government. it is not racism.

kthxbai j00s

Comment by Tai on 3/23/11 at 2:47 pm

JEHOVAH GOD WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS ISRAEL. I PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF THIS MOST HOLY CITY JERUSALEM. SOON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES WILL SPLIT WITH THE FOOTPRINTS OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST THE TRUE MESSIAH.I THANK GOD FOR HIS SON’S SHED BLOOD; AND THAT HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER. SHALOM.

Comment by jennifer hollifield on 3/23/11 at 2:54 pm

TAI,

the maps you refer to are fallacious…i suggest instead of reading anti israel/jew hate blogs, you spend some time reading the history of the region…especially during the ottoman empire…which did not allow for massive private ownership

and today…the far left in the united states, canada and the eu have jewish blood on their hands

their appeasement of terrorism and the fascist regimes of the pa and hamas have led to the murders of the fogel family and the bombing of a civilian bus.

i hope they are happy

Comment by walt kovacs on 3/23/11 at 3:23 pm

Tai, I wouldn’t value yours as high as 2 cents, but thanks anyway.

Comment by Mini on 3/23/11 at 3:25 pm

The “Israel Aparteid Week” is 100 appropriate in deed as the Zionist State represses, humiliates, abuses and occassionally murders what they regard as second-class humans; the Palestinians and Israeli-Arabs!

The same beliggerent Delusional Zionist State destroyed ‘500 year old Turkish Goodwill and helping hand to Jewish People’ in one shot by launching an unprovoked attack against an international flotilla and murdering ten unarmed Turkish Activists thereby antagonizing the region’s most powerful country; Turkey!

Comment by Yasar on 3/23/11 at 6:13 pm

David, as an eyewitness to the suffering of Palestinian people, it’s apparent in references you’ve mentioned that you have not been to occupied Israel/Palestine. If you have, then your distorted view of what’s happening will not change their reality. I hope these resources listed will give you some insight to what they are actually enduring.
Infringement of the right to medical treatment in the West Bank http://www.btselem.org/english/medical_treatment/index.asp
Palestinians who died following an infringement of the right to medical treatment in the Occupied Territories, 29.9.2000 - 31.1.2011
http://www.btselem.org/english/statistics/casualties_data.asp?Category=21&region=TER

Comment by Rebekah on 3/23/11 at 6:26 pm

Gazans Needing Medical Care http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/142312

“In August 2009, an exit request was submitted to receive treatment in East Jerusalem’s Al Makassed Hospital. Initially denied, it was appealed and again denied - unprincipled, unethical, illegal, and common practice against Gazans under siege, PHR-IL saying:”

“As an occupying power, (Israel bears full) responsibility for the health of Gaza’s residents,” including to treatment outside the Strip, unconditionally without constraints, authorities denying it as collective punishment - prohibited under international law, what, throughout its history, Israel disdainfully spurned.”

Comment by Rebekah on 3/23/11 at 6:39 pm

I visited the West Bank last year and I have to say the “Israeli apartheid” description is apt. There are around 500,000 illegal Jewish settlers living in the West Bank - all protected by the Israeli military who enable them to live in comfort and security on land that doesn’t belong to them. Many Palestinians have actually been kicked out of their family homes to make way for these settlers. Worst of all, some settlers are violent racists who get their kicks from harassing Palestinians (type in “settler violence” on youtube and you’ll see some of this stuff caught on camera). Sorry Israel, but if you want to shake off the “apartheid” label, you need to stop this racist oppression.

Comment by Manni on 3/23/11 at 7:41 pm

Like a catchy tune the message must stick in memory. “Israel is the ONLY country in the Middle East that is NOT apartheid.” is the good one
But to make it to work the messenger must be patriotic Israeli Arab. I hope there are some in Israel

Comment by Vladim on 3/23/11 at 7:46 pm

When a country controls millions of persons, not its citizens, it is like Apartheid.  The comparison is not shocking, but logical. The Apartheid regime was democratic, constitutional, and valued freedom for its citizens, just like Israel.  The term applies. Embrace it or lose credibility. No spin can change the facts.

Comment by James Swiderski on 3/23/11 at 11:33 pm

Some of these comments just prove Suissa’s point. People are obsessed with calling Israel an apartheid and racist state while totally ignoring countries that are way worse. Why do these countries get a free pass? Singling out Israel for criticism is not fair, and it does not help the millions of Arabs in other countries like Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia who are being persecuted.

Comment by Andy C on 3/24/11 at 12:42 am

I’m a proud American, but if I wanted to make a point, I could cite incidents where entire minority groups here are discriminated against, and large chunks of the population are denied healthcare. We’re not a perfect country, but it’s still a better place to live than most. Same goes for Israel. It’s not perfect. But I’d rather live there than in another Middle East country where I’m constantly looking over my shoulder. These folks that are blasting Israel – if they were forced to live somewhere in the Middle East, really where would they rather live? Probably the place they’re ragging on.

Comment by Jezebel on 3/24/11 at 2:03 am

just brainstorming here, could it be in all honesty that israel’s one-sided policies is murdering israel’s name?

recently wikileaks gave the world something critical to question morally…can israel expect peace if there is no justice for all?

http://www.aftenposten.no/spesial/wikileaksdokumenter/article3972840.ece

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/wikileaks-israel-aimed-to-keep-gaza-economy-on-brink-of-collapse-1.335354

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/01/05/2742415/wikileaks-israel-kept-gaza-economy-on-brink

Comment by jnickle on 3/24/11 at 3:24 am

But what of the Palestinians’ policies? What is their policy? Besides playing the victim. How come the Palestinians can preach Jew hatred and they get all the sympathy? When Israel gave back a bunch of land a few years back, what did the Palestinians do? Did they celebrate and make good use of the land? No, they kept spreading hate. And unbelievably, the world went along with their sob story. This seems pretty one-sided to me. As other rational people have posted above, why is Israel getting all the blame?

Comment by gregorya on 3/24/11 at 4:24 am

Some readers forget: Israel promotes itself as a “democracy”, as “one of us”. This is why it is now coming under intense scrutiny - because the PR is completely at odds with the reality. Take a look at the following(this includes commentary from Noam Chomsky and Christian/human rights activists):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajbABuEEGU

So, does Israel expect us to say this is okay? It’s okay for Israeli settlers to taunt Palestinians, bash them, force them out of their homes - all with the blessing of the Israeli military. It’s okay to do this because maybe North Korea does worse? Good on those who hold events like “Apartheid Week” to bring attention to this situation.

Comment by Manni on 3/24/11 at 5:30 am

Note to all those terrorist wannabes using Jewish names to post anti Jewish/Israeli comments - save your energy for joining your confreres who are ethnically cleansing all Muslim countries of their Christians (you’ve already accomplished that with Jews). Suggest you realize that your Islamic “faith” is a death cult, save yourself by getting off the terrorist train now.

Comment by george on 3/24/11 at 7:23 am

Your compassion for your Arabs brothers’ wellbeing would go much further in Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iran.. Want more names? You go after Israel only because you know its decency makes it more vulnerable. It only demonstrates your hypocrisy and anti-Semitism.

Comment by Mini on 3/24/11 at 11:23 am

“The church is obliged by its evangelical mission to demand structural changes that favor the reign of God and a more just and comradely way of life. Unjust social structures are the roots of all violence and disturbances. … Those who benefit from obsolete structures react selfishly to any kind of change.”

- Archbishop Oscar Romero, November 1979.(Source: U.S. Catholic)

Comment by Sojourner on 3/24/11 at 11:59 am

Mr. Suissa, thank you for bringing a voice of reason to a publication where all Israel haters/Anti-Semites of all colors, religions, and creed flock, commonly known as the “Jewish” Journal. We will make it, David, with or witout them. Their hatred toward us only hardens and makes us stronger. More power to you.

Comment by Harvey on 3/24/11 at 12:23 pm

“My God, …to them that curse me let my soul be silent, and like dust to all… As for those that think evil of me speedily thwart their counsel and destroy their plots. Do for Thy name’s sake, do this for Thy right hand’s sake, do this for the sake of Thy holiness, do this for the sake of Thy Torah. That Thy beloved ones may rejoice, let Thy right hand bring on help and answer me… May it be your will, O my God and God of my fathers, that the Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days… and there we will worship you with reverence as in ancient days and former years. And may the Mincha offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to God, as in ancient days and former years. Amen”

Comment by Kol Koreh Bamidbar on 3/24/11 at 12:35 pm

I would like to condemn the two sides: The Nazis and the Jews who indiscriminately murdered Germans during the uprise of the Warsaw Ghetto and caused proportionate collateral damage. The sides must stop the violence and return to the negotiation table the sooner the better.

Comment by The Good JEw on 3/24/11 at 5:06 pm

i think Daniel P Moynihan called this defining deviancy down or in the words of the tanach “aych nofloo geborim” Instead of being proud of israel (ALL of the territory controlled by Israel) as being the only democracy in the middle east with freedom for all its inhabitants with standards equal to those of western democracies, this advertising guru has come up with a new slogan “Israel: the only non brutal apartheid regime in the middle east” ....no thnks.

Comment by reality check on 3/25/11 at 9:16 am

buses in Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Yemen, Jordan and other Middle East countries — where,... “people are being jailed, tortured and often killed fighting for their human rights.”

Let’s compare those regimes with Israel’s democracy, and let’s see who’s apartheid and who’s not.

I see the new script to be “pro israel: for, economic achievments, tourism and business competition israel’s comparative peer group is made up of the highest achieving countries in the world but for civil rights…the countries at the bottom of the barrel

test that one with some focus groups

Comment by reality check on 3/25/11 at 9:21 am

Paying talkbackers to post pro-Israel responses

“In an interview this month with the Calcalist, an Israeli business newspaper, Shturman, the deputy director of the ministry’s hasbara department, admitted his team would be working undercover.

They will speak as bloggers, journalist, net-surfers and as citizens, and will write responses and articles that will look personal but will be based on a prepared list of messages that the foreign ministry developed.”

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3744516,00.html

Comment by jn on 3/28/11 at 3:16 am

Criticism of Israel is not, but can be, antisemitic. The European Union has a non-binding working definition of antisemitism for the member states. It addresses the problem of what criticism of Israel/Zionism is a cover for antisemitism.
http://www.fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/material/pub/AS/AS-WorkingDefinition-draft.pdf
BTW I live in the Netherlands. The slogan on anti-Israel demonstrations is “Hamas, Hamas, all Jews to the gas”. Some participating groups deny the Holocaust ever happened. Others think that Hitler should have finished his work. There are also more and more no-go areas for recognizable Jews.
American Jews, have a nice day criticizing the “apartheid” state Israel.

Comment by Beauchard on 3/28/11 at 5:16 am

@jn: I don’t know why they need to do that when everyone knows the Jews control the media. Nothing Israel does ccomes close to the hundreds of millions being dumped by the Arabs, the oil lobby, and Jew haters like Soros for the sole purpose of destroying Israel.  Are you also part of this propaganda machine?

Comment by Mini on 3/28/11 at 8:59 am

@ Rebekah: yes Israelis make mistakes and there have been cases of people being denied timely medical assistance. Usually because of bureaucratic incompetence. Yet you imply that the Israeli/Zionist/Jewish (multiple choice) demons deliberately withhold medical attention. However, according to the UN, Palestinian life expectancy has risen to 73.4 years. Much higher than in 114 countries, including your friends Turkey,Egypt, Lebanon and Iran? I just do not understand how the (spit, spit) Israeli genocide can lead to a higher life expectancy. Oh sorry, of course. The UN is also part of the international Zionist conspiracy.

Comment by Beauchard on 3/28/11 at 10:25 am

True one can’t trust US one-sided news. Paid to spread Israeli propaganda on the Internet, did not know this. That confirmation is disturbing. About the holy verses posted, why focus on only one verse and ignore the rest of scriptures? It’s an easy out to turn a blind eye to injustices. Why not leave your comfort zone, travel, see for yourself the real world? Blogger, to be well informed it’s key to go to both Israel AND occupied territory to write truthfully. I know firsthand that unless you have seen BOTH sides of Israel, there’s NO WAY of knowing the facts. It’s disconcerting, misleading when bloggers write about hear-say rhetoric. Personally, I don’t appreciate it.

Comment by Maria on 3/28/11 at 3:25 pm

I started reading Jewish American online journals. I was pleasantly surprised that so many non-Jews were interested. Then I noticed that all the comments were very similar. They all said one thing: Israel/Zionism is evil. A great subject for my blog I thought, so I started to dig deeper.
On the Forward I found rehmat. a well-respected blogger there. Just google Rehmat and Jews and enter the world of the antisemites. Did you know that Jews were responsible for all the evil in the world, including the Nazis. Think about it: get rid of the Jews and you get rid of the evil. I confronted rehmat in a post. no denial he just called me names and carried on blogging there.
To be continued

Comment by Beauchard on 3/29/11 at 7:13 am

Then I migrated to this site and found Ms. Maria. Ideal for my blog. Take the first sentence. “True one can’t trust US one-sided news”. Why not? Helen Thomas gave the answer.
Then “Paid to spread Israeli propaganda on the Internet, did not know this”. Notice “propaganda” not point of view.
It was 18 months ago, was reported on all sites and journals that examine the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Yet Ms. Maria who is so interested that she travels to the territories did not know this?
So why the opening sentence? Answer: all positive comments on Israel are untrustworthy and all those who make them are paid to spread Israeli ” propaganda”. The rest I will save for my blog.

Comment by Beauchard on 3/29/11 at 8:24 am

@Beauchard: What is your blog? You realize this publication is an extension of Al Jazeera, so don’t let the name confuse you. You will see all kinds of nuts here, including some “Jews” who claim the Mossad was behind 9-11. You think you have the psychiatric skills to handle that?

Comment by Avi on 3/29/11 at 8:50 am

Avi, jn’s actual quote on paying talkbackers is from The Electronic Intifada. The “relay” approach used is not new. First jn and then Ms. Maria takes over the baton with, “That confirmation is disturbing” and by introducing “propaganda”.
This is what rehmat did with his pseudonyms laqila, split and db. 
BTW, my blog is quite new, started with Egypt. Have 4 posts with only 600 page hits mainly from the Netherlands where I live. My new post is not finished yet. Anyway my blog is in English at http://dovsegal.blogspot.com/
I now have enough info so I will not be posting here any more. It serves no purpose. Am yisrael chai, with or without the Jew-haters on this forum.

Comment by Beauchard on 3/29/11 at 11:42 am

@Beauchard: Truly an interesting blog. Well written, well dcumented. Thanks for the information. Is tehre any way I can get notification of your new postings sent directly to my email?

Comment by Avi on 3/29/11 at 12:10 pm

@Avi, thank you for your postive comments. I think that if you became a follower of my blog, I could send you notifications of new postings.

Comment by Beauchard on 3/29/11 at 12:43 pm

Israel has been taken over by religious fanatics that more than match the ayatollahs.Former Chief Rabbi Yosef, leader of the Shaa Party claims that non-Jews were created, like donkeys, to serve the Jews and the government was silent about his Hitleresque view of a Jewish “master race”. Agreement? The Shaa’s and settlers believe this.We have “Torat Hamelech” and settlers teaching their children that non-Jews are subhuman. Such is the sickness sweeping Israel and of course it isn’t racist.

Comment by northwoods on 3/30/11 at 4:32 am

@Northwood, Sorry just can’t resist correcting obvious mistakes.
You guys should get your act together: it is Shas not Shaa party. Shaa is a Muslim name. Thank you for the next part of “The Electronic Intifada” relay. Each post elaborates on an earlier libel or introduces a new one. I cannot deny it. Israel, like the rest of the world, has some racist citizens. However let me reassure all my non-Jewish friends here: the overwhelming majority of Israeli (and American) Jews do not think that “non-Jews are subhuman”. As Ms. Rebekah and Ms. Maria said: come and see for yourselves: lots of(movie)theaters, no-one is stoned, gays are not arrested and women can wear what they like.

Comment by Beauchard on 3/30/11 at 5:49 am

The familiarity all those Israel-haters are showing with Israel’s nuances in order to distort the big picture is truly amazing. There is no doubt that Israeli society—a mosaic of 70 different ethnicities—contains some wacky elements, including religious nuts like Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, but to extrapolate from this and generalize about the Israelis society resembles no less than Nazi propaganda. What’s even more amazing is how all these Anti-Semites turn a blind eye on the tsunami of bigotry, sexism, intolerance, and Islamo-fascism that engulfs the Middle East.

Comment by Avi on 3/30/11 at 8:57 am

Post a Comment

Name:
Email:

Type the word you see below:

Comment:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?