Apartheid Denial

​This is what happens when an oppressive military regime builds a separation wall and then by an act of God, or karma, or maybe just an extreme weather event related to climate change, coupled with engineering flaws, part of the wall collapses. It is said that these walls stretch 700 km long. I am not sure if that includes the electric fences around Gaza that stretch far out into the sea. These barriers alone should be an immediate alarm bell for anyone contemplating whether the Israeli government treats Palestinians humanely. The construction cost of these walls and associated infrastructure such as roads must be in the billions; money that would be better spent on water supply, waste water treatment, and power infrastructure, or education and healthcare for everyone, regardless of their heritage or religion.

Amnesty International released a 280 page report this week on the situation in Israel confirming what many organizations have already found; an extremely disturbing, deep- rooted system of apartheid against Palestinians. The US, UK, and Germany have been quick to dismiss the report (with the exact same rationale interestingly, as if mutually agreed upon, or otherwise dictated to them) without reading and analyzing it. Obviously, Yair Lapid was also quick to dismiss the report on behalf of Israel with the usual pre-planned gas-lighting narratives tied to accusations of "hate and demonization toward Israel, misinformation, and anti-Semitism."

Here at home, the Trudeau government in Canada has been too busy dealing with public backlash (convoys and truck horns) related to Covid-19 restrictions to jump on the bandwagon and dismiss the report just yet, but I am sure that is coming. Trudeau seems to piggyback on the US on many foreign policy issues. He is pro-Israel and anti-BDS. He typically expresses soft "concerns" about Israel's illegal settlements and inequalities, but then vows publicly to bolster trade with Israel and deepen ties. He also typically acknowledges Israel's right to self-defense and security, but he falls short of acknowledging the same right for Palestinians. And like other ignorant Western government officials, Trudeau supports the "two-state solution". Anyone with a reasonable understanding of the situation should be able to easily see this is no longer possible as a result of Israel's relentless annexation and settlement tactics.

The Canadian media has kept relatively quiet about the Amnesty report with the exception of one of the TV news networks that gave the last word to Israel, and the National Post - a biased, pro-Israel, apartheid denier.