Mondoweiss: Are comparisons of South African apartheid and Israel useful?

[shira]

18. You avoided the bulk of my last post....

To get this moving, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt about Soske and Jacobs.

Here's what you avoided regarding the definition of Apartheid. I'd appreciate some honesty:

...The authors blew it when they gave a definition of Apartheid...

“Apartheid was a system of enforced segregation based on race or ethnicity, put in place by an exclusive, self defined group in order to consolidate colonial conquest particular to cement its hold on the land and natural resources.”

1. It's not based on race & ethnicity. Rights are based SOLELY on citizenship & you know that. In fact, you don't even attempt to refute that because it's so flipping obvious.

2. What's this exclusive self defined group consolidating colonial conquest? Jews? No, it's Israel with a 20% Arab population. The same ethnicity as Palestinians in the W.Bank. Palestinian Israelis are part of that "self-defined group". Jews also aren't colonists. They're indigenous to Israel, Judea, Samaria, Gaza..

3. The last part is the best because Israel is not trying to cement its hold on the land & natural resources. They've recognized Palestinian aspirations for their own land and have offered to hand over all that territory to the PA several times for their own state - free of Occupation and Settlements. Free of alleged "apartheid". It's the Palestinians (and you too) who feel their situation right now (as awful as you portray it) is preferable to having their own state free of Occupation, settlements, "apartheid". The PA & Hamas (as well as their western fanbase) perpetuates the situation, not Israel. They would keep saying no to every Israeli offer going back to 2000-01 through 2008. No other oppressed people on the planet would keep saying "NO" to their own state or "NO" to ending oppression against them. You know that. It's you and them who prefer "apartheid" to the PA accepting any of Israel's offers that would have granted them their own state w/o Occupation and Settlements.

This Apartheid slander is nothing but lies and incitement.