Gershom Gorenberg
Robert Wright and I discuss the “apartheid” label, the need to separate religion and state in Israel, and The Unmaking of Israel in a new bloggingheads conversation.
2 thoughts on “It’s Not Apartheid. It’s Occupation.”
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Occupation and apartheid are not mutually exclusive. Especially when the former is indefinite.
I rarely disagree with Gershom Gorenberg but here I do. The term apartheid is or has been moved into a more general meaning and usage such that, like the The Holocaust, holocaust is now used for similar events– or even lesser but still horrific events where there is such terrible devastation of a population.
“Apartheid” in South Africa is now apartheid ( small “a”. I suppose we here in the US would have deserved the term apartheid during our years of segregation. The situation in Israel does not match precisely of course. But the use of this term I believe has validity in some specifics and as a psychological tool in the Palestinians struggle. The strong objection to it’s use shows that it has an effect on the Israeli conscience. I see it as a non-violent approach- an attempt at shaming by this comparison to SA. So talk about the specific differences but also the similarities is all to the good.
I share your concern however that this is will cause some Israeli’s become more defensive and self-pitying ( “they against us”, “they want to delegitimize us” Israel haters, anti-Semites at it again). Bashing and shaming Israel does not seem to work.
What will work?