Scroll down for: Statements – Updates – Resources – Articles of interest collected by Rolene Marks
Women International Zionist Organization (WIZO) rejects Amnesty International Report
Tel Aviv , 3 February , 2022
The Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO) rejects the deeply flawed and one-sided report published by Amnesty International accusing Israel of being an apartheid state.
Israel is a robust democracy, and a report like this not only negates the painful and unique experience of South African victims of Apartheid but also serves to push a dangerous political agenda against the Jewish state.
The accusation of the practice of domestic apartheid by Israel is absurd. Israel’s governing coalition, the most broad in this nation’s history, includes an Arab Islamist party. Israel is characterized by the leadership of senior Arab Israeli and Druze diplomats, Supreme Court judges, military officials, Arab Israel business leaders, civil society and many others all helping lead Israel’s economy, society and even its security and defense forces. The report absolves Hamas and the Palestinian Authority of any role they play in failing to improve the living situation of their constituents, placing the blame squarely on Israel. This is extremely unproductive for the pursuit of peace between Israel and her Palestinian neighbors.
This report is a clear indication that instead of looking at productive ways to negotiate peace between Israel and its neighbors, Amnesty International inflames continued conflict in Israel the West Bank, Gaza and across the region in the name of human rights. We are deeply concerned that flawed and accusatory reports like this are often used to incite violence and antisemitic rhetoric against Jewish communities around the world, who will pay the price for a political agenda that seeks to delegitimize the State of Israel.
STATEMENTS
Ministery of Foreign Affairs Israel
(Communicated by the MFA Spokesperson)
‘The State of Israel absolutely rejects all the false allegations that appear in’ Amnesty’s report(PDF)
South African Friends of Israel
‘Amnesty International Report resorts to hijacking South Africa’s apartheid suffering to defame Israel’ (PDF)
South African Zionist Federation and NGO Monitor
‘Amnesty International reinvents Apartheid to validate a damning report against Israel. The AI anti-Israel Report is malevolent propaganda’(PDF)
The South African-Israel Policy Forum
‘Amnesty’s report appropriates and distorts beyond recognition the painful history of apartheid in South Africa … to push a narrow transparent political agenda against Israel’(PDF)
Democratic Majority for Israel
RESOURCES
Apartheid does exist in the Middle East – but not in Israel. Khaled Abu Toameh writes more: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18212/apartheid-middle-east
Amnesty International’s report accuses Israel of being an Apartheid state. This is part of increased efforts by civil society to de-legitimise the Jewish state and exclude them from the family of nations. Here is a very important resource from NGO Monitor that debunks this report.
Investigative journalist, David Collier did a deep dive into Amnesty International, their practices, employees and more. Here is the report: (PDF)
UPDATES
Meretz Member of Knesset (Israel) Issawi Frej, a left-wing Arab member of the ruling coalition, rejects Amnesty UK’s new report accusing Israel of being an apartheid state. “Israel has many problems that must be solved, inside the Green Line and certainly in the occupied territories, but Israel is not an apartheid state,” he says. (ToI)
WATCH Palestinian Human Rights activist, Bassem Eid sets the record straight (VIDEO from FB page)
Mansour Abbas, head of Ra’am party rejects use of word Apartheid to describe Israel and report
The UK Charity Commission will be launching an investigation into Amnesty International’s funding. The Charity Commission has confirmed to Jewish News it is assessing whether donations were used to fund Amnesty International’s “apartheid state” report on Israel – and “if so, whether this is of regulatory concern”. A spokesperson for the watchdog said it was “aware” of concerns raised over this matter and “in line with our standard process are currently assessing information to determine if charitable funds have been used to fund the report and, if so, whether this is of regulatory concern. ” (Jewish News)
Amnesty’s Israel chief criticizes group’s report accusing Israel of apartheid. Read more: https://www.timesofisrael.com/amnestys-israel-chief-criticizes-groups-report-accusing-israel-of-apartheid/
US: Absurd to charge Israel with apartheid, we support a Jewish state
01/02/2022″We reject the view that Israel’s actions constitute apartheid,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.
Germany rejects the use of terms such as “apartheid” in connection with Israel
02/02/2022 “We reject expressions like apartheid or a one-sided focusing of criticism on Israel. That is not helpful to solving the conflict in the Middle East,” Reuters quotes Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christopher Burger as telling a news conference. (Reuters)’Don’t Encourage Antisemitism’: German Government and Politicians Blast Amnesty International’s ‘Apartheid’ Report on Israel
Australian PM Scott Morrison says his country stands with Israeland will continue to be a staunch ally. He said of the report “no country is perfect”. (7NewsAus 02/02/2022)
US : The Senate Foreign Relations Committee condemns Amnesty International
To characterize #Israel as an apartheid state defies reality. Amnesty International’s report is outrageous & dangerously devoid of historical context. I strongly condemn anyone who questions Israel’s right to exist.(Tweet from SFRC)
Austria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejects Amnesty International calling Israel an Apartheid state
The United Kingdom rejects the Amnesty International report. (Foreign Office)
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
A must read! Arab Israeli Yoseph Hadad addresses the Irish parliament – his speech: https://www.irelandisrael.ie/blog/yoseph-haddad-002/
Before releasing its report on Israel, Amnesty International would have been better served to take a long, hard look at its own record of aiding and abetting human rights crimes https://dailyfriend.co.za/2022/02/08/amnestys-anti-israel-report-false-and-malicious/
This op-ed in the New York Post heavily criticises the sham report issued by Amnesty International :
https://nypost.com/2022/01/31/amnesty-internationals-latest-israel-smear/
“Accusing Israel of Apartheid and not China is not a double standard” say Amnesty International. Read the interview here: https://www.timesofisrael.com/amnesty-to-toi-no-double-standard-in-accusing-israel-but-not-china-of-apartheid/
“Amnesty International tries to distort my Arab identity” read this by Yoseph Hadad: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-695337
📰 Alex Ryvchin writes this superb article on the Amnesty Report: https://layoftheland.online/2022/02/06/no-amnesty-for-ngos-false-claims-of-israeli-apartheid/
Superb article by Editor of the Times of Israel, David Horovitz on the Amnesty International report: https://www.timesofisrael.com/amnestys-apartheid-israel-calumny/
A former staff member of Amnesty International exposes how research is done in that organization
LISTEN🎧Howard Feldman speaks to NGO Monitors Shaun Sacks about the AI report:
https://www.newsweek.com/amnestys-fall-understanding-ngos-true-agenda-opinion-1674764
LISTEN🎧 Howard Feldman speaks to Shamila Mohammed of Amnesty International:
LISTEN🎧 Is their institutionalised anti-Israel bias at Amnesty International? It would appear so! Listen to Howard interview someone who was on the inside: https://www.chaifm.com/podcast/2022-02-03-amilcar-milton-director-of-creative-axis-unpacks-his-story-at-amnesty-international-does-amnesty-international-have-credibility/