Israeli Apartheid Week 2011 – Official Press Release
Posted by Jonathan Huberman on February 28, 2011 @ 6:29 pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY—This week, our campus must again contend with deceitful anti-Israel propaganda, as Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (CSJP) participates in the International Israeli Apartheid Week. Apartheid refers to the system of racial oppression that occurred in South Africa, and CSJP seeks to equate Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians with the racist South African regime. Beneath the façade of the apartheid analogy, CSJP makes the insidious allegation that Israel is an inherently immoral and colonial regime with no right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. These claims are false and offensive, and we cannot stand by silently as our fellow students vilify our homeland.
Israel is a moral country, and we should feel proud to defend it as an island of egalitarian democracy in a sea of despotic oppression. Israel provides equal rights to all of its citizens, regardless of their background. Israeli-Arabs vote in elections, hold seats in the Knesset, and sit on the Israeli Supreme Court. When Israel takes measures of self-defense, such as its construction of the security barrier, it does so from a desire to protect its diverse population, not to enforce racist ideologies. While some inequality does exist in Israel, as it does in every western democracy, the Israeli government has persistently sought to preserve its cultural richness and equality.
LionPAC urges everyone on campus to participate in the many LionPAC and other Hillel sponsored events this week that will respond to the false moniker of apartheid and to help Hillel on College Walk as we seek to further an honest presentation of the facts. Lastly, as always, check back often on http://lionpac.org/ for event announcements, insightful blog posts, and relevant Spectator op-eds.
