Mission to Israel Part V: There Is No "Apartheid"

When I tell Israelis that American students think they are like South Africa, they are shocked.

[This is the fifth post in my series on my mission to Israel. You can read Parts I, II, III, and IV.]

Perhaps one of the most effective marketing campaigns against Israel has been to dub the nation as an "Apartheid State." Apartheid, like Jim Crow, is something that students learn is evil and must not be repeated. When I tell Israelis that American students think they are like South Africa, they are shocked.

Here, let me run through several things that I learned during my trip.

First, on my United flight from Newark to Tel Aviv, I estimated that about 30% of the passengers were speaking Arabic. Muslim women wearing hijabs, were sitting next to Jewish men wearing yarmulkas. And no one batted an eye. When you arrive at customs in Ben Gurion Airport, people with passports from the United States and the Palestinian Authority wait on the same line. (In line, I was behind a mom and college-age son with Palestinian Authority passports.) Despite what you may have learned at an encampment teach-in, there is no separate-but-equal treatment.

Second, every sign in Israel is printed in three languages: Hebrew, English, and Arabic. Believe it or not, there are many Arabs living within Israel. They have full citizenship and can vote in all elections. They are allowed to intermarry, and can hold any job.  I learned that a very large percentage of doctors and pharmacists are Arabs. Yes, Jewish patients receive medical treatment from Arab doctors. This is not Jim Crow. There is a slight exception to this rule for Arabs living in the area known as East Jerusalem. They are not "citizens" but are "residents." They cannot vote in national elections, but can vote in municipal elections for Jerusalem. But they are able to attend universities, including Hebrew University which is located on Mount Scopus in East Jerusalem. I understand this status is extremely complicated. [Update: Co-blogger David Bernstein provides a slight correction in the comments below, which I share here: Arabs living in East Jerusalem are by default Jordanian citizens, and Israeli permanent residents. However, they can apply for Israeli citizenship, and if they pass security screenings, they become citizens. About 10% of East Jerusalem Arabs have become citizens. The vast majority of the rest have not applied, either for nationalistic reasons or out of fear that if East Jerusalem is returned to Arab control in the future, they will be targeted as traitors.]

Third, many of the Arabs in Israel support Israel's actions in Gaza. I learned this support is not monolithic, and many Arabs are hesitant to speak out in support of Gaza publicly. I can tell you that in my week in Israel, I did not see a single Palestinian flag. (Other than watching the horrific surveillance footage of Hamas terrorists murdering Israelis--they wore Palestinian flags with as much pride as a Columbia liberal arts major.)

Fourth, Israeli universities implement various forms of affirmative action for Arab students. The Dean of a law faculty explained that they create a special "bootcamp" program for Arab students to help them prepare for, and adjust to, a law program in Hebrew. The Dean vigorously rejected the label "affirmative action," but it is a race-based preference. I think DEI translates into Hebrew as Dallet-Aleph-Ayen (דאע). I was told that some Israeli universities impose actual quotas for Arab students. Not a plus factor--quotas. The rationale behind these programs is fascinating. The hope is that if Arabs are exposed to Israeli-western culture, they can become integrated into the body politic, and serve as examples of how Arabs and Israelis can co-exist. Whether it is working or not, I will let others decide. But these policies have been in place for some time.

This post is not meant to be a complete discussion of how Arabs are treated in Israel, but should, at a minimum, disabuse people of this notion that Israel is some sort of Apartheid state. Critics, no doubt will ask about the status of Gaza and the West Bank. Critics will maintain that both territories are "occupied" by Israel. Israel completely withdrew from Gaza nearly two decades ago, which has a border controlled by Egypt. And Israel maintains that it does not "occupy" the West Bank, and I think that case is compelling. The Palestinian Authority has its own government, even if it does not have statehood. But, course, elite lawyers disagree.