© foothilldragonpress.orgIsrael's apartheid policies don't uphold the belief that it is a democracy.
US President Barack Obama, in a recent
interview with Jeffrey Goldberg in
The Atlantic, reaffirmed his support and love for Israel because, as he claims, "it is a genuine democracy and you can express your opinions." He further expressed his commitment to protecting Israel as a "Jewish state" by ensuring a "Jewish majority." The US government's support for the "Jewish state" has always been far more than rhetorical, backed by billions of dollars of military funding and consistent pro-Israel vetoes at the UN Security Council.
We are a group of US-based academics, representing diverse ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds, as well as a range of national origins, who recently visited Palestine. We were able to gain firsthand exposure to what Obama described in the interview as Israel's "Jewish democracy" and to what kinds of infrastructure our tax dollars help to support — walls, checkpoints and modern weaponry.
We had the privilege of traveling through part of the occupied Palestinian territories — the West Bank, including East Jerusalem — where we met with Palestinians.
Double standardsWe feel compelled to share a few examples of what we witnessed during our visit with Palestinian scholars, policy makers, activists, artists and others working in the West Bank.
We observed numerous double standards with regard to Palestinians' rights that prompt us to question the claim that Israel is a genuine democracy.
Comment: If this report is true, events in Syria are really starting to heat up.