The continued description of apartheid Israel is certainly running very thin and other than Naushad Omar and his ilk one would be stretched to find any more than that handful of bigots who buy into that hackneyed narrative.
But if your readers are indeed looking for apartheid countries, they need look no further than the Palestine Authority and the territory administered by both that authority as well as Hamas in Gaza. In both territories Jews are “verboten” by official decree. But its not only Jews who are banned from living there but the Christina population of those two territories have shrunk to alarming numbers.
In fact, the very last store selling Christmas decorations in Gaza was forcibly closed by the Hamas regime more than 5 years back. But one can name any number of Arab states where apartheid practices are part of their political landscape and are unapologetic in the face of those racist policies.
I live in Israel where all religions are practiced, tolerated and thrive. Perhaps Omar would like to look at the plight of the Bahai faith who were persecuted beyond belief to the point that every last Bahai follower fled Iran for fear of death. Mr. Omar, no prizes for guessing where the world headquarters of the Bahai faith is situated – right in the heard of Haifa, Israel’s third largest city. Where else has those dwindling Christian communities for Palestine and Gaza relocated but in Israel where they are free not only to practice their faith but free to engage and participate in all political activity, as one can see every four years – something that has not happened in the territories they fled from for decades.
Its time that Omar and his fellow travelers take of their bigoted and racist glasses and look at the Middle East with a more curious and critical lens to see facts and truths instead of burying their heads in the sands of hatred and religious intolerance.
Media Team Israel 