It was not that long ago that using the word ‘apartheid’ to describe the conditions of Palestinians in the Israeli occupied territories would arouse indignant responses and charges of anti-Semitism would be leveled against the speaker. But those days are long gone as the state of affairs has become more widely known and the realization has sunk in that the label accurately captures it. Even people like former president Jimmy Carter and South African archbishop Desmond Tutu and many others use the term.
Israeli comedian Assaf Harel, who is the host of the show “Good Night With Assaf Harel”, used the monologue of his series finale to tell the Israeli people some harsh truths that they have been avoiding for a long time, that apartheid has been a part of the Israeli system for ages however much they may shut their eyes to the reality. In 2016 alone, Harel received over 300 death threats related to his show.
I like to think that when this speech aired, StevoR awoke from slumber with a start without knowing precisely why.
Mano beat me to posting it. Harel hits every note, speaks every truth about it. Which, of course, will infuriate every rightwing extremist in Israel. I fear for his life, and not from anything that Hamas would do.
Holms (#1) --
When I started blogging here, stevor tried posting a comment on mine. I told him by email that I would not let him, after which he pleaded for “a chance”. I would like to have seen his face when I told him I was also left0ver1under, very familiar with his inanity and racism. (I didn’t change handles intentionally. PZ Myers created my blog and account with the name Intransitive, so I stuck with it.)
Wow. That was powerful. Hopefully more and more Israelis are waking up. I love the country, its people, and yes, its existence. But as long as the government continues to enact this apartheid, I cannot fully support it.
Intransitive: odd to see that you are simultaneously so critical of Israel and so supportive of Taiwan. Their 20th century histories practically mirror each other’s, and of course, they were both loathed by the Easten Bloc and the UN in similar vocabulary.