Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on February 2, 2022

By Ron Kampeas

Amnesty International is set to become the latest human rights organization to describe Israels activities in relation to Palestinians as apartheid when it releases a special report on Tuesday, prompting a strong rebuke from major U.S. Jewish groups that argue the report could inflame existing tensions and incite violence.

The report was leaked to NGO Monitor, an Israeli watchdog, whichpublished an extensive critical analysis onlineon Monday.

According to a page posted online by NGO Monitor, the Amnesty report appears to extend the apartheid designation to Israels treatment of its Arab citizens, particularly during clashes inside Israel last May sparked by Israels conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Other leading human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Btselem, have in the pastcompared Israeli policy to Apartheid South Africa. But in its report released last April assessing whether Israels treatment of Palestinians meets apartheid criteria, Human Rights Watchwas at pains to say its designation did not extend to Israeli practices within Israels pre-1967 state lines.

Like that Human Rights Watch report, Amnestys will reportedly offer an assessment on whether they think Israeli officials could be charged with crimes against humanity.

The report presents an unbalanced, inaccurate, and incomplete review and instead inexplicably focuses on one aim: to demonize and delegitimize the Jewish and democratic State of Israel, read a joint statement released on Sunday by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Federations of North America and Bnai Brith International.

The reports misguided and backward-looking effort to vilify Israel seems to be trying to turn back the peace clock, inflame existing tensions and incite violence, while obstructing the path to peace and the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the groups added.

Israels government also condemned the Amnesty report, calling it antisemitic, and urged Amnesty to withdraw it.

In publishing this false report, Amnesty UK uses double standards and demonization in order to delegitimize Israel. These are the exact components from which modern antisemitism is made, Israels foreign ministry said Monday in a statement.

Amnesty International has been one of Israels most consistent critics in recent decades, and the Jewish community in Britain, where Amnesty is based, has accusedits officials of at times crossing into antisemitism.

See the rest here:

Amnesty International Set to Accuse Israel of Apartheid; Jewish Groups Worry About Violence - Jewish Exponent

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