British Zionist groups and politicians have condemned a report published by Amnesty International (AI) UK which describes Israel as an apartheid state.
The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council launched a scathing attack on the charity accusing Amnesty of a “preposterous slur,” in its description of Israel as an apartheid state.
A joint statement from the Board President and JLC said: “We are shocked but not surprised by the content given the history of AI UK’s one-sided positioning on Israel.
“The report is completely biased and applies standards to Israel that are not applied to any other country. The emotive term “apartheid” against Israel is a preposterous slur. Israel is a vibrant democracy and a state for all its citizens (in July 2018 Israel passed a law to declare that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country).
Upon its release, the Report was attacked in the Jewish Chronicle. An ex-Labour MP and pro-Israel supporter said” What a disgrace to slander the Middle East’s only democracy and open society as racist. It is an insult not just to Israel, but to black South Africans who suffered under apartheid’s brutal rule .(even though many black South African leaders and black people have said that Israel apartheid system is much worse than what they experienced). The BBC coverage was not particularly helpful, in that they gave the Israeli Government ample opportunity to decry the Report’s conclusions as antisemitic.
See The Times reports on pro-Israel campaigners seeking to get the Charity Commission to rescind Amnesty’s charitable status.
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