israeli-racism-in-theory-and-practice

INTRODUCTION
“Anti-Semitism is no longer the hatred of and
discrimination against Jews as a religious or ethnic
group; in the age of Zionism, we are told, anti-
Semitism has metamorphosed into something that
is more insidious. Today, Israel and its Western
defenders insist genocidal anti-Semitism consists
mainly of any attempt to take away and to refuse to
uphold the absolute right of Israel to be a Jewish
racist state.” 1
At the United Nations World Conference against Racism
held in Durban in 2001, there was significant focus
on Israel’s discriminatory practices and treatment of
Palestinians coupled with renewed debate analogous to
UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 which in 1975
equated Zionism with racism. Such focus no doubt
reflects the growing world-wide consensus and repulsion
at these practices.
Humanitarians and human rights defenders the world
over, from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Jimmy Carter and
Noam Chomsky, in accordance with international law and
numerous UN resolutions, condemn Israel as a military
occupation implementing racist policies against the non-
Jewish populations both inside its territory and those it
occupies. Yet, meaningful public debate of this pressing
issue remains taboo and its very existence is generally
ignored - the US stormed out of the Durban conference
decrying it as ‘anti-Israel’ and ‘anti-Semitic’ while the
EU refused to pass judgment. During deliberation of the
1975 “Zionism is racism” resolution in the UN, Israel itself
conceded that it discriminated against Arabs, but argued
Israeli Racism in Theory and Practice
Middle East Monitor | A Report | October 2009
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