Israel has been accused of maintaining an “apartheid” government. “Apartheid” was the system of racial discrimination and oppression that was prevalent in South Africa until the early 1990s. The characteristics of apartheid were:
- Whites could not marry non-whites.
- Education for black citizens was very rudimentary, mostly consisting only of reading, writing and arithmetic, and a very slanted history was taught.
- Blacks were barred from higher education, and instead were instructed in trades.
- Effectively, this resulted in Blacks not being qualified to serve as Judges, Municipal or provincial offices, Doctors, teachers, nurses or any other “profession.”
- Blacks could not vote in national elections.
- Blacks could not own private property.
- Blacks were restricted to living in racially segregated areas.
How does the present situation in Israel compare to South Africa?
The first thing is that it’s not a racial thing. Jews and “Palestinians” are members of the same race, and skin color varies in the same degrees among “Palestinians” as it does among Jews.
- Jews and Palestinians may marry each other.
- Education for Jews and Palestinians is equal, with STEM subjects being taught equally between them.
- Palestinians may attend any University they choose, and enter any profession they choose.
Palestinians in Israel, both Moslems and Christians, can become teachers in Israeli schools, there are Arab citizens of Israel, including Palestinians, who work as teachers in Israeli schools.
Palestinians in Israel, both Moslems and Christians, can go to work in Israeli hospitals, there are many Arab citizens of Israel, including Palestinians, who work in Israeli hospitals. Etc. etc. etc.
Palestinians in Israel, both Muslims and Christians, are individuals with full civil rights…
A particular case is the Israeli army:
In Israel, most Jewish citizens are subject to compulsory military service. However, there are some categories of Jewish citizens who are exempt from military service in the Israeli army. Here are some examples:
Religious Students: Students studying in yeshivas (Talmudic schools) and following a full-time religious studies program may be granted exemption from military service.
Ultra-Orthodox Women: Ultra-Orthodox women may be exempt from military service, although they are expected to be involved in alternative community service.
Furthermore, military service is not Mandatory for Arab Islamic Israeli citizens. However, Arab Israeli citizens have the option to voluntarily enlist in the Israeli army, if they wish, to access the opportunity to gain educational or employment benefits after military service. There are also Arab Israeli citizens who choose not to enlist for political or ideological reasons.
Israeli citizens of the Christian faith also have the right to voluntarily join the Israeli army. Military service is not Mandatory for Christian citizens, but those who wish to enlist may do so.
In the Israeli army there are also units specifically made up of Christian soldiers, such as the “Bedouin Brigade” which also includes Arab Christian soldiers.
“Do all Arab Israelis have to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), even though they cannot become officers?”
Arab Israelis can become officers in the IDF and some of them do. There are zero ethnic or religious qualifications in Israel for any military rank or for any political office.
There are very few Israeli Arab officers in the IDF, not because of some discrimination as your question suggests, but because there are relatively few Israeli Arabs who volunteer to join the IDF when none of them are required to do so.
Here is a list of the current Palestinian Arab members of Israel’s Knesset (Parliament) and the political parties they represent.
Here is a list of current Palestinian Arab Justices of the Israeli Supreme Court:
Khaled Kabub
(2022-date)
Abdel Rahman Zuabi
Born in the village of Sulam in 1932 (when under British rule). A graduate of Tel Aviv University, Zuabi served for over two decades as a judge in the district court in Nazareth (of Israel’s north). In 1999 he was appointed for a 9-month term to the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice and thus became the first Israeli-Arab in Israel’s highest court. Later he returned to the Nazareth court until his retirement.
Salim Joubran
He was born in the German Colony in Haifa to a Maronite Christian family, originally from Lebanon. A graduate of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he was a member of Israel’s Supreme Court of Justice from 2003 to 2017. In 2013 he was also the head of the Central Election Committee of the 20th Knesset (in which Netanyahu won his second consecutive term).
George Karra
Born in Jaffa to a Christian-Arab family and graduated from the Tel Aviv University. He is currently serving as a member of Israel’s Supreme Court of Justice, taking the seat of Salim Joubran since 2013. Karra was the judge who convicted former Israeli President Moshe Katsav for rape.
Hana Mansour-Khatib
She was born in the Arab village of Tira. A graduate of the Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, in 2017 she was appointed to serve as one of the nine Qadis of the Israeli Shariah court and thus became the first woman to assume this role in Israel. Her appointment was met with mixed opinions from Islamic leaders in Israel.
MDs (Medical Doctors)
Under an apartheid regime, these people would not be allowed to serve as Doctors nor would they have been allowed the required education:
By the end of 2021, Arab physicians constituted 24% of Israeli doctors aged 67 and younger. That same year, 43% of new licenses for physicians were awarded to Arab and Druze doctors. The share of Arab citizens in other healthcare professions is also considerable..
Dr. Aziz Daravish
Director of the Emergency Department at Hadassah-Ein Kerem Medical Center
Arab, Muslim
Dr. Rania Okbi
The first Bedouin Doctor in history,
Proud Israeli
Dr. Masad Barum
General Director of Western Galilee Hospital
Arab, Muslim
Palestinians in Israel, both Moslems and Christians, can join the police force. There have always been Arab police officers serving the Arab communities but the last few years an increase of influx has been observed:
Jamal Hakrush is deputy commissioner in the Israel Police. He is Arab Muslim.
In the picture below Hakrush is getting his new rank’s insignia from then Israel Police General Commissioner Roni Alsheikh and Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan.
Sabrin Saadi
Israeli Police Officer
Arab Muslim
Presence of Arab women in Israel Police increasing
Other offices / Professions, that would be denied Palestinian Arabs under an apartheid government:
George Dick
Ambassador of the State of Israel to Norway
Arab, Muslim
Reda Mansour
Israeli historian and Poet
Former Ambassador of the State of Israel to Ecuador
Druz
Dr. Jacob Hanna
Biologist, Director of Stem Cell Research, Weismann Institute;
Arab Christian
Lucy Harish
TV Presenter and News Anchor for Israeli Television
Arab, Muslim
Ashraf Brik
Professor at University Ben Gurion
Recipient of Israeli Prize for Excellence in
Chemistry among Youth 2011
Arab, Muslim
Ala Wahib
IDF Major
Arab Muslim
An officer and a Muslim Zionist
“From the age of zero I was told that Israel stole Palestine from us, but when I was 14 I woke up. I discovered that Jews are not bad,” says Ala Wahib, an operations officer at a key IDF training base, and the highest-ranked Muslim officers in the Israeli army.
Arabs vote in Israel
Palestinian Arabs in Israel, both Moslems and Christians, participate in the elections… in September 2021 there were 15 Arab members of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
Do not think that this is the same model posing and the same children in the frame – the aunts are different and the children are different and none of them are Jews, all without exception are Arabs.
Where the Israeli emblem is not visible, there are inscriptions in Hebrew – I tell you this in case it suddenly seems to you that it was filmed in Jordan or Gaza. No, no, it’s all in Israel.