When Will Our Turn Come?

Translated by Dr. Israel Shahak

(A letter to the editor of Ha'aretz by R. Levi, published Feb. 19, 1991)

Yo'av Karni drew an interesting comparison between the dismantling of Communism under perestroika and the process of dismantling apartheid by De Klerk. But how is it that his train of thought did not lead him to draw a comparison between the apartheid laws in South Africa, which he dealt with in detail, and the laws and bureaucratic traditions which are taken for granted in Israel?

The 1913 Land Act [in South Africa] is not essentially different from the procedures employed by the Israel Lands Authority regarding state land (for Jews only) in Israel: be they the principles laid down in the Koenig report (the master plan for the Judaization of the Galilee); the activities of the Green Patrol in enforcing the law in the Negev and rounding up the bedouin in ethnic enclaves north of Beersheba; or the process for expropriating land and turning it over to Jewish settlers in the occupied territories.

Birth registration in accordance with the population census act of 1950 in South Africa (White, Black, Colored, Indian) is amazingly similar to the registration of religion and nationality in birth certificates and ID papers in Israel (Jew, Arab, Druze, Circassian, etc.) save for the slim possibility of changing one's entry by converting. (In practice, however, this is limited to European [who convert and become] Jews, or Jews who convert to another [religion]. An Arab always remains an Arab when it comes to the entry for nationality, even if he has converted to Judaism.)

The act governing living accommodations, which also dates back to 1950, is reminiscent of the ban on Arab workers spending the night in Jewish settlements. Or to the rulings of the Supreme Court and both national and local restrictions legitimizing racial discrimination, be it in regard to selling homes in the Jewish Quarter or plots of land in Zichron Yakov to non-Jews.

All this is in sharp contrast to public pronouncements about equality and freedom to live wherever one chooses when Jews purchase property rights in Arab areas or the Christian Quarter. Both we and [the South Africans] prohibit mixed marriages, and in effect there is a social taboo on joint accommodations.

It's true that in South Africa the white rulers constitute a small minority which, for the meantime, has the vote and control over 86 percent of the land, while we Jews are the majority both within the Green Line, or within Israel and the territories. In these areas, only Jews have the vote. And in the territories themselves, especially in Gaza, the demographic balance is totally different, as it is in the Galilee, Wadi Ara and the Negev. When, if ever, will apartheid come to an end in Israel?

An Amazing Resemblance to South Africa

(A letter to the editor of Ha'aretz by Uzi Oman, published Feb. 10, 1991)

Regarding Eliyahu Salpeter's "Journal, it is amazing how closely the discriminatory laws of South Africa—which began to be legislated in 1913 and which are now about to be abolished—resemble the discriminatory laws which began to be legislated in the state of Israel in 1948—and who knows when they will be abolished.

The ownership of the land in Israel is legally the preserve of the Israel Lands Authority—and in accordance with an agreement worked out with the Keren Kayemet—it imposes all the restrictions of the Keren Kayemet on the land under its control, i.e., land which is not sold but leased out. This method allows the officials of the authority to decide (in accordance with the "regulations") to whom to lease land, or homes, or a flat in a block of flats. The authority does this (in Salpeter's terms) by applying a clear "fundamental criterion" overseen by the ministry of the interior. In the registration entries for "religion" and "nationality" in the national census, those registered as "Jews" have full rights in regard to most of the land, cities and settlements. Those who are not registered as "Jews" are barred from owning real estate in most sectors of the country. So it is that the law and various regulations enforce what Mr. Salpeter refers to as "physical separation both in regard to local individual habitations and in regard to the establishment of separate 'bantustans."'

What the Jews (who are supposedly smart) don't understand is that a state in which all the residents do not have full equality cannot survive in the long run. The South Africans apparently realized this. The Maonites in Lebanon did not, and we are at present witnessing the consequences.

Amazingly enough, the majority of Israeli left-wing groups have failed to understand this. Rather than fight for full equality for all Israelis, they have focused their energies on the "Palestinian question," i.e., how to remain separate at any price from those who aren't Jewish. Similar to their friends on the right, they support what is referred to in Afrikaans as "apartheid," i.e., separateness.

Sharon Proposed to Attack Iraq

(An article by political correspondent Zvi Gilat in Hadashot, published Feb. 14, 1991)

The minister of housing, Ariel Sharon, denied yesterday that he had said Israel should attack Iraq for the purpose of breaking apart the anti-Iraq war coalition. Sharon said that the statement attributed to him was outrageous, and he characterized a leak from deliberations involving human lives as no less outrageous.

Other ministers claimed that this was exactly what Sharon had said, taking aback the other participants in the meeting. According to them, Sharon said that Israel should act against Iraq so as to break apart the international coalition, and thus best serve the Israeli interest. Otherwise, this coalition would, after the war, pressure Israel by demanding significant concessions. This should be prevented ahead of time.

The ministers said they were stunned by Sharon's words. When they asked the prime minister to respond to Sharon's speech, Shamir said that "in conformity with the policy of restraint, I am listening to everybody until he finishes, without interrupting him."

Responsible for the leak was Knesset Member Yossi Sarid. Notice of what had transpired at the [government] meeting reached the Knesset plenum. Stunned to the core, Sarid at once drafted an announcement to the press. In it he asserted that "today's utterances by Sharon are wild and insane, made by an adventurer devoid of inhibitions, determined to bring a calamity upon Israel." In this way, Sarid said, "Sharon has become a wartime security risk. It is up to the prime minister to remove him from the government and from any position wherein he can influence Israeli policies."

Censorship decided that, unlike the utterances of the ministers, Sarid's [announcement] did not need to be censored. In the newscast, however, an explanation of its context was needed. As noted, Sharon denies ever saying what is attributed to him.

Dr. Israel Shahak, a Holocaust survivor and retired professor of chemistry at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, is chairman of the Israeli League of Human and Civil Rights in Jerusalem. The above items were selected from Dr. Shahak's translations From the Hebrew Press, a monthly compilation of such items distributed in the United States by the American Educational Trust. Subscriptions are available to subscribers to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs for $25 per year in the US and Canada.