A newly published survey by the EKOS Research Associates has revealed that Canadians identify ‘Israel’ as an apartheid regime, while just a small number consider it a “vibrant democracy.”
The survey was conducted early this August polling 1,089 Canadians on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME). 38% of respondents provided an answer confirming that ‘Israel’ is a country with segregation akin to apartheid, while only 11% viewed it as a “vibrant democracy”. Only a sizable number said they didn’t know how to classify ‘Israel’.
CJPME released a number of recommendations, particularly to the Canadian government which has not wavered on its support to ‘Israel’. These include acknowledging the crime of apartheid, supporting the re-establishment of the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid, and allowing Palestinians to seek relief on an international level.
‘Israel’ is only an Apartheid Regime
Seemingly, the perception of ‘Israel’ as an apartheid state has gained ground in recent years. Several human rights groups, including B’Tselem, HRW and Amnesty International, have in recent years concluded that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians amounts to “apartheid.”
Tamir Pardo, former head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, said on September 6th, 2023 that ‘Israel’ is enforcing an apartheid system in the West Bank against Palestinians, concluding his remarks were “not extreme” but rather “fact”.
Pardo added that Israelis are free to get into a car and drive wherever they choose, apart from the blockaded Gaza Strip, in comparison to Palestinians, who are forbidden from entering certain areas and have to pass heavily armed checkpoints.
In 2021, Human Rights Watch accused the Israeli regime of practising apartheid against the Palestinian people in one of its most comprehensive reports that date on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. According to the HRW report, ‘Israel’ committed “crimes against humanity” while the U.S. and the international community have “turned a blind eye.”
HRW, accordingly, advocated an international commission of inquiry and sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against “officials and entities credibly implicated.”
In 2022, Amnesty International showed that ‘Israel’ has imposed a system of oppression and domination against Palestinians across all areas under its control for the sake of benefitting Jewish Israeli settlers. Amnesty concluded that this amounts to apartheid as prohibited in international law.
Leading rights groups in ‘Israel’ and abroad and Palestinians accused ‘Israel’ and its 56-year occupation of the West Bank of morphing into an apartheid system that they say gives Palestinians second-class status and is designed to maintain Jewish hegemony from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
In August 2023, 19 Palestinians were killed by Israeli occupation forces and settlers’ attacks in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israel’s colonial settlers’ militias are always carrying out systematic attacks on roads near settlements, targeting Palestinians and their vehicles. These aggressive and barbaric actions result in severe injuries and many times in the death of others.
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