And now world, what do you think of that praiseworthy land, that deserving dream of democracy, the only other nation that shares your values, your principles, your ideals of justice, equality and human rights? The nation you call Israel! For decades we have heard nothing but approval and accolades for the “only democracy” in the Middle East, the tiny, budding nation fighting daily for its sovereignty and its right to exist while surrounded by brutes, militants, terrorists and ogres who wish to devour it. There it was as plain as can be, a shocking demonstration of the sad reality of your “true democracy”… the widely circulated video of a young Ethiopian, Jewish soldier a member of the Israeli army, in uniform, being violently attacked and beaten by ‘white' Israeli police. And what was the response of the authorities? Tepid and dismissive at best. Why? It is crystal clear that they are used to this egregious discrimination in their society, so well hidden from the glare of the world community. A private meeting with Netanyahu, president of this ‘democratic' paragon, did little to erase the ugly fact of the plight of 125,000 Ethiopian Jews living in Israel. Having been promised equal rights and full citizenship, under “the law of return for Jews”, the Ethiopian Israelis have long been victims of a systematic racial discrimination, because of the colour of their skin. This should be no surprise as we have been painfully aware of the racist attitude of Jews towards the 1 million indigenous Palestinians who form over 20 per cent of the total population of Israel. Has any other major democracy dared to protest, criticise or condemn the Jewish state? How ferociously they descended upon us for fighting against Islamic terrorists, who destroyed, robbed and butchered our land and our citizens, alleging that their human rights were denied. If only they had looked across the fence to witness the true violation of human rights! For reasons unknown, all the primary democratic countries preferred to keep the atrocities in Israel a well-hidden secret. Why could they not be reprimanded by the US, UK, EU, Canada etc? The UN has tried, but the almighty veto pen overruled. In 1965, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention of the ‘Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, (CERD), pledging “no destruction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin”. Israel ratified the agreement but continues to snub it, with retribution from no one. The West created it and are determined to protect “David” against “Goliath”, knowing full well the truth is just the opposite. The naked truth is what is taking place in Israel is closer to an apartheid regime, yet South Africa was cut off from the world. How do we unravel this mystery? There have been reports by the US State Department on Human Rights Practices which declared that: ”Israel has done little to reduce institutional, legal and social discrimination of Arab citizens”. Their own Moshe Arens, former defence minister, harshly criticised the treatment of minorities in Israel. Even the State Party Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination admitted that it was “far from fully implemented in Israel and the Occupied Territory… a shortfall that contributes very significantly to the dangerous escalation of tensions in the region”. The list goes on but it is all behind closed doors. All ears are deaf, all eyes are blind, all hearts are pitiless. That great bastion of democracy and human rights, the US, carefully defends, hides and supports their policies, while rushing to fight Saddam Hussein, Muammar Qaddafi, Bashar Al-Assad and other Israeli neighbours for lesser crimes. Is it the fear of Zionism? According to its founder Theodor Herzl, the concept of Zionism was to obtain international legal support for a homeland for all Jews: “We are people, one people”. Did he mean European, Ashkenazi, white-skinned Jews, who are originally Europeans from a land called Khazaria, dispersed around Eastern Europe after its fall? Or did he mean all Jews, Middle-Eastern Jews, Oriental Jews, Sephardic Jews, African Jews? Until recently there were separate categories for the imported white Ashkenazi and the darker, ‘more backward' Sephardim. If they can discriminate among themselves it should not be a surprise that they discriminate against everyone else. Racism and discrimination exist to a degree, in every country, town and village, never as blatant and as atrocious as what goes on in Israel. Black Jews are buried by heaps of trash. Six hundred thousand Africans seeking asylum are encamped in jails, allowed one hour a day outside. They are given barely a child's meal per day. Several Israelis have complained about the horrific treatment of minorities both in the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz newspapers. Haaretz states that “what's at stake is democracy.” Why should there be? In their Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, the founding fathers vowed: ”it will open for Jewish immigration” then later perhaps to appease the UN, added: “it will ensure complete equality of social, political rights to all its inhabitants, irrespective of race or sex”. No mention of the word ‘democracy'. That is the bare truth of the only ‘democracy' in the Middle East, the West's best friend and ally. Naturally they share the same principles of racism, discrimination, slavery, injustice. Their main model is the US, which calls itself ‘a melting pot'. The pot is far from melted! “Toleration is good for all, or it is good for none” Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
