Palestinians and their supporters have their own version of this definitional, meta argument in pushing for acceptance of the labelling of Israel as an “apartheid” state. The “apartheid” claim has been one made for some time by Palestinians but only more recently taken up by rights groups – in January, the Israeli rights group B’Tselem made the charge, joining two other Israeli organisations. They had argued that while Israeli policy had features of apartheid South Africa and its embrace of “separate development”, it was not there yet. International law defines apartheid as a crime against humanity in which one racial group dominates another through intentional, systematic and inhumane acts of oppression. Definitions matter in the battle for hearts and minds, shaping the contours of “legitimate” political debate.

Source: The Irish Times May 02, 2021 14:15 UTC