Activists rebrand Brand Israel conference as ‘Brand Apartheid’ “Brand Israel” is an Israeli government public relations strategy initiated in 2005 by the Israeli government, with the support of US ad agencies like Young & Rubicam. Rather than choosing to improve Israel’s global standing by ending its violations of Palestinian rights, Brand Israel aims to “to improve the country’s image abroad — by downplaying religion and avoiding any discussion of the conflict with the Palestinians” and representing the country “as relevant and modern rather than only as a place of fighting and religion.” Aharoni explained Brand Israel in 2005, saying, “What the Americans are telling us loud and clear is that they don’t want to hear more about the conflict.” Outlining the Brand Israel strategy after one of Israel’s military assaults on Gaza, Arye Mekel, one of Aharoni’s colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the New York Times, “We will send well-known novelists and writers overseas, theater companies, exhibits …This way you show Israel’s prettier face, so we are not thought of purely in the context of war.” They ain't going to get away with it.
Moon, do you think South African blacks know a thing or two about apartheid? Are you going to listen to the Wits University Branch Chairman of the African National Congress Youth League? ____________________________________ A South African youth leader has strongly rebuked the charge that Israel is an apartheid state and called on activists to stop appropriating the term when describing its conflict with the Palestinians, The Times of Israel reported Monday. Nkululeko Nkosi, 23, is a member of Africans for Peace, a self-described “collective of independent students, scholars and activists who bring an African lens to the global debate on peace and stability on our continent and around the world,” which includes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nkosi is also the Wits University Branch Chairman of the African National Congress Youth League, and once believed that Israel was an apartheid state. But after visiting the country and closely studying the issues, he has reached the opposite conclusion. In a briefing published by Africans for Peace last November, Nkosi argued that, as victims of apartheid, black South Africans are the best positioned to determine whether or not Israel qualifies as an apartheid state. His position is unequivocal: “Arab citizens of Israel enjoy the same rights and freedoms as Jewish Israelis. On my last trip to Israel, I found that unlike apartheid South Africa, there is no deliberate effort by the government to segregate a specific group in Israel. In day-to-day discussions with ordinary Israeli citizens, I learned from Arabs and Jews, and I sensed their burning desire to live together as harmonious neighbors. In apartheid South Africa, Afrikaners disdained black South Africans, and these sentiments are still in evidence today.” In Israel, there is a free press and universal suffrage, unlike in apartheid South Africa, Nkosi noted. “The apartheid government would not have allowed a person of color to hold any position of influence, while in Israel, Arabs are found in the highest ranks of political, civil, and even military life.” “Please – don’t steal the word ‘apartheid’!…Those who apply the term ‘apartheid’ to the Israeli-Palestinian impasse are guilty of perpetuating that same theft, by denying the uniqueness of the racism and hatred that we faced, and which we have overcome with much blood and tears,” Nkosi stressed.
The Israeli word for apartheid is ' hafrada '. It's a word that people don't recognize- so the use of 'apartheid ' is valid. Tell that to your 'Times of Israel ' hack.
Quit stealing someone else's laurels, moon. The apartheid belongs to South America, it is theirs to reminiscent and cherish. You've no idea what apartheid is, so ask someone who knows, Nkululeko Nkosi, a member of Africans for Peace and Wits University Branch's Chairman of the African National Congress Youth League. He will tell you!
