Stop pretending on Israel

Howard Glass (“Careful with Israel rhetoric”, May 13) refers to the report, “Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid”, prepared by Richard Falk and Virginia Tilley for the U.N.’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. Although the U.N. subsequently bowed to U.S. pressure and disowned the report, it remains accessible through online sources.

Two apartheid systems were established in 1948. World moral judgment turned against the crime of apartheid, but the U.S. and Israel supported apartheid South Africa until the bitter end. South African apartheid was abolished in 1991.

Since 1991, the U.S. has remained the principal defender of the sole remaining apartheid state. The U.S. defends Israel by insisting that the apartheid state is “a democracy.”

Because the U.S. presents Israel as “a democracy”, any negotiation with the victims of apartheid is framed by the need to ensure the security of Israel. U.S. diplomacy regarding Israel always proceeds with a dishonest broker seeking to impose a dishonest agenda.

Howard Glass fears that honest reference to the apartheid state “inhibits progress toward peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict”. At 69 years and counting, perhaps it’s time to stop pretending that Israel is “a democracy.”

Wayne B. Kraft

Spokane