Instead of being reactive to events such as IAW, pro-Israel students at the UofM have seen more beneficial outcomes from being proactive and pushing forward with a number of pro-Israel goals on campus. When the University of Minnesota was being pushed to Boycott and then Divest from the state of Israel, we instead put forward the largest investment possible, the approval of numerous UofM study abroad programs to Israel (MNDaily – TCDailyPlanet). Instead of responding to the ludicrous and illegal calls to Boycott the state of Israel, pro-Israel students lobbied for study abroad in Israel and started to create and expand relationships between the University of Minnesota and Israel. Instead of trying to out-shout the loud fringe minority groups claiming that Israel is an apartheid state, we encourage students to look past this noise and move forward to support Israel in more productive ways. Please contact us using the form on the homepage if you are interested in getting involved with GopherIsrael’s activities.
We don’t want you, however, to mistake not being reactive with not knowing how to respond to these issues. That is why we have provided you with a number of resources on how to respond to the accusation that Israel is indeed an apartheid state.
NGO Monitor – Comprehensive list (bullet points) of reasons that the campaign to delegitimize Israel is deliberately immoral and intellectually lazy. [Read it here]
Except:
- Labeling Israel an apartheid state is part of a larger strategy of political warfare that includes NGO boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigns and “lawfare” cases against Israelis. It is the latest manifestation of the 1975 UN “Zionism is racism” resolution and the 2001 Durban Conference NGO Forum declaration.
- The only internationally recognized case of apartheid was in South Africa. Customary law is based therefore on those practices that were unique in apartheid South Africa. Since Israel does not share these practices, it cannot be defined as an apartheid state under international law.
- Many NGO claims and legal arguments equating Israel with apartheid South Africa originate with the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department and were developed for propaganda purposes.
- Many NGOs falsely portray the Arab-Israeli conflict as a dispute motivated by alleged Jewish race-hatred of Arabs, rather than one based on competing national and territorial claims.
- [Read More]
StandWithUs – Online Resources
- Online Booklet of Apartheid Today
The David Project
