"On the contrary, of the 6.8 million Palestinians under Israeli rule, only a small minority of them (1.6 million) hold Israeli citizenship and have the right to vote in national elections (albeit with a second-class status and significant restrictions). The remaining 5.2 million Palestinians under Israeli military occupation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, have no right to vote for the government that rules them."
May 8, 2023
To:
Jason Magder, Journalist, Montreal Gazette
Bert Archer, Editor, Montreal Gazette
Dear Mr. Magder and Mr. Archer,
I’m writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express concern regarding your May 5 article “Israeli supporters in Montreal denounce judicial reforms.”
Mr. Magder’s entire article takes for granted that Israel can be properly described as a democracy. This occurs in two instances. First, the subheading reads “Protesters said Israel's very existence is threatened by reforms that weaken its democracy.” Second, Magder writes “Opponents say the plan will weaken the power of judges and eliminate important democratic checks and balances.” These two instances exemplify how the article proceeds from the basis that Israel is a democracy at all, a belief not held by significant portions of the international community.
On the contrary, of the 6.8 million Palestinians under Israeli rule, only a small minority of them (1.6 million) hold Israeli citizenship and have the right to vote in national elections (albeit with a second-class status and significant restrictions). The remaining 5.2 million Palestinians under Israeli military occupation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, have no right to vote for the government that rules them. In fact, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UN experts, and Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups like B’Tselem, have argued that Israel is not a democracy, but should properly be defined as a regime of apartheid.[1][2][3][4]
I insist that any discussion of Israel’s “democracy” must come with a qualification that it is not extended to everyone under Israeli rule, and should note the findings of apartheid from the human rights sector.
If you would like to discuss this matter further, please contact me at 438-380-5410.
Sincerely,
Jason Toney
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
Director of Media Advocacy
[1] Amnesty International, “Israel’s Apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel system of domination and crime against humanity,” February 1, 2022, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/5141/2022/en/.
[2] Human Rights Watch, “A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and persecution,” April 27, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid- and-persecution.
[3] B’Tselem, “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid,” January 12, 2021, https://www.btselem.org/publications/fulltext/202101_this_is_apartheid.
[4] United Nations Human Rights Office, “Israel’s 55-year occupation of Palestinian Territory is apartheid – UN human rights expert,” March 25, 2022, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/03/israels-55-year-occupation-palestinian-territory-apartheid-un-human-right