"If Kinsella hopes to have a clearer view of apartheid, he should tour the other side of the wall: the segregated roads, checkpoints, and demolished Palestinian homes in the Occupied West Bank. Then, perhaps, he will finally see it."
Re: KINSELLA: Young progressives persuaded to embrace Jew hatred based on lies
Conservative pundits like Kinsella seem easily persuaded by guided tours in Israel. While he accuses young progressives of being easily persuaded by “Jew Hatred,” I believe his arguments also merit closer scrutiny.
First, Kinsella states that for sixty years, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has consistently polled antisemitism and that progressive young people “passionately opposed racism and antisemitism” until a recent shift.
While the ADL has tracked antisemitic attitudes since 1964, its surveys do not include longitudinal data on ideological affiliations, let alone the attitudes of "progressive young people" as a distinct demographic. His assertion that young progressives have abandoned their opposition to antisemitism is an invention, as no public ADL data supports this conclusion.
Moreover, studies on younger demographics, such as the 2021 study in Contemporary Jewry, indeed indicate heightened awareness of antisemitism among young Jewish adults, but not the antisemitic tendencies he describes. Instead it shows that younger groups are becoming increasingly vocal about combating discrimination, including antisemitism, but also critically examining complex sociopolitical issues such as the Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. They were able to distinguish between systemic criticisms (ie. opposition to apartheid-like conditions or military occupation) and bigotry against Jewish individuals or communities. Something Kinsella seemingly conflates because he is unwilling or simply unable to understand these two separate issues.
His heavy reliance on ADL data is also questionable given the ADL’s poor increasingly contested methodology.
The ADL has been criticized for labeling criticism of Israel as antisemitism, which inflates its findings. Legitimate political expressions, such as opposition to Israeli apartheid or support for Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), are often wrongfully categorized as hate. Critics, including former ADL staff and movements like #DropTheADL, have highlighted how the organization prioritizes defending Israeli state policies over fighting genuine antisemitism. Allegations of covert spying on civil rights groups, partnerships with state power, and suppression of dissent further tarnish the ADL’s reputation as a reliable source of information.
Second, Kinsella claims that “A quarter of Israel is Arab, and about 45% of the Jewish population is from Africa or Asia. Non-white, in other words.” However, this contradicts Israel’s census data. According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, 21% of citizens of Israel are classified as Arab, not a quarter as Kinsella claims. 73% of Israel’s population is classified as Jewish, with only 9.2% coming from Asia and Africa. This is far below Kinsella’s claim of 45%. Kinsella appears to be relying on the study “Ethnic origin and identity in the Jewish population of Israel” by Noah Lewin-Epstein and Yinon Cohen. The study categorized 44.9% of Israeli Jews as Mizrahi (defined as having grandparents born in North Africa or Asia). However, this is not reflected in Israel’s census data and Kinsella’s claim is instead based on a broad generational definition that merits qualification, otherwise it is misleading.
Third, his claim that "progressive young people started to associate Israel with racism" is presented as if it were a baseless shift driven by misinformation. However, this statement ignores the systemic realities and well-documented discriminatory practices within Israeli society that have led to such associations. He also claims that Israel’s demographics, which include a 25 per cent Arab minority and a diverse Jewish population, disprove any proof of apartheid and systemic racism.
There are numerous discriminatory policies that counter Kinsella’s claim.
Palestinian citizens of Israel (Arab-Israelis) face over 65 discriminatory laws that restrict their rights in areas such as land ownership, housing, political participation, and education. The Nation-State Law of 2018 explicitly declared that the right to self-determination in Israel is "unique to the Jewish people," relegating non-Jews to second-class status.
Land expropriation and housing policies disproportionately affect Palestinian citizens, with entire Arab villages unrecognized by the state and subject to demolitions, while resources are allocated to Jewish communities. Arab Israelis, despite constituting a significant minority, are systematically marginalized through legal and institutional frameworks. Discrimination is embedded in state policies, including education funding gaps and disproportionate poverty rates among Arab communities.
Furthermore, the experiences of Ethiopian Jews and Mizrahi Jews in Israel provide striking evidence of entrenched racism and systemic marginalization within Israeli society.
Among the most egregious examples of this institutionalized discrimination is the "disappeared babies" scandal.
From the 1940s to the 1960s, thousands of babies, primarily from Yemeni Jewish families but also from Mizrahi and North African Jewish families, were taken from their parents under dubious circumstances. Families were told that their infants had died in hospitals, often without death certificates or proper burial records. Decades later, investigations revealed evidence that many of these children were secretly adopted by Ashkenazi families, sometimes in Israel and sometimes abroad.
This scandal was not merely an act of forced adoption but a broader attempt to erase the cultural and familial identities of Mizrahi Jews. By separating children from their parents and communities, the state systematically undermined the transmission of Mizrahi traditions, language, and heritage.
Despite mounting evidence and testimonies from families, the Israeli government has been slow to acknowledge the full extent of the scandal. Key documents were destroyed or classified for decades, and official commissions investigating the disappearances provided incomplete answers, leaving many families without closure. Even today, no comprehensive apology or compensation has been issued.
The plight of Ethiopian Jews also parallels that of Mizrahi Jews in terms of systemic racism and cultural marginalization.
Investigative reports by Haaretz uncovered that Ethiopian women in Israel were given long-term contraceptive injections, such as Depo-Provera, often without informed consent, leading to a significant decline in birth rates within the community.
These examples illustrate how Israel’s identity as a "Jewish state" does not equate to equality for all Jews through attempts to erase Mizrahi and Ethiopian identities. This also mirrors the treatment of Palestinians by Israel.
Moreover, Kinsella’s argument that those on the left label Israel as an apartheid state is fuelled by racism and antisemitism, overlooks the fact that international legal definitions of apartheid focus on systemic oppression and institutional discrimination, not merely on diversity or demographic makeup.
Reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International describe the occupation and governance of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza as apartheid according to a technical legal definition. These findings are based on policies that ensure Israelis supremacy over Palestinians, such as land annexation, the denial of building permits, and the separation of populations by legal systems.
Additionally, Kinsella’s statement that Israel has the right to defend itself is confusing. "Self-defence" does not justify bombing one of the most densely populated areas in the world, where over 45,000 people have already died, most of them women, children, and elderly. Self-defence, as defined in international law, must satisfy the criteria of necessity and proportionality. Israel’s attacks on Gaza have not only failed those criteria, they are increasingly viewed by international legal experts as constituting genocide. Amnesty International concluded that Israel is committing genocide.
When Kinsella says that “If [Israel] is an apartheid state, it sure doesn’t look like one,” this is based on his experience on tour curated by Israel. If Kinsella hopes to have a clearer view of apartheid, he should tour the other side of the wall: the segregated roads, checkpoints, and demolished Palestinian homes in the Occupied West Bank. Then, perhaps, he will finally see it.