On August 18, 2023, The Whitehorse Daily Star published a letter by CJPME’s Mohamed Khalaf in response to an article by Gwynne Dyer titled “Israel: has it reached the end of democracy?” Khalaf argued that the premise of the article was flawed, as Israel cannot be properly described as a democracy at all. Khalaf’s letter was featured in the August 18 print edition. He wrote:
The entire premise of Gwynne Dyer’s article “Israel: has it reached the end of democracy?” is based on the idea that Israel has always been a fair and representative democracy. Israel cannot be considered a democracy as long as millions of Palestinians live under Israeli rule as subjects of military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza. To them, Israel is a belligerent occupier which frequently attacks refugee camps, towns and cities, and allows extremist, armed settlers to attack Palestinians with impunity.
This is also the emerging consensus with human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem and Amnesty International who argue that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid.
If Israel is to be considered a democracy, then it is a selective one at best, serving foremost the interests of its Jewish citizens, and purposely neglecting or repressing all others. We must address the elephant in the room and stop labeling Israel a democracy due to its oppressive treatment of millions of Palestinians across all areas under its control, and name it for what it truly is: an oppressive, apartheid regime.