Robert Caplan, like many of Israel’s apologists, defends Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine with the weak line of reasoning that, since similar injustices have occurred in the past, Israel’s current occupation should not be questioned (“On the 30th Anniversary of Munich, respect Israel,” Sept. 5, pg. 11).
His comparison of Israel with America, however, is a weak one. The major difference is that the United States is a secular nation that grants equal rights and freedom of movement to all of its citizens, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity. Israel does not, particularly in the occupied sections of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. While many Americans of European descent currently live on and own land once belonging to Native Americans, the Native Americans who live in the United States today are full citizens with equal rights, including the right to move about and own land.
The Palestinians, however, are forced to remain in refugee camps, simply because of their religion and ethnicity. If Jews continued to live in Israel but granted Palestinians (both in Israel proper and in the occupied territories) full and equal rights as citizens of the non-secular nation of Israel, the world might not be so critical.
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