MAY 27 • 2021 | 11

In an editorial discussing
civilian casualties caused
by U.S. drone strikes in the
Middle East, which number
by estimates at over 1,000, the
New York Times conceded, “no
matter how precise the weap-
ons, how careful the planners
and how skilled the fighters,
mistakes, faulty intelligence,
even calculated decisions often
led to civilians being killed”
and that “There is no such
thing as combat without risk.”
In describing civilian deaths
in the war against ISIS the
Joint Task Force released a
statement saying: “
Although
the coalition takes extraor-
dinary efforts to strike mili-
tary targets in a manner that
minimizes the risk of civilian
casualties, in some incidents
casualties are unavoidable.”
Such common sense under-
standing is totally missing
when it comes to Israel despite
significant evidence that Israel
goes to great lengths to min-
imize civilian casualties from
its “roof knocking” policies to
precision-guided attacks.
How long would any
nation tolerate the majority
of its population in bomb
shelters before demanding
overwhelming force? Which
nation would instruct their
military to “go light” on their
terrorist attackers because the
attacks can be repelled? Which
defense secretary would
instruct their generals to only
respond to the enemy “pro-
portionally”? Which nation
would be vilified for their bet-
ter defense systems?
When will the “internation-
al community” focus its efforts
on forcing Hamas to stop fir-
ing rockets and stop spending
international aid on military
infrastructure as a condition
for any future aid to Gaza?

Salo Aizenberg of White Plains, NY., is

the author of Hatemail: Anti-Semitism

on Picture Postcards, a finalist for the

National Jewish Book Awards.

rights that made apartheid
infamous could, with any
integrity, apply the term to
the Israeli-Palestinian con-
flict —a complex political,
religious and cultural dispute
concerning national identi-
ties.
So why the lie? Because
Human Rights Watch seeks to
delegitimize Israel, to portray
it falsely as a state founded
on the cardinal sin of racism,

thereby denying it the moral
right to exist.
The irony is that this
itself is a form of prejudice.
Unjustly applying the
apartheid canard to the
Jewish state falls squarely
within the widely accept-
ed International Holocaust
Remembrance Alliance defi-
nition of antisemitism, which
includes “claiming that the
existence of the State of Israel

is a racist endeavor.”
There can be no greater
desecration of the memory of
the victims of apartheid than
ripping the word out of South
African soil, detaching it
from its original meaning and
weaponizing it in the cause of
another form of bigotry.

Rabbi Goldstein is chief rabbi of
South Africa. This essay was first
published in the Wall Street Journal.

APPROPRIATING ‘APARTHEID’ ontinued from page 8

PEACEFUL NEIGHBORS
IN CENTRAL GALILEE
I am proud to highlight
something that is not get-
ting enough attention in the
media: As violence raged in
some mixed Jewish-Arab cit-
ies, the leaders of neighboring
communities in the Central
Galilee came together to reaf-
firm their commitment to
each other and to a peaceful
coexistence. Following the
example of their leaders, Jews
and Arabs gathered together
in solidarity. The photos here
illustrate some of this extraor-
dinary support between com-
munities.
I also want to share some
of the initiatives the Israel
and Overseas Department has
organized to keep the Detroit
community informed and
connected to Israel during
this time.
Our Shinshinim (young
emissaries from Israel) have
gathered over 200 letters from
children in the community,
sending their support to those
involved in the conflict and
wishing for their safety. I am
facilitating conversations with
different audiences — teens,
college students and adults
— addressing questions and
concerns as well as to make
space to share feelings. My
objective is to give a platform

for community members with
any opinion about the current
crisis to share their views.
We have also created a
resource page with links
to news stories and events,
which we will update regular-
ly. Visit at jewishdetroit.org/
israelcrisis.
Finally, I would like to add a
thought about how we express
our support of Israel. Being
united in support of Israel does
not mean we have to hold a
single opinion about events on
the ground. Rather, we should
be committed to having diverse
opinions and open conversa-
tions about Israel.
Thank you for your commit-
ment to Israel and its people.

Yiftah Leket is the Detroit
Community Shaliach, an emissary
from the Jewish Agency for Israel
that lives in our community for 2-4
years and is responsible for engage-
ment, education and relationship
building around Israel and Zionism.

Immediate Past Partnership 2Gether Israeli Co-Chair Ruthy Zamir from
her office. The tag translates to “Arabs and Jews choose life.”

Two Partnership 2Gether volun-
teers, Heshem Bsharat from Yaffa
and Nitsan Moran from Jezreel
Valley, holding signs in each
other’s language saying “love thy
neighbor as thyself.”

ISRAEL UNDER ATTACK
continued from page 8