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