Drawing Fire: Investigating the Accusations of Apartheid in Israel

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Rowman & Littlefield, Jun 14, 2023 - Political Science - 554 pages
Benjamin Pogrund, who spent 26 years as a journalist in South Africa investigating apartheid and who has been living in Israel for the past 15 years, investigates the accusation that Israel is practicing apartheid and the motives of those who make it. His study is founded on a belief in Israel, combined with frank criticism, to provide a balanced view of Israel’s strengths and problems. To understand Israel today, one must first look at the past and so the book first outlines key foundational events to explain current attitudes. It then explores the contradictions found in the region, including discrimination against Israeli Arabs and among Jews, before concluding that it is wrong to affix the apartheid label to Israel inside the Green Line of 1948/1967. It also deconstructs the criticisms of Israel and the boycott movement before arguing for two states, Israeli and Palestinian, as the only way forward for Jews and Arabs. This detailed and balanced study offers a unique comparison between South Africa a
 

Contents

1 The Beginning
1
2 Freedom and War
29
3 Inside the Green Line
53
4 The Occupation
89
5 What Was Apartheid?
115
6 Are They the Same?
133
7 Comparing Israel and Apartheid South Africa
139
8 The Critics 1
153
12 The Way Forward
269
Appendix 1
281
Appendix 2
283
Appendix 3
285
Appendix 4
287
Notes
289
Selected Bibliography
305
Index
307

9 The Critics 2
183
10 Boycotts
221
11 The Big Issues
245
About the Author
323
Copyright

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About the author (2023)

Benjamin Pogrund lives in Israel where he reports on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He was the deputy editor of the Rand Daily Mail, South Africa's leading anti-apartheid newspaper during the Apartheid era (which brought about the closure of the paper), then was with the Independent in London and The WorldPaper in Boston before moving to Jerusalem to foster dialogue. He has written for the Guardian (London), Haaretz (Tel Aviv), Facta (Tokyo) and others. In May 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Media Council in London on behalf of the Next Century Foundation, for encouraging understanding of the Middle East and war-torn areas of the world.

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