One component of our enemies' war against Israel is to assert that Israel is practicing Apartheid. The reason they do so is, as Einat Wilf explains, not because Israel matches Apartheid-era South Africa, but because Apartheid is a universally recognized evil and the thinking among people of good conscience is, "What do we do with evil? We eradicate it." However, countering the "Israel=Apartheid" canard will require acknowledging the superficial similarity between the two, that both featured one group that was privileged relative to another. As I have stated in the past, my preferred way to do this would be to reference another episode in history that featured one group privileged over another but which would be viewed in the opposite manner of Apartheid, Reconstruction. In order to make the case that Israel should be viewed as Reconstruction rather than as Apartheid, I have started a table list lists differences between Reconstruction and Apartheid and then describes how Israels fits in each axis.
ReconstructionApartheidIsrael
Prior to Reconstruction, Negroes were disfavored and whites favored.Prior to Apartheid, there were no whites in southern Africa and blacks had the subcontinent to themselves.Prior to Zionism, Jews in Palestine were disfavored and Muslims were favored.
Opponents relied primarily on terror, particularly lynchings.Some opponents relied on terror. Others relied on passive resistance.Opponents rely primarily on terror. Specific methods vary in response to countermeasures.
After Reconstruction ended, the whites imposed Jim Crow on the black population.After Apartheid ended, the new ANC headed government of South Africa reached out to reconcile with the Afrikaners.Zionism is still in effect, but domestic communications of the PNM indicate an intention roll back Jewish rights as much as practicable.
