Arab MK backtracks from describing Israel ‘apartheid state’

Israeli Arab MK, Mansour Abbas, who forms part of the coalition government, has backtracked from describing Israel as an “apartheid state”, Akka news website reported yesterday.

The head of the Ra’am political party said: “I would not call it [Israel] apartheid.”

His remarks, according to the website, came during a speech he delivered to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Abbas said that he did not want to talk about apartheid or racism, but preferred instead to try bridging the gap between the different views and objectively describe some contradictions between the applied policies which discriminate between Arabs and Jews.

Regarding Amnesty International’s report, which names Israel as an apartheid state, he said that such issues do not help resolve the issues, adding that such reports outline areas of discrimination that should be addressed.

“This is an opportunity for us to look at what is happening and to be introspective, to see what we can fix and change,” he said.

“I do not have the privilege to judge people,” the Ra’am leader said. “But I have the wish, a desire to accomplish this change together with them. I will change, you will change.”

“It is not that I am the good one and you are the bad one. Our fate here is to live together and we can decide how we want to live together.”

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