Israel IS an apartheid state: let’s count (some of) the ways
JVL Introduction
Israel claims to be a liberal democracy and expects to be treated as such by the international community. These expectations are unendingly reiterated by that State’s supporters throughout the world and heavy criticism – and more – can land on the shoulders of those who call out Israel for its apartheid nature. Allegations of antisemitism are likely to be shovelled on to people who use that term.
However, Nelson Mandela famously supported Yasser Arafat and the PLO and Desmond Tutu said that in some ways ‘Israeli Apartheid worse than South Africa’ .
Here Jonathan Cook highlights some of the many ways that Israel operates as an apartheid state – within the Green Line as well as in Gaza, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Golan Heights that is controlled by the government of Israel for which Palestinians living there cannot vote. Cook starts with Israel’s unique marriage laws and goes on from there.
This article was originally published by Substack on Fri 10 Jul 2026. Read the original here.
Israel is an apartheid state – and its weird marriage laws show us how
Israel is the only country in the world that does not recognise its own nationality. Why? Because a common national identity would sabotage Israel’s carefully veiled system of segregation
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Wonderfully written article.
Yup it is an apartheid state. It is a monster that looks in the mirror and what looks back is a saint. It is a madman that doesn’t recognise its own insanity.
Do you know how many South Africans went to Israel and ”converted’ to a zionism…(no way can you call it judaism). They liked the apartheid practiced by Israel.
How poorly the ethiopian black jews and Arab jews are treated in Israel.
There is a racial hierarchy in Israel since its conception.
From the Deir Yassin Massacre and all the other massacres it is ethnically cleansing under some ill conceived idea it is the chosen people. That is a dangerous concept. Look at history. It is full of ‘chosen people’ or ‘master race’ mentality under the guise of imperialism, racism, capitalism etc…..
An horrific injustice for Palestinians was the zionist founding of Israel.
Jeffrey Sachs, renowned Columbia University Professor, in a January 2024 article titled “Saving Israel by Ending Its War in Gaza” has written: The Israeli government argues that it is in a vital fight for survival and therefore must take every measure, including destruction of Gaza. This is false. There is no ethical, legal or geopolitical case for killing tens of thousands of civilians, and uprooting 2 million people—to protect Israel against the threats Hamas actually poses. In all the years Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007, it has never captured Israeli territory, nor remotely threatened its existence. Hamas has around 30,000 fighters, IDF’ has more than 600,000. Besides, Hamas has neither an air force nor armored units nor military-industrial base.’
When I visited Israel in the late 1970s I made friends with the hotel staff and discovered that sick pay and holiday pay only applied to those of Jewish origin. Several of the staff had only been told this when they had been working there for a year. The Histadrut union has apparently always been explicit on this point. Workers’ rights for Jewish workers only.
As regards marriage, Israel’s divide and rule policies also affect Palestinians marrying other Palestinians, because one may have Israeli ‘citizenship’ and another may have identity documents from the occupied territories with many restrictions on movement. Gaza ID used to be the most restrictive of all, even before the genocide.