TO THE EDITOR:
Today, Israelis and Palestinians are in the midst of a renewed season of peace talks. Everyone, Heels for Israel included, hopes for its success. Indeed, it is the staunch belief of our organization that the only way forward for the parties is for themselves to reach an agreement, not for outside actors to force a resolution. Unfortunately, it is the latter policy that will be seen on display this week in Chapel Hill as part of the nationwide “Israeli Apartheid Week.” This endeavor seeks the isolation and denunciation of Israel based on a faulty premise: that Israel enforces a rigid system of racial oppression.
Such an all-or-nothing attitude vastly mischaracterizes Israel and critically fails to distinguish between the rightful existence of Israel as a sovereign nation-state and individual policies in disputed areas. This tactic of incorrect incendiary language and often a push towards economic pressure known as “Boycott, Divest and Sanction” seeks to delegitimize Israel and the Israeli standing in the community of nations and counterintuitively works against the goal of a stable peace.
For one, negative foreign pressure has always caused corresponding reactions in Israel due to Israel’s unique history as a state under siege. Secondly, economic actions only serve to harm ordinary people, due to many positive ways in which the economy of the Palestinians and Israelis are closely linked.
As Palestinian entrepreneur Bashar Al-Masri, who is the West Bank’s largest private employer, says of his latest endeavor, “We have no choice but to cooperate with Israel and Israelis, but we also want to do so. It is a mistake to separate our economy from Israel’s.
Projects like this bring our peoples closer together: Israelis come to the site, they are exposed to Palestinians, and they realize there’s no risk in coming here. There is a sense of comfort.”
Thus, Heels for Israel believes that the only way for peace to come about is for Israel as a nation to feel safe and secure. But the incorrect labeling of Israel as an apartheid state and efforts to harm the Israeli economy counter this necessary component, and as such only serve to hinder rather than advance the cause of peace.
Alex Gottschalk ’14
Heels for Israel
