OPINION: With libellous, loaded language: We cannot be bystanders
Founder of the Neishlos Foundation, which fights prejudice and antisemitism, Eitan Neishlos reflects on Amnesty's manipulation of the word ‘apartheid’
Eitan Neishlos is a grandson of a Holocaust survivor, Founder & Chairman of The Neishlos Foundation, and a strategic partner to the March of The Living.
Words matter. As a lawyer turned entrepreneur, this was drilled into my very core throughout my education and professional career. Every word has a purpose, a meaning, a context. But of course, some words matter more than others.
As a South African native, I was utterly horrified to see Amnesty International’s cynical manipulation of the word ‘apartheid’ to describe a complex conflict which pitches a liberal (albeit imperfect) democracy against a slew of Islamist terrorist organizations. To leverage this loaded term to score political points is to spit in the face of those who suffered the obscene injustices of actual apartheid.
I have been blessed to live in a number of democracies. I have witnessed the sausage factory politics of parliamentary democracy and been heavily involved in charities and NGOs in the space of open and influential civil societies. Israel is categorically one of the most vibrant and diverse democracies in the world. In the current Israeli Government alone there is an Islamist Arab party, members of the LGBTQ community, an Ethiopian immigrant, Russian immigrants, the children of Jews from Arab lands, and a healthy balance of women and men.
Our judiciary is independent and respected all around the world. We have Jewish, Muslim and Christian judges. In fact, an Arab Supreme Court judge has sat on some of the most politically sensitive and legally impactful cases in Israel’s history; including the imprisonment of a Prime Minister. This Supreme Court – the highest court of Israel – has ruled on numerous occasions in favor of Palestinians against the Israeli government itself.
In the Israeli medical system, 17% of all doctors are Arabs, 24% of all nurses, and nearly half of all pharmacists. On the sports field, Jews and Arabs play together side by side. Even the captain of the national team of Israel’s most popular sport, soccer, is an Arab citizen from the north of Israel. A recent poll of Arab citizens of Israel demonstrated that the vast majority feel Israeli too.
Of course, there is racism in society, as there is in every democratic society. However, considering the 70 years of incessant wars and terrorist attacks, the level of racist incidents is incredibly low, and the level of coexistence incredibly high.
Meanwhile, the status of freedoms all around us in the region are few and far between. In Lebanon, Palestinians are genuinely second-class citizens banned from working in entire professions. In Iran, gays are hanged in the town square, and women are still stoned. In fact, women cannot even remove their hijabs without the fear of the morality police, imprisonment, and lashings.
All across the Middle East, religious freedom is rare, while political freedoms are almost non-existent. If you speak out against Hamas in Gaza, you get shot. If you speak out against the ‘moderate’ Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, you can be tortured and killed. Let’s not forget that President Abbas himself is currently serving his 16th year of a 4 year term! Hardly the embodiment of a liberal democracy.
Yet organizations such as Amnesty International choose to focus on Israel. Every time. The only democracy. The only open society. To the level-headed observer, this makes no sense. However, with a little bit of research it all becomes clear. The organization’s leadership is dominated by Israel-hating activists whose claim to support human rights would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. Deborah Hyams and Saleh Hijazi do not hide their intense hatred and obsession towards Israel. While Amnesty researcher, Hind Khoudary, goes even further by openly stating that she “wants Israel gone”.
Recently, I established the Neishlos Foundation to fight back against injustice, prejudice, Israel-hatred and antisemitism, and to advocate for the values of tolerance, understanding and peace. I have spent years supporting initiatives which further these goals and believe that only through education and community empowerment can we defeat lies and the hatred.
As Associate Chair of the Liberal Friends of Israel, I played a significant role building bridges between the Australian Liberal Party and the State of Israel. I have worked with the Israeli embassy to teach about the late Yitzhak Rabin’s vital message of peace and coexistence. And as Chairman of Courage to Care in NSW, Australia, I helped bring Holocaust survivors to educate over 200,000 young Australians; telling their stories, teaching the important lessons of that terrible time in human history.
Indeed, let us not forget that it was the dehumanization of our people, spread by the incessant lies and misinformation of the Nazis, which provided the backdrop and fertile ground for the systematic extermination of 6 million Jews.
This time, however, it is different. In the 1930s the libels were met by too many with silence, indifference, and passive complicity. Today, we have a voice; today we have a state. It’s now incumbent upon us to create a new generation of upstanders to speak up against the lies, defend our people, and defend our state. Because words matter.
- Eitan Neishlos is a grandson of a Holocaust survivor, Founder & Chairman of The Neishlos Foundation, and a strategic partner to the March of The Living.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
