Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Government's statement this afternoon. I particularly welcome the Government's decision not to adopt or utilise the term "apartheid" in relation to Israel, a position it shares with a great number of western democracies. Last week, Yoseph Haddad offered an entirely different perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to what we have been hearing in the Houses over the past decades and what we have heard again this afternoon. Mr. Haddad is an Arab Israeli. Growing up in a mixed community of Arabs, Jews and Christians he experienced no form of segregation or difference whatsoever. He joined the defence forces when a local restaurant owned by an Arab-Jewish partnership was blown apart by a Palestinian suicide attack in which 21 people of mixed ancestry were slaughtered. He was in command of Jewish soldiers as an Arab and was severely wounded in the south Lebanon war. Mr. Haddad is proud of being an Israeli. It is his strong belief as an Arab that the Amnesty report entirely misrepresents the lived experience of the non-Jewish community in Israel.

Members may be surprised to learn that Arabs serve at the highest level in every sector of life in Israel. For instance, more than 50% of all pharmacists in Israel are Arab. More than 30% of all doctors are Arab. Last week, an Arab Muslim was appointed to the Israeli Supreme Court. It already had judges of the Arab Christian tradition. In all other walks of life, including business, the arts, education and government, Arabs, both Muslim and Christian, have achieved the highest positions in the land. Are these the characteristics of an apartheid state?

Like every country, Israel has its flaws and inequalities. For Amnesty to invoke the term "apartheid" seems an abuse of the English language and Israeli state. Apartheid for most people describes the obscene system of racial discrimination upheld in South Africa for far too long and which is now, thankfully, consigned to the scrapheap of history. To equate Israel, the one democratic and secular state in the entire Middle East, with what the black and coloured races suffered in South Africa is outrageous. It is an injustice to the non-white African community. Amnesty in introducing this flawed report has greatly damaged its own credibility. In the past, Amnesty has not distinguished itself for its fairness to Israel. Some of its prominent spokespersons have been forced to withdraw false allegations about Israel. Not even Amnesty would suggest for a moment it could be seen as a neutral or disinterested voice on the conflict.

It is worth noting that Amnesty focused on the Negev region for its survey. The Negev has approximately 100,000 Israeli Arabs. This is 5% of the total Arab Israeli population. How can Amnesty extrapolate a global finding from such a narrow sample? Why did it not include the testimonies and experiences of Israeli Arabs such as Yoseph Haddad? Is it not aware of the Harvard University study that shows 77% of Arab Israelis would choose to live in Israel above any other country? Does this sound like an apartheid state? Does Amnesty believe the state of Israel has a right to exist? It is a question I could put to many people in this country who support the Palestinian cause. I have often heard the question asked of certain people and they have refused to answer it because they know the answer will not be acceptable to the Irish people.

We are not talking about normal circumstances. Israel is a small nation surrounded by people who are sworn to destroy it and who will never agree to any resolution of the conflict other than the extermination of the Israeli state. "Palestine will be free from the river to the sea" is a chant we have heard many times outside the gates of Leinster House. It sounds great but what it means is that Israel is to be wiped off the face of the earth. Will that bring peace to the Palestinian people if it is achieved?Not a chance. Hamas, Hezbollah and Fatah will all keep bombing and killing each other. They will continue to use innocent women and children in the front line for propaganda purposes, as heretofore, because there are differences far greater than their hatred of Israel. That is saying something. It is these same groups that inflict the greatest suffering on the Palestinian people, and Amnesty ignores this. Has Amnesty any report on Hamas in Gaza? Has Amnesty any report on the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank?

One thing I find unacceptable in the current Amnesty advertising campaign is that they ask people to join its anti-Israeli crusade by signing a petition, and if they do, they receive a call. This is clearly a recruitment and fundraising exercise at the expense of the people of the Middle East. I find it despicable. I withdrew my Amnesty subscription many years ago when I saw what they had to say about the conflict here in this country. If they got that so wrong, could we trust them in anything? There is widespread support in these Houses and in my own party for the Palestinian cause. I too believe in a two-state solution. I too want to see an end to the suffering of the Palestinians, but I am not blind to the underlying causes.

I hope the Acting Chairman will give me a small bit of leeway as I am offering an alternative position here. As a member of the new Ireland-Israel parliamentary friendship group, I look forward to engaging with members on all sides of the House, with members of the Knesset in the months ahead, and with Jewish, Christian, and Arab members of parliament. Yes, all creeds can contest elections in Israel, unlike their adversaries who, of course, do not have any elections at all. If they did, we can be certain no Jewish man or woman would be allowed on the ballot paper.

With regard to women, it is astonishing that so many of our leading feminists take sides against Israel with people who treat women as slaves, who execute members of the LGBT community, and who in some cases think that public raping of what they would call "inappropriately dressed" women, is acceptable behaviour.

In the Dáil last week the Taoiseach referred to Colum McCann's outstanding novel Apeirogon, which is inspired by the real-life experiences of two men, one Arab and one Jew, who had both suffered the loss of a daughter. The title refers to multi-sided shape, which reflects brilliantly the actual make-up and definition of the conflict in Israel. I have no doubt these heroic men would not appreciate the ham-fisted report of Amnesty. They are doing the hard work of building bridges. This report tears them down.

It is time that the one-way narrative stopped. Amnesty's dreadful intervention might do something good. It might be the catalyst to open the door to a wider dialogue and, it is hoped, put an end to the simplistic one-way, anti-Israel campaign and rhetoric that has blighted recent conversation in these Houses for too long. I thank the Acting Chairman for his indulgence; I appreciate it.