Israel
Amnesty's Israel chief fears 'apartheid' report wil harm human rights
Molly Malekar says the NGO is preventing dialogue
February 21, 2022 15:07
Molly Malekar says the NGO is preventing dialogue
February 21, 2022 15:07The executive director of Amnesty International Israel has warned the NGO’s incendiary report claiming Palestinians are suffering under "apartheid" may damage the cause of human rights.
Molly Malekar said the document published earlier this month - entitled "Israel's Apartheid Against Palestinians" - would prevent dialogue to resolve conflict.
She told the Times Of Israel: "I do not see what goals this report promotes, and I do see how it may harm our goals - the promotion of human rights in Israel and the occupied territories.”
Ms Malekar said as she is not a lawyer she could not judge whether the regime operating within the Israeli territory meets the definition of apartheid.
But she said: “Amnesty is not an academic body that deals with meticulous theoretical definitions, but a practical movement for the advancement of human rights.
“My daughter, who is a painter, said of the report: 'They took a heavy, coarse brush, and painted all of Israel, all of us, in one color, uniform, opaque. It's not interesting, and not a base to work with.'
“If you want to change things, you have to 'paint' both what is not good and requires change, as well as what is good.”
Ms Malekar said there was a struggle within Israel for the “character of the state” and dialogue was necessary.
She continued: “This report does just the opposite… it closes gaps, strengthens the wall, prevents dialogue.”
The report’s treatment of Palestinians was also problematic, she added.
“They are treated as perpetual, passive victims of apartheid, devoid of any rights and ability to act. They are made victims, an object. This is neither true nor helpful.
"There is discrimination against the Palestinian citizens of Israel, but they have rights, some in key positions, they are struggling and influencing, and this needs to be recognized, appreciated and encouraged.”
However, Ms Malekar dismissed claims that the NGO has an anti-Israel bias.
She said: “Amnesty is operating everywhere and has issued extremely harsh reports on human rights violations in Arab countries, among Palestinians in the territories and Iran.”
But she added: “I certainly do understand anyone who feels uneasy or angry about Amnesty's framing and wording in Israel's references to Israel.
“Not just in the current report. It's just in this report that it stands out, it's exaggerated.”
Ms Malekar added that she also had a problem with Amnesty’s global treatment of antisemitism.
“Amnesty is supposed to fight anti-Semitism. [They] do, but not enough, and sometimes I feel that we need to press for them to do so…
“I have a feeling that Amnesty International rarely engages in [opposing] anti-Semitism because they fear it will be perceived as something pro-Israel, and there will supposedly be justification for human rights violations on the part of Israel.”
Amnesty International sparked accusations of antisemitism and calls for a Charity Commission probe earlier this month after releasing the report depicting Israel as guilty of “apartheid” crimes since its foundation.
It claimed that apartheid was practised not only in the West Bank and Gaza, but also against Arabs within the internationally recognised borders of Israel.