Apartheid In Action

Most Israelis and Jewish people in general get really hot and bothered when Israel is described as an apartheid state. They dismiss the notion that the security wall or any of the other punitive measures has anything to do with racial discrimination as opposed to legitimate conceerns about safety.

Something that walks like a duck and talks like a duck, however, is most likely a duck. And, a new story coming out of Israel screams of apartheid.

In Israel, a family that loses a loved one to terrorism is entitled to lifetime monthly payments from the state for compensation (we'll save the discussion about welfare for another time). Unbeknownst to the Arab citizens of Israel, unfortunately, the rule does not apply to them. A family is eligible to receive the money only if the terror comes from a Palestinian, but not from a Jewish person. Thus, the families of four Arab citizens of Israel who were gunned down by a Jewish terrorist (who deserted the army and murdered with an army-issued weapon) a few weeks ago cannot collect the lifetime of payments Jewish families of terrorism victims receive.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4198754.stm

The rise in Jewish extremism spawned by the Gaza pullout will only exacerbate this problem. A democratic nation does not deny its citizens the equal protection of its laws solely based upon their race and Israel must decide what kind of nation it wants to be.