Jerusalem, Israel
February 23, 2022 StandWithUs is encouraged by growing criticism of Amnesty International’s (AI) report falsely accusing Israel of “apartheid”. This includes the opposition expressed by Molly Malekar, Executive Director of Amnesty International in Israel. We agree with Malekar's assessment that the report does not appear to promote any worthy goal, but instead may actually do real harm. Malekar said the report treats Arab citizens in Israel, “as perpetual, passive victims of apartheid, devoid of any rights and agency... This is neither true nor helpful.” It ignores their efforts to fight discrimination, which she said, “should be recognized, appreciated and encouraged.” This echoes criticism by leaders such as Mansour Abbas and Issawi Frej, both of whom said there are problems in Israel but rejected allegations of apartheid. StandWithUs previously identified and addressed the deeply misleading and biased nature of the report. It has also been denounced by numerous governments, including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, the Czech Republic, Australia, Ireland, and Canada—as well as multiple NGOs—including the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the World Jewish Congress, the International Legal Forum, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, NGO Monitor, CAMERA, the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations, AIPAC, B’nai Brith International, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and the Jewish Leadership Council.
By contrast, those applauding Amnesty International's one-sided report include terrorist groups such as Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The BDS Movement, which seeks to eliminate Israel and strip away Jewish rights to self-determination, praised the report as well. As an AI insider, Malekar confirmed what many have been saying since the release of the report: while AI’s mission is to promote human rights around the globe, its report smearing Israel does the opposite.
About StandWithUs
StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, non-profit and non-partisan Israel education organization that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism.
Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization has chapters and programs on 5 continents, including the U.S., Israel, UK, Canada, South Africa and Brazil.
For the last ten years, SWU has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator (4 stars) and Guidestar (Platinum).
