The State of Israel is struggling to find its identity for the 21st Century; what began with great idealism and dreams of democracy is slowly eroding under the impulse of the worst kinds of human instincts. The following two articles from the Los Angeles Times tell an ugly story of fear and racism.
The first article describes the plight of 60,000 African immigrants, many of whom arrived on foot from Ethiopia, through Egypt, to find safety in Israel's Democracy. Their mistreatment is obvious, and clearly an expression of racial hatred. The young hooligans terrorizing these immigrants is reminiscent of Kristalnacht, 1938, Germany.
The second article details the efforts of Israel's medical schools to curtail Arab enrollment.
20% of Israel's population is Arab. Exempt from compulsory military service (after all, who wants to train and equip Arabs - sounds like the British in South Africa who used Black soldiers from other countries but not from SA itself), Arab students are eligible for medical school a few years earlier than Jewish students. While the schools deny any such effort aimed at a specific group of people, it's hard to see this as anything else but a concerted effort to isolate and exclude a group of people.
Thanks to the LA Times for good reporting.
