Amnesty Israel Head Slams Report Accusing Israel of Apartheid As “A Punch to the Gut”: “Neither True Nor Helpful”

Amnesty International Israel Executive Director Molly Malekar blasted the organization’s February 1 report alleging that Israel is engaging in apartheid, calling it “a punch to the gut” and saying that it’s “neither true not helpful” in how it depicts Palestinians as apartheid victims in a February 21 interview with Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s (TOI) sister Hebrew website.

Malekar argued that there is “serious debate” over whether or not Israel meets the legal definition of apartheid, but Amnesty is supposed to be a human rights group, not a group that focuses on “theoretical definitions.” She quoted her daughter, a painter, as saying that the report “painted all of Israel, all of us, in one color, uniform, opaque … If you want to change things, you have to ‘paint’ both what is not good and requires change, as well as what is good,” per The Jewish Chronicle (JC). Malekar added that there is a fight in Israel over the “character” of the country and that the report doesn’t acknowledge the good work that human rights activists are doing in the country. Consequently, the report “prevents dialogue” on the matter, Malekar argued.

Additionally, Malekar described the depiction of Palestinians in Israel as “as perpetual, passive victims of apartheid” as “neither true nor helpful.” “There is discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel, but they have rights, some in key positions; they are campaigning and influencing, and this should be recognized, appreciated and encouraged,” she said.

Malekar did defend Amnesty against claims of anti-Israel bias, pointing to how the organization has criticized Iran, the Palestinian territories and Arab countries over their handling of human rights, but argued that Amnesty isn’t doing enough to fight antisemitism out of fear being labeled a “pro-Israel” organization. “This is completely wrong,” Malekar said. “Israel and world Jewry are not one and the same.”

StandWithUs Co-Founder and CEO Roz Rothstein said in a statement to the Journal, “StandWithUs is encouraged by growing criticism of Amnesty International’s (AI) report falsely accusing Israel of ‘apartheid.’  We agree with Molly Malekar, Executive Director of AI in Israel’s assessment that the report does not appear to promote any worthy goal, but instead may actually do real harm. 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.” In a separate statement, StandWithUs noted that the Amnesty report has been “denounced by numerous governments, including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, the Czech Republic, Australia, Ireland, and Canada” and has been praised by “terrorist groups such as Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] Movement, which seeks to eliminate Israel and strip away Jewish rights to self-determination, praised the report as well.”

NGO Monitor tweeted that Malekar’s comments on Amnesty and antisemitism “gives context why @AmnestyUK refused to fight antisemitism in 2015 (only motion rejected at its annual meeting), why it refused to fire an employee who engaged in antisemitic behavior, & why Amnesty denies Jewish connections to historic and religiously sites in the region.” They also criticized Malekar’s rebuff of claims of anti-Israel bias against Amnesty, arguing that the organization advocates for BDS and has a “disproportionate focus on Israel.”

3/This gives context why @AmnestyUK refused to fight antisemitism in 2015 (only motion rejected at its annual meeting), why it refused to fire an employee who engaged in antisemitic behavior, & why Amnesty denies Jewish connections to historic and religiously sites in the region.

— NGO Monitor (@NGOmonitor) February 21, 2022

She claims Amnesty isn't biased on Israel b/c of “hundreds of reports on rights abuses in Arab countries”.

What does that have to do w/ their advocacy for #BDS and their disproportionate focus on Israel? (social media, publications, condemnations at UN and other int’l bodies)

— NGO Monitor (@NGOmonitor) February 21, 2022