Drawing Fire: Investigating the Accusations of Apartheid in Israel

by Benjamin Pogrund, Harold Evans (Foreword)

Benjamin Pogrund, who spent 26 years as a journalist in South Africa investigating apartheid and who has been living in Israel for the past 15 years, investigates the accusation that Israel is practicing apartheid and the motives of those who make it. His study is founded on a belief in Israel, combined with frank criticism, to provide a balanced view of Israel’s strengths and problems. To understand Israel today, one must first look at the past and so the book first outlines key foundational events to explain current attitudes. It then explores the contradictions found in the region, including discrimination against Israeli Arabs and among Jews, before concluding that it is wrong to affix the apartheid label to Israel inside the Green Line of 1948/1967. It also deconstructs the criticisms of Israel and the boycott movement before arguing for two states, Israeli and Palestinian, as the only way forward for Jews and Arabs. This detailed and balanced study offers a unique comparison between South Africa a

557 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2014

About the author

Benjamin Pogrund was born in South Africa and was deputy editor of the Rand Daily Mail in Johannesburg. He now lives in Jerusalem and is founder director of Yakar's Center for Social Concern. He has written three books: about Robert Sobukwe, Nelson Mandela, and the press under apartheid, and is co-editor of Shared Histories: A Palestinian-Israeli Dialogue.

Reviews

[The Jewish Book Council]

Review by Micah D. Halpern for the Jewish Book Council.