Dear friend,
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived for a visit yesterday. Cliché-laden quotes are already flooding the airways – the usual verbiage of “shared values,” “unbreakable bond,” and lip service to the “two-state solution.”
We have chosen to greet the President with billboards that speak the language of reality, directly and simply: Mr. President, this is apartheid.
It is the constant backing of the U.S. which underwrites Israel’s ability to reengineer the space between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, politically, geographically, and demographically. One administration after the next continues to back Israel, give it international support and immunity, and enable it to violate human rights without being held accountable.
The U.S. must recognize the apartheid regime in effect between river and the sea. Based on this recognition, the posture towards Israel should be determined. When the posture will change, so will the regime.
Until then, with your help, we will continue our work: not clichés – but facts. No hollow slogans – but a clear view of reality. And at the end of the day: not apartheid – but freedom, liberty, and equality for all people between the Jordan and the Sea.
Yours,
Hagai El-Ad
B'Tselem Executive Director
