Israel and Sudan

Simon Deng escaped slavery in North Sudan and became a leading human rights activist. He has been to Israel five times visiting Sudanese refugees. At the Durban Watch Conference in New York he gave this speech.

Which would you rather ... ?

The 270,000 Arabs who live in East Jerusalem may not be very enthusiastic about joining Palestine. A poll shows that nearly half would prefer to become citizens of Israel rather than of a new Palestinian state --  42 percent said they would actually move to a different neighborhood if necessary in order to remain under Israeli rather than Palestinian authority.

Searching for apartheid

Richard J. Goldstone, a former South African judge, led the United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict of 2008-9. In an op-ed piece in The New York Times he examined the claim that Israel pursues apartheid policies. His conclusion:

"[T]hose who conflate the situations in Israel and the West Bank and liken both to the old South Africa do a disservice to all who hope for justice and peace. ... The charge that Israel is an apartheid state is a false and malicious one that precludes, rather than promotes, peace and harmony."