RT.com
04 Feb 2022, 23:43 GMT+10
Squabbling with spokesman, journalist says US only accepts criticism of countries it has 'significant policy differences? with
AP reporter Matt Lee hounded State Department spokesman Ned Price for rejecting an Amnesty International report accusing Israel of practicing "apartheid" and "oppression" against the Palestinian people. Critics have accused the US of trying to "have it both ways," by supporting Amnesty's claims of abuse, but only against countries the US has "significant policy differences" with.
Published on Tuesday, Amnesty's report explicitly describes Israel's policies toward Palestinians - which involve forced evictions, unlawful killings, and severe restrictions on movement and freedom - as "an institutionalized regime of oppression and domination of the Palestinian population for the benefit of Jewish Israelis-a system of apartheid."
The US State Department rejected the report, as did more than a dozen Jewish and pro-Israel members of Congress. "I think that it is important, as the world's only Jewish state, that the Jewish people must not be denied their right to self-determination, and we must ensure there isn't a double standard being applied," Price told reporters at a State Department press conference on Tuesday.
However, Lee accused Price of applying a double standard. Pointing out that the State Department's last human rights report cited Amnesty International's research on alleged abuse in China, Cuba, Iran, and Syria, Lee asked "Why is it that all criticism of Israel from these groups is almost always rejected by the United States and yet accepted, welcomed, and endorsed when the criticism is of other countries, notably countries with which you have significant policy differences?"
"This is about our vehement disagreement with a certain finding," Price replied. "We cite outside groups in our own reports... but I don't think you're going to find any citation... that says 'the department agrees... with absolutely everything in this report.'"
The report has also been dismissed by the UK and by Israel itself. The Israeli Foreign Ministry accused Amnesty of stoking "antisemitism," with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid saying that it "quotes lies spread by terrorist organizations."
Support for Israel is bipartisan in Washington, but this consistently pro-Israel stance has been criticized, even from other Jewish groups. Reacting to Lee and Price's exchange, Jewish Current's editor Peter Beinart remarked that "the US and American Jewish establishment can't have it both ways... you can't savage Amnesty International's and Human Rights Watch's work on Israel-Palestine without undermining their work everywhere else.
In Israel, a collection of human rights and pro-Palestinian groups expressed their support for Amnesty's report. "We wholeheartedly reject the idea that Amnesty International's report is baseless, singles out Israel, or displays antisemitic animus," they wrote, calling the Israel government's charges of antisemitism "spurious."
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Irish Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Irish Sun.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: In a striking escalation of tensions between the executive and judicial branches, the Trump administration has filed...
BANGKOK, Thailand: This week, Thailand implemented land border restrictions, including a ban on tourists traveling to Cambodia, as...
THE HAGUE, Netherlands: NATO is pressing ahead with a sweeping new defense spending target, calling on all 32 member nations to commit...
NEW YORK, U.S.: A political newcomer is on the verge of reshaping New York City politics. Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman...
MADISON, Wisconsin: Tens of millions of residents across the Midwest and East Coast faced dangerously high temperatures over the weekend...
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza - Seven Israeli soldiers were killed in a large explosion in southern Gaza's Khan Younis area on Tuesday night,...
DUBLIN, Ireland: A 63-year-old woman, Sigrid O'Meara from Ballincurry, Longford, is suing Boots Pharmacy in the High Court. She says...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The United States will stop providing financial support to Gavi, the global vaccine alliance that helps immunize...
THE HAGUE, Netherlands: NATO is pressing ahead with a sweeping new defense spending target, calling on all 32 member nations to commit...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Bus Éireann has told the Labour Court that it lost 4.2 million euros in 2024 and expects to lose a similar amount...
DUBLIN, Ireland: U2's legendary guitarist, The Edge, has hailed June 23 as a monumental day after he officially became an Irish citizen....
DUBLIN, Ireland: Fifteen Irish citizens and their dependents have been evacuated from Israel due to the heightened state of alert over...