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Culture War Roundup for the week of December 4, 2023

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There were millions of black South Africans, Rhodesians and Americans during their apartheid governments.

The entire point of apartheid was that there weren’t any black South Africans, they were deported to bantustans which were granted independence under BVS puppet governments, blacks present in South Africa proper were there on work permits or as illegal immigrants.

Now of course the bantustans weren’t real countries even if South Africa pretended they were, but there are millions of Arab citizens of Israel and not Gaza or the West Bank in the same way there weren’t millions of black citizens of South Africa and not Bophuthatswana.

Which rights do Arab citizens lack?

Arab Israeli citizens have a right to vote, work, and move around freely.

Gaza and the West Bank are "apartheid" in the same sense in which Germans couldn't freely choose to work, move around, or vote in the US, UK, France, or USSR (but then again, neither could Soviet citizens...) after WWII. The German state had ceased to exist. The Palestinian state has never begun to exist. Palestine is occupied (in a very hands-off) way by Israel because there is no government of Palestine.

This is one of the problems with a "Two State Solution," which I favour. How do you have a two state solution with only one functioning state? You can say "Israel could take a more hands-off approach" so that a Palestinian state can emerge, but that's a lot to ask of Israel, given that Palestine is full of militants trying to kill as many Jews as possible.

The Allies allowed Germany to emerge from WW2 and even supported the development of German state institutions, but only AFTER Germans had stopped trying to kill the Allies.

So the best road to a Two State Solution, AFAIK, is Palestinian militants surrendering armed conflict and recognising Israel, on the condition of Israel at least permitting (even perhaps aiding) the emergence of a Palestinian state. I would also be fine with Jordan and/or Egypt taking over the West Bank/Gaza, under conditions of full recognition of Israel.

I would also be fine with Jordan and/or Egypt taking over the West Bank/Gaza, under conditions of full recognition of Israel.

They don't want it, at least not as long as the Palestinians are there.

Yes, it's not currently an option, but it's an example of a hypothetical solution that is not a standard Two State Solution.