Israel-Palestine: How should crimes be named ?

A war of words runs across the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is not only a question of propaganda but of profound disagreements on how to label the crimes committed on both sides.

Has the State of Israel set up an apartheid system in which Palestinians are second-class citizens? The question unleashes a great deal of passion because, for many, any comparison with the word apartheid regime is not only erroneous but also bears the mark of covert antisemitism. Yet the facts are there, documented by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which, in their respective reports, speak of apartheid. At the same time, how can we qualify attacks that target civilians ? The film Blue Box sheds new light on a controversial episode in Israeli history: the acquisition and seizure of Palestinian land by settlers. Ridding myths and language of their conflicting ideological charge allows for the work of truth and may pave the way for dialogue.

Histoire Justice Moyen-Orient

Sunday 6 March

17:30

Espace Pitoëff - Théâtre

Followed by the debate Israel-Palestine: How to name the crimes ?

French - English

Co-presented with Amnesty International Switzerland

Speakers

Denis Charbit Professor of Political Science at the Open University of Israel, Zionism specialist

Avraham Burg Former President of the Knesset and political activist

Saleh Higazi

Rania Madi United Nations Legal Advocacy Representative of Badil, the Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights

Moderated by

Aline Jaccottet Head of the international section, Le Temps

To go further

TRIBUNE "Israël-apartheid : le contre-sens d’une analogie", Libération, 1 août 2021, Denis Charbit

This debat is preceded by the movie:

Compétition - Grand Reportage Films en VOD

Blue Box

By Michal Weits

In Israel, everybody knows about the "blue boxes" that were used in the 1950s to raise funds for the purchase of land in Palestine. Joseph Weits, the filmmaker's great-grandfather, is well-known for having planted millions of trees, less for orchestrating the expropriation of Palestinian land. His diaries reveal an uncomfortable truth.