Delegitimizing Israel has become a mainstream pastime - opinion

The Human Rights Watch report accusing Israel of apartheid could have a negative impact on the Jewish state's international legacy.

Jose Miguel Vivanco, director of Human Rights Watch Americas, holds up a report while addressing the media in Bogota (photo credit: REUTERS)
Jose Miguel Vivanco, director of Human Rights Watch Americas, holds up a report while addressing the media in Bogota
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Human Rights Watch, the US-based NGO, has indicted Israel as an “apartheid” state, accusing Israel of institutionalized racial segregation. Israel, according to Human Rights Watch, is the new South Africa. 
What is the impact of this offensive onslaught on Israel? 
This ugly “apartheid” smear is central to the larger campaign to delegitimize Israel. Human Rights Watch’s assault on the Jewish state is designed to undermine Israel’s international legitimacy. Isolating Israel internationally is the intention. Turning Israel into a pariah state they hope will – just like the campaign against South Africa’s apartheid – cause the Jewish state to falter and collapse in the face of overwhelming international pressure. 
“Apartheid” is a loaded word. “Apartheid” implies moral bankruptcy. It presumes a willful indifference to the consequences of one’s actions. HRW’s public charge of “apartheid” provides the campaign to delegitimize Israel with “moral standing” and an ethical basis to deny Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. 
And this is important – the delegitimize Israel assault is no longer just a marginal concept held by a few left-wing progressive radicals... no, no, no. The delegitimization of Israel has become a mainstream mindset.