Two Videos - how a soldier with PTSD is treated and an everyday tale of racism in the hotel sector

When Racism is the Norm: Israeli Hotels Warn of Arab Guests Booked for the Same Period

The first of these videos shows an example of Israel’s social apartheid and how it differs from the more cruder South African version.  Whereas in South Africa hotels would have been for whites only, except for certain honorary Aryans Whites, in Israel it is all the more subtle.

The hotel informs its prospective Jewish guests that the period when they want to stay is a Muslim festival when there are likely to be many Arabs staying.  That way the prospective Jewish guests have a choice whether to stay in a hotel which also has Arabs in it.

In order to prevent young Arabs staying, a condition of being a guest is that the young person has a soldier’s ID card.  As Palestinian Israelis don’t serve in the army they can’t stay!  However, as the hotel manager says, we will refuse Jewish people between  18-21 who also don’t have soldier’s ID.  In British law this is known as indirect discrimination.  In Israel it is the main means of getting around direct discrimination.  In British law a neutral criterion, provision or practice that has an adverse impact on one particular ethnic/racial group is indirect race discrimination. 

The new trend for hotels in #apartheid Israel - warning their ethnic-Jewish guests of expected Arab guests who are booked for the same period.

In another incident, hotel conditions its service to guests under 21 years of age, on showing a valid soldier ID: "Which means that 18 to 21 year old Arabs, who don't serve in the army, cannot stay in the hotel."

Video: ‘I killed for you, with these hands!’ cries Israeli veteran with PTSD

Published on Nov 28, 2015

Ido Gal Razon, former ITF soldier, testifies to Israeli apartheid parliament on PTSD and murdering people in Gaza. 11 Nov 2015, State Control Committee, Israeli Knesset.

• Former ITF soldier on PTSD and murdering in Gaza. Ido Gal Razon

A former Israeli soldier named Ido Gal Razon who was a hero of an Israeli operation in Gaza eight years ago called “Clear as Wine” testifies before a parliamentary committee about his PTSD.

“I killed for you, with these hands. You say terrorists with blood on their hands? I killed more than 40 people for you. ..

“[At night] he comes to me and says, ‘Why did you kill me?’…

“The data you present is rubbish.”

At 3:33, a voice says, “Ido let me speak” and his mother rises from the gallery to describe how her son’s mental injuries have torn the family apart.

This is sort of the Israeli version of American Sniper, a lot shorter. And yes, it’s about occupation. It’s about resistance. It’s about the price few are paying for war crimes.