When voting in Jamaica Plain on Nov. 2, I was shocked to see a non-binding ballot question insinuating that Israel oppresses its non-Jewish citizens. This question’s only goal was to trick voters into believing this false notion and discredit a country that is actually the only true democracy in the Middle East.
In actuality, Arab-Israelis have full rights, and the only distinction between Jewish and non-Jewish citizens is one of civic duty: Jewish citizens are required to serve in the military but non-Jews are exempt from this responsibility.
The ballot question was the result of a petition launched by “Mass Residents for International human rights,” an organization more interested in promoting slanderous rhetoric than in actually helping the situation in the Middle East. Had the organization really been interested in Human Rights, perhaps they would have chosen to publicize the conditions endured by Israeli citizens in the town of Sderot. There, rockets launched by Palestinian terrorists fall nearly every day, and over 70 percent of the children suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Stunts like this ballot question do nothing to work toward a much-needed peace in the Middle East and only further the confusion about the reality in Israel among Boston residents.
Gordon Dale
Jamaica Plain