So Natalie Hershlag, better known as Natalie Portman, even better known as 'Queen Amidala', Harvard Student, 1988 immigrant from Israel, and apparently middle-east scholar extraordinaire, writes <a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=205143">this</a> to the Harvard Crimson, in response to an article claiming that the Israelis are instituting a sort of Apartheid regarding the Palestinians.
Without wanting to claim whether or not she is correct, the following passage is most interesting:
"At one point, Chaudhry even compares the situation to apartheid. This is a distortion of the fact that most Israelis and Palestinians are indistinguishable physically."
That's true, but it's also a distortion of the fact that the perceived persecution is religious, and only to a certain point racial. Or is it? israeli Muslims and Eastern Orthodox Israelis (a minority, to be sure), have spoken of persecution and aggression in the past. What is the true motivation behind that - is it racial, religious, or an inextricably linked amalgamation of the two?
X.
Links:
Washington Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13965-2002Apr19.html">article</a> regarding the issue
Harvard Crimson <a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=205143">letter</a> written by Natalie Hershlag/Portman (who asked the Post not to mention her actual family name, which is well-known on the Harvard campus)