A PARTHEID IS A horrible word. The preferred pronunciation — “aparthate” — sums it up rather well. Afrikaans for “separateness”, it was the system that classified South Africans by race and enabled the minority white population to repress the majority from 1948 to the early 1990s.
Racial discrimination is particularly pernicious because individuals can never change their heritage. A state that thus persecutes its citizens deserves international condemnation. That’s why those seeking to demonise the State of Israel are accusing it