94% of Palestinians in the occupied territories are labeled racist: Opinion poll
According to a survey, more than 90% of Palestinians living in the occupied territories have experienced racist labelling.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted the Israeli daily on Monday Maariv that the result of the investigation conducted by the Israeli Crisis Center against Racism (RCC) was published on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination celebrated each year on March 21.
According to the results, 69% of respondents believe they have experienced racism and discrimination in public places, while 41% said they have had a similar experience in academic institutions.
The survey found that most instances of discrimination occurred at airports, followed by academic institutions, workplaces, malls and shopping malls.
More than 65% of respondents said their identity cards were checked in public places; 59% were subjected to security inspections and 58% were forced to answer unusual questions by security officers.
RCC director Samah Darwish said in an interview that the survey results illustrated the extent of racism in the occupied Palestinian territories. “It should concern everyone.”
Last year, more than 600 scholars, artists and intellectuals from more than 45 countries around the world censured Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, calling for an immediate end to “Israel’s apartheid regime”.
In July 2018, Israel’s parliament (Knesset) passed a controversial bill that declares the occupying entity as the so-called “Nation-State of the Jewish People”. Law prioritizes ‘Jewish’ values over democratic values in occupied territories, declares al-Quds as Israel’s ‘capital’, allows Jewish-only communities, makes Hebrew Israel’s official language and relegates Arabic from an official language to one with “special status”.
