There is nothing remotely racist about Israel giving priority to its own citizens
Israel is the envy of the world with respect to how fast it has vaccinated its citizens against COVID-19. As I write, on inauguration day, two million Israelis, 21 percent of the population, have already received their first dose, and many their second as well. No other country in the world comes close in terms of the percentage of the population vaccinated thus far.
That success consists of two components. First, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s success in procuring vaccines for Israel, in a world in which production lags far behind demand. And second, the efficiency of the private health plans in which every Israeli is enrolled.
But with Israel, it is never so simple. Every positive story must have a thorn embedded. Thus, Israel’s failure to provide Palestinians with vaccines at the same time provides the best illustration “of how Israeli lives are valued above Palestinian ones,” according to Saleh Hegazi of Amnesty International. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib accused Israel of denying her Palestinian grandmother “access to a vaccine” because “[the Israelis] don’t believe she is an equal human being who deserves to live.”
Tlaib prevaricated, as usual. Israel has in no way impeded Palestinians from receiving vaccines. Indeed, throughout November and December, the official Palestinian media and health ministry repeatedly boasted that the Palestinian Authority had contracted for sufficient doses to cover 70 percent of the population of the West Bank and Gaza, and required no assistance from Israel. Only in the face of Israel’s rapid vaccination did the PA start accusing Israel of “racism” and “health apartheid” for not providing vaccines to the Palestinians.
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