US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides on Tuesday denounced an Amnesty International report which accused Israel of apartheid.
“Come on, this is absurd. That is not language that we have used and will not use,” he tweeted.
The Foreign Ministry also strongly condemned the Amnesty International report.
"The State of Israel absolutely rejects all the false allegations that appear in the report that Amnesty is expected to publish tomorrow. The report consolidates and recycles lies, inconsistencies, and unfounded assertions that originate from well-known anti-Israeli hate organizations, all with the aim of reselling damaged goods in new packaging. Repeating the same lies of hate organizations over and over does not make the lies reality, but rather makes Amnesty illegitimate. In publishing this false report, Amnesty UK uses double standards and demonization in order to delegitimize Israel. These are the exact components from which modern antisemitism is made," the Ministry stated.
"The report denies the State of Israel’s right to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people. Its extremist language and distortion of historical context were designed to demonize Israel and pour fuel onto the fire of antisemitism,” it added.
"A few days after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we once again learn that antisemitism is not just a part of history, but unfortunately, is also part of today’s reality. Just last weekend, Jews were attacked in London simply because they were Jewish. Amnesty’s report effectively serves as a green light for the perpetrators and others to harm not only Israel, but Jews around the world,” the Foreign Ministry said.
"The State of Israel is a strong and vibrant democracy that grants all its citizens equal rights, regardless of religious or race. The State of Israel was established as the national home of the Jewish people with broad international support, in light of the lessons of the Holocaust. Amnesty criticizes the very existence of the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people, and effectively denies its right to exist at all.”
The report was also condemned by Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog.
"Israel is a democracy which is committed to international law and sensitive to human rights and therefore appreciates the valiant work of organizations who genuinely strive to promote human rights. Amnesty UK’s report on Israel which was released today is a totally different story," Ambassador Herzog said.
"This report, which frames Israel as an apartheid state, doesn’t belong in the category of criticism designed to promote human rights but rather in the category of ideological de-legitimization of the very right of Israel to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people,” he added.
"Claiming that Israel has built and operated an apartheid system since its inception in 1948 essentially means that it was established on an immoral foundation and therefore has no right to exist. The report itself is blatantly ideologically motivated, biased and full of lies and inaccuracies. It totally distorts the true meaning of the phrase apartheid to suit its political purposes, and it also totally distorts the true nature of Israel.”
"Israel is an imperfect democracy (show me a perfect one) and is open to criticism. It is the only democracy in the Middle East where all citizens are equal before the law, including minorities. Crossing the line from criticizing its policies to discrediting its existence as the nation state of the Jewish people is unacceptable, contradicts the notion of promoting human rights and should be utterly rejected. All Israeli citizens deserve human rights,” Ambassador Herzog concluded.