Israeli Apartheid

Under apartheid, blacks were not citizens of their own country. Since they were not citizens of any country they could not get passports to go elsewhere. Not that many blacks had enough money to go anywhere. There was no legal black infrastructure and the only way to make any money was to work for whites. They could not vote in elections or hold any public office. They could not use white hospitals, schools, parks, transportation.

Every Israeli citizen has the same rights and responsibilities as every other Israeli citizen, regardless of religion, race, gender, sexuality. There are laws against discrimination just like any other advanced democracy. Israelis can leave the country any time and live somewhere else if they want.

Citizens of Palestine have limited rights, especially women, homosexuals, Christians. Palestine is not a democracy. Their president’s term ended in 2009, yet he continues to rule unelected. Most Palestinians cannot legally leave the country, except to go into Israel, and if they go somewhere else they are usually forced into refugee camps and never allowed to assimilate into that country. Palestine’s infrastructure is the responsibility of the Palestinian government, though they get a great deal of assistance from Israel. Some people used to complain that Israeli funded hospitals in Palestine were occupation. But when Israel completely pulled out of Gaza those same people complained that Israel was hindering Palestinian access to health care.

Will This Wind Be So Mighty As to Lay Low the Mountains of the Earth

We had previously discussed injuries in relation to the mountain. In the unlikely event that one or both of us make it to the summit we are on our own. We are going as a group but beyond the death zone it is every woman for herself. You can’t take somebody down with you if they are unable to move on their own. This is why people are sometimes left to die. It is not that they were with heartless bastards. It is physically impossible for any human being to carry the equipment they need to survive and another person down from the death zone. Helicopter rescue is not an option. You can’t actually land that high on the mountain and a stable hover is incredibly dangerous to everybody involved. I would never do it.