WATCH: Al Jazeera takes on the segregated bus debate

Omar H. Rahman By Omar H. Rahman March 9, 2013 | Edit

Al-Jazeera’s Inside Story covers the segregated bus debate and the question of apartheid in Israel.

Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna is joined by Ben White, Mustafa Barghouti and Gregg Roman in what turns out to be probably the biggest shellacking of an Israeli spokesperson I have ever seen on a mainstream news network.

To be fair, Roman does say some absurd things, such as: “Actually I do know what I am talking about because I worked side by side with Palestinians for three years while I was a member of the Civil Administration in Ramallah (note: Israel’s occupation government in the territories–equivalent to a colonial administration. It is not based in Ramallah either, it’s located in the Jewish settlement of Beit El, which overlooks Ramallah)… if you look at the everyday Palestinian worker, what he wants to do is have independence, feed his family, and he wants to be able to have autonomy.”

This is actually one of the essential counters being made by Israel supporters in this general debate over buses and segregation: that Palestinian workers prefer this system because it expedites the process of working in Israel and makes their living conditions easier. However, this does not negate the accusation of segregation and apartheid. By having reduced average Palestinians to prioritize feeding their families over obtaining their human and legal rights, you have in no way relieved yourself from the obligation under international law to respect those rights.

There is much more to go into in this debate but it is worth watching if you have some time. If nothing else, there are few places you get to see this kind of debate happen. Pretty entertaining to say the least.

Omar H. Rahman

Omar H. Rahman is a journalist based in Palestine, covering the socio-political issues of the Middle East. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy, the Guardian, Rolling Stone (ME), Al Jazeera English, and The National among many other publications. Before arriving in the Middle East, Omar was a television correspondent on contract with the Associated Press in Washington DC, where he covered American politics and society. He began his career in journalism as an intern for Al Jazeera television in Washington DC. Omar continues to explore the field of journalism by engaging in all media platforms, including a growing interest in photography and new media.

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