What a White Religious Supremacist State Looks Like

That Israel is going to make sure Jews are vaccinated before Palestinians says just about everything you need to know about this ethno-nationalist state.

Israel, like many high-income countries, is moving quickly to roll out newly approved coronavirus vaccines, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled to get the symbolic first shot Saturday. But next door in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the prospects for vaccinating almost 5 million Palestinians are far less certain, as financial, political and logistical hurdles could delay inoculations against the raging pandemic for months.

The split highlights not only the tense disparities between Israel and the Palestinian populations it effectively controls, but the growing divergence between vaccine haves and have-nots as the world enters the pandemic endgame.

The United States, Britain, Russia and other developed countries have already begun administering vaccines to health-care workers, the elderly and other priority groups. Other nations are receiving shipments now.

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The Israeli government, starting with some 4 million doses of the just-approved vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech, is ready to begin inoculating up to 60,000 residents a day through its national health programs. Amid plans to issue “green passports” that will allow the vaccinated greater freedom of movement, hope is rising in Israel that the pandemic is entering its final stages.

But Palestinian leaders say they can’t afford either of the first blockbuster vaccines to hit the market. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine costs about $20 a dose, and another made by Moderna that was endorsed Thursday by an FDA panel will run between $25 to $35 a shot, according to a WHO review.

Palestinian leaders and international activists say Israel is obligated to ensure that Palestinians are vaccinated as quickly as possible.

“Israel bears moral and humanitarian responsibility for vaccinating the Palestinian population under its control,” said Physicians for Human Rights in an appeal to Israeli leaders Wednesday.

In an interview, Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein rejected that argument. But he acknowledged that it was in Israel’s self-interest to expand vaccinations into an adjacent population that sends thousands of workers into Israel on a daily basis.

And while this in part reflects the broader racist post-colonial world, what makes Palestine different is Israel forcing its residents into ghettos with no hope for a better life. Being indifferent to high death rates in Palestine is exactly how a white supremacist state operates.

If Israel wants to stop the criticism of its activities from the global left, it would do well to treat the people of Palestine like actual humans.