Israel is a democracy; it's government is chosen by the people, including arab-Israelis, in free and fair elections.

Iran is a repressive theocracy that has no meaningful elections and is run by a cabal of extreme right Islamic extremists with genocidal intent, led by a man who is quite clearly clinically insane, whose power is backed up by hired thugs, militia and secret police.

Seems like a difference to me.

"...led by a man who is quite clearly clinically insane, whose power is backed up by hired thugs, militia and secret police." Is this bit about Sharon?

" Israel is a democracy;" So what? This isn't the premise that will be used for a pre-emptive attack on Iran, it will be the old WMD chestnut. Point is we know, not suspect, know that Israel has them!

I thought Arabs weren't allowed to vote in Israel. That makes it an apartheid state.

....the problem is that the candidates that can stand are carefully vetted by the authorities to remove any with "undesirable" sympathies or connections. You can guess the result.

Actual discrimination is cleverly concealed, often by offering benefits and rights selectively to groups so defined that Arabs can't belong. For example, a huge array of benefits and rights are available only to those who have served in the IDF. Which is compulsory for non-Arab Israelis, but from which Arabs are included. Clever huh ?

Land ownership laws discriminate more directly, in that huge swathes of land (guess who owned it originally) are in a category which makes it illegal for non-jews to own.

Legal land-ownership papers issued by previous administrations are deemed invalid on pseudo-legal grounds based in reality on meaningless gobbledy-gook, and carefully contrived technicalities. Guess who holds documents of this nature ?

Planning rules are not race-blind, and are in practice implemented in a discriminatory manner. Via the pretence of impartially implementing high building standards, demands inappropraite to the living conditions and financial resources of the Arab underclass can be used as an excuse for refusals and demolitions.

On top of that, of course we have the day to day discrimination by ordinary citizens, employers etc. To be fair, some of this is to be expected on the basis of the hostility and fear which are only to be expected at present, but it all adds to the climate and the deprivation.

And this is just inside Israel.

Much of this should not really be a surprise. In my opinion the only real solution is for these two peoples to be largely separated into two different states. It seems a policy of despair, but things are now so bad, what else can we do ?

I meant (of course) to say:

"Which is compulsory for non-Arab Israelis, but from which Arabs are excluded"

Not-so-clever me, huh ?

Amerikkka is a repressive plutocracy that has no meaningful elections and is run by a cabal of extreme right-wing fundamentalist "Christian" extremists with genocidal intent, led by a man who is quite clearly clinically insane, whose power is backed up by hired thugs, militia and secret police.

Seems like no difference to me.