Don’t blame Israel because others are worse? Yes, others are worse and should be held accountable but that does not shield Israel from criticism. And no, Israel is not a democracy. It is not a democracy when it excludes half the population from participation. It is indeed wonderful that Jews in Israel enjoy the benefits of democracy but half of the population under Israeli control is Arab and does not enjoy equal benefits. That is not a democracy.
Do israeli Arabs have equal rights with israeli Jews?
Answer below from Grok:
“Yes, Israeli Arabs (Arab citizens of Israel) formally have equal individual rights under Israeli law as Jewish citizens. They are full citizens with the same civil, political, and legal rights, including voting, running for office, free speech, access to courts, and protection under the Basic Laws. Israel is a parliamentary democracy in which Arab citizens participate at every level of government and society.
Disparities exist in outcomes and some policy areas, but these do not negate formal legal equality.
Legal and political equalityArab citizens (roughly 21% of Israel’s population, primarily Muslim with Christian and Druze communities) hold Israeli citizenship and passports. They vote in national and local elections on equal terms and are represented in the Knesset (parliament).
Arab parties and individual Arab MKs have sat in the Knesset since Israel’s founding; coalitions have included Arab parties (e.g., Ra’am in 2021–2022). Arabs have served as ministers, deputy ministers, Supreme Court justices, and senior civil servants.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that discrimination on the basis of ethnicity or religion is illegal. Arabic has official-language status in practice for many government services, education, and signage, even after the 2018 Nation-State Law emphasized Hebrew as the state language and Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. That law does not strip individual rights from non-Jews.
Freedom of religion, association, and expression apply. Arab citizens run newspapers, political parties, NGOs, and universities. They are not subject to the personal-status or mobility restrictions that apply to non-citizen Palestinians in the West Bank or Gaza under Palestinian Authority or Hamas rule.”
What rock did you crawl out from under? All Arabs in "Israel proper" are full and equal citizens with equal rights, their own political parties, and members in the Keneset.
I don't recall any right wing Catholics complaining about South Africa or Rhodesia (not that they weren't far preferable to what succeeded them).