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This column reflects the opinion of the writer. Learn about the differences between a news story and an opinion column.

No democracy elsewhere

Wayne Kraft’s point that Israel is not democratic (Jan. 20) has one glaring misconception. To be victims of apartheid, they would have to have been original inhabitants of Israel prior to the Israelis.

The Palestinians claim to be descendants of the Canaanites and Phoenicians has been thoroughly refuted. Palestinians were citizens of Jordan and became Palestinians overnight, removed the star from the Jordanian flag and had their own Palestinian banner.

Arab citizens have the same rights as Israelite citizens, vote and participate in selecting representatives as a democracy does. In the lands occupied by the Palestinians, no such democracy exists for the Palestinians.

Antone Ornellas

Post Falls

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