HUMAN rights organisations in Israel have condemned “vicious attacks” on Amnesty International following its declaration that Tel Aviv’s treatment of the Palestinians amounts to apartheid.

Fourteen organisations, including B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence and Combatants for Peace, issued a joint statement today calling on the Israeli government to “stop its oppressive and discriminatory practices and its dangerous game of defamation and disinformation.”

On Tuesday, Amnesty became the latest human rights group to accuse Israel of apartheid, publishing a report detailing how Israel’s authorities have created a system of oppression and domination of the Palestinians.

The report sparked a backlash by Israeli rightwingers and their allies, including allegations of anti-semitism.

YouTube joined the attacks on the report when it added a warning to Amnesty’s video on its site claiming that it “may be inappropriate for some users.”

Today, the Israel-based groups said: “The debate around the crime of apartheid of which Israel is accused, and its geographical scope, is not only legitimate, but absolutely necessary.”

Their statement rejected the idea that the report was baseless or displayed prejudice against Jews and said that they are concerned by the Israeli government’s “extremely irresponsible allegation of anti-semitism.”

It said: “Many of the most pre-eminent scholars of Jewish life, history and persecution have warned that the struggle against anti-semitism in the world is being weakened by the unbearable, inaccurate and instrumentalised use to which the anti-semitism accusation is lodged for political ends, in order to avoid debate about Israel’s oppressive policies towards the Palestinians.

“Attempts to distract from Israeli violations and to avoid substantive debate by hurling spurious accusations is the standard and ongoing practice of successive Israeli governments and their echo chambers overseas.

“We are especially concerned about this approach in an international climate, in which anti-semitism and racism are on the rise and human rights defenders are under assault.”

The statement pointed out that Amnesty documents the harshest violations of human rights across the world, adding: “Israel is not being held to a different standard, but the Israeli government apparently wants to be held to no standard at all.

“It is no coincidence that the most respected international human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch, have turned their attention to the systematic and structural regime of discrimination and inequality here.”