The anti-Israel left, which supports boycott and sanctions of Israel, paints it as a repressive, apartheid and militarist state. While Israel is hardly perfect, it is a democratic, First World, high-tech, modern state governed by the rule of law that applies to Jews and Arabs, men and women.
By contrast, from 1789 to the Jacksonian revolution of 1828, American voting was restricted to property-owning white males who paid taxes. In some areas these requirements remained until 1856. The great majority of African-Americans were slaves until 1865 and the vast majority could not vote until 1965. Universal suffrage for women did not come until 1920.
In 1917 the October Revolution transformed authoritarian Russia into a repressive Communist state until 1991. Germany, semi-democratic after 1871, devolved into Nazi Germany (1933-1945) that carried out the Holocaust and killed 27 million Russians in World War II. Italy, ruled by a fascist government from 1922-1943, fought on the side of Nazi Germany and became democratic only after World War II. China, after the 1949 Revolution, was and remains a one party authoritarian regime.
The vast majority of new states after 1945 were poor, authoritarian regimes that often repressed their minorities. Israel was one of only two of over 100 new states (the other being India), that remained democratic from the start. Hebrew and Arabic were the official languages and all Jews and Arabs could vote. An Arab party existed from the start and today an Arab party has the third largest number of delegates (16) in the Knesset.
Israel, unlike authoritarian states, won the wars for survival and then made, or was prepared to make, withdrawals from Arab territory. In 1948, 1956 and 1967 Israel conquered Gaza yet in 1949, 1957 and 2005 unilaterally withdrew from Gaza. In the 1967 Six Day War it took the Sinai peninsula from Egypt and withdrew in 1982 after the Camp David peace conference in 1979. After driving the PLO out of Lebanon and defeating the Syrians in 1982 Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon in 2000.
As for the two remaining Arab areas under Israeli control, Israel has repeatedly made offers to yield the Golan Heights rejected by Syria. It has made generous offers to withdraw from the West Bank in 2000 and 2008 and trade territory in exchange for small territories it wishes to keep.
This willingness to negotiate came even before it became a state. In 1937 the small Zionist movement considered a proposal of the British Peel Commission, even though the vast majority oft he disputed territory (88%) would go to the Arabs. The Arabs refused to accept it. In November 1947 the United Nations voted to create a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews accepted and the Arabs not only rejected the UN proposal but five Arab states invaded the new state of Israel in May, 1948.
After victory in the 1967 Six Day War the Israelis offered to negotiate with the Arabs but the Arabs responded with three nos--no peace, no negotiations and no recognition. In 1979 the American sponsored Camp David Accords led to peace with Egypt and Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula. In 1994 Israel signed a peace agreement with Jordan. In 2000 at Camp David II the Israelis offered a generous resolution of the conflict. Arafat refused to take the deal. And again in 2008 Ehud Olmert offered to return over 90% of the West Bank and part of Israeli territory but the Arabs refused the deal.
Finally how are Israeli Arabs treated by Israel? Hardly as an apartheid state. In the early years (1949-1965) they were under military occupation though still having rights. There remain job discrimination and a feeling that they are a minority. Polling shows that 55% of Israeli Arabs would rather live in Israel than any other country. They like the rule of law, democracy, citizenship, longer life expectation, good universities and schools, universal health insurance and First World economy. Over 100,000 West Bank Arabs have moved into Israel over the years while 25% of West Bank Arabs and nearly 50% of Gaza Arabs want to leave the Arab world altogether.
Israel is far from perfect. But, compared to the highly authoritarian and largely impoverished states in the Middle East (save for the petro-states), it has done far better than the surrounding Arab world in dealing with its Arab citizens and maintaining Western values.