Only in a state prejudiced on racism would a minister pronounce an ethnic slur and then apologize - or rather explain himself - by saying that he meant it as a “compliment”.

Israeli Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch approached two undercover Israeli police officers attempting to bust drug dealers and called them “Arabush”. The term is a Hebrew slang word offensive to Arabs.

In explaining his use of the word to describe the two officers, Ahraonovitch said it was a “compliment” to the cops and not meant to be offensive. Those cops apparently looked Arab - whatever that means - and Ahranovitch just noted that, well, they looked like “Arabush”.

So in apologizing, Ahranovitch is not apologizing for using a racist slur but simply for labeling someone with the dishonor of being an Arab. What is offensive, to him, is not language against Arabs but calling someone an Arab. This is akin to John McCain’s exchange with one of his supporters whom called Obama an Arab and McCain responded that Obama is a “decent family man” as if being Arab was a bad thing.

This is the racist discourse of Zionists and Republicans, two terms not mutually exclusive.

But Ahranovitch is an example of tolerance next to other Israeli ministers and prime ministers. Premier Begin once called Palestinians “two legged cockroaches.”

Why would one expect anything different from believers in an ideology of ethnic supremacy.