"women's rights, strong organized labor, free elections, free press and independent opposition parties" - South Africa in Apartheid times had all those things, it could be claimed. But somehow it didn't make it a regime worth admiring.

There are significant differences, true enough. South Africa's "democracy" was founded on denying Black people residential and voting rights, and setting up notional Bantustans. In Israel ethnic cleansing has been the key to ensuring that within the boundaries of Israel Palestinians are always in a minority.