Israel is an apartheid state – and South Africans agree
JVL Introduction
Defenders of Israel are quick to point out that there is absolutely no resemblance between apartheid South Africa and Israel’s regime of oppression (though they tend not to call it that!).
To suggest it is apartheid is, in Ian Austin’s words, “an insult … to black South Africans.”
Funny that black South Africans don’t see it like that.
As Yirmeyahu Wedgewood points out in the article reposted here with Vashti’s permission:
- The African National Congress, the South African Communist Party, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the Economic Freedom Fighters, the Pan African Congress, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, the South African Federations of Trade Unions and many other sections of South African civil society have loudly condemned Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and acknowledged its similarity to Apartheid.
Israel’s supporters say it can’t be apartheid because it is not exactly the same.
They don’t seem to recognise that there can be varieties of apartheid – even though the UN clearly saw this back in 1976 when it adopted the “International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid”.
Which the Israeli regime fits neatly into, as Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem have recently affirmed.
This article was originally published by Vashti on Sun 9 May 2021. Read the original here.
Israel is an apartheid state – and South Africans agree
Using Black oppression to exonerate Israel isn’t just immoral, it’s ahistorical.
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Bravo.
Solidarity with brothers and sisters around the globe fighting oppression and occupation.
Israeli Apartheid is a rotten racist cancer on humanity.
Anyone who argues that Israel’s apartheid is not anything like the original South African version thereof because you won’t find “water fountain” discrimination in Israel, as you would have in South Africa, reveals their abysmal ignorance of South African apartheid. That’s an example of what South Africans called “petty” apartheid: they distinguished between that and the devastatingly cruel, far more fundamental, far-reaching, all-encompassing, longterm effects that the wider apartheid system had on the lives of its victims. Believe me, I know: I saw it up front and personal. I was born and bred in South Africa; my life there spanned the entire apartheid era, from its beginning to its end. I think I can confidently say that those who try to defend Israel’s position are right: its version of apartheid is not like South Africa’s. No, it’s far worse – and I could give so many examples.
Thank you for the link to the interesting article from South Africa about our Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, also chair of the often anti-Labour JLM.
As I might have guessed, Margaret seems to have had a difficult childhood. It appears that, against her socialist principles, Margaret was loaded with money from the family firm. It seems that some of the wealth came about from family firm dealings in the original and racist South Africa.
Young Margaret may have screamed ‘effing racist’ at her dad or mum, but it seems that there is now no record of this. Margaret may have given away her share of the ill-gotten part of the wealth to an anti-racist charity, but it appears that there is again no record now.
However, an equivalent to the old Apartheid South Africa is its old partner the State of Israel, also oppressing indigenous inhabitants and maintaining separation on racial lines.
As I may have read that Margaret Hodge has declared that she is a resolute anti racist, or something like that, she has presumably robustly criticised the oppressive and racist policies of the present right-wing Israeli government.
Have I missed something here?
Like David Jones I too grew up in South Africa.I have also lived and worked in Israel.Whilst Israeli Arabs and Palestinians experience many forms of discrimination, to say that South African Apartheid was milder than Israeli “Apartheid” is a moot point.
I could also cite many opinions from respected academics and anti Apartheid activists who dispute Mr.Jones’ assertion.
I am still puzzled why critics of Israel have to over ice the cake whenever they comment. They are not content with pointing out all the terrible mistreatment of the Palestinians without tossing in references to Apartheid, Nazism and the influence of the Israeli/Jewish Lobby.