He said that Israel has institutionalized a more extreme and inhumane form of apartheid against Palestinians, which must be ended immediately.
So, what makes Israel’s apartheid worse than apartheid in South Africa? Here are some reasons to consider:
Duration and intensity. Apartheid in South Africa lasted for 46 years, from 1948 to 1994 when the white government finally surrendered and held the first multiracial elections won by Nelson Mandela.
Israeli apartheid, on the other hand, has lasted for 57 years, from 1967 to the present, with no signs of ending.
Israel continues to expand and strengthen its occupation of Palestinian territories and refuses to recognize Palestinians’ rights as a sovereign nation.
Israel also continues to commit increasingly brutal and systematic human rights violations, such as killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, home demolitions, evictions, blockades, sieges, and military aggression.
Complexity and ambiguity. Apartheid in South Africa was based on clear and rigid racial classifications, which distinguished between white, black, and colored.
Although this system was highly unjust and irrational, there were at least visible and measurable boundaries governing relations between these groups.
Israeli apartheid, on the other hand, is based on more complex and ambiguous classifications, involving factors such as citizenship, religion, ethnicity, residency, legal status, and travel documents.
Israel creates various categories and subcategories of citizens with different rights and obligations, depending on their situation and location.
This makes it difficult for Palestinians to know and demand their rights and for Israelis to be held accountable for their actions.
Justification and legitimacy. Apartheid in South Africa was based on the ideology of white supremacy, which regarded whites as a superior race entitled to rule over and exploit other races.
This ideology was openly criticized and opposed by the international community, which saw it as a violation of human rights and humanity.
Israeli apartheid, on the other hand, is based on the ideology of Zionist nationalism, which regards Jews as the chosen people entitled to possess and establish a state in the land considered their historic homeland.
This ideology is quietly supported and justified by many Western countries, especially the United States, which see it as part of Israel’s sovereign rights and security.
This ideology is also often disguised with religious, cultural, and historical reasons, making it difficult to criticize and challenge.
From the above three reasons, we can see that Israeli apartheid is indeed worse than apartheid in South Africa, both in terms of duration, intensity, complexity, ambiguity, justification, and legitimacy.
However, this does not mean that we should overlook or underestimate the suffering experienced by South Africans under apartheid. Both systems are equally crimes against humanity, which must be abolished and avoided.
We must learn from the experiences and struggles of South Africans, who successfully ended apartheid peacefully and democratically and built a multicultural and inclusive country.
We must also support and assist Palestinians, who are still struggling to free themselves from apartheid and obtain their rights as an independent and sovereign nation.
This is Kisanak.
Sources:
- Encyclopedia Britannica – Apartheid: https://www.britannica.com/topic/apartheid
- BBC News – What was apartheid?: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15670784
- United Nations – The End of Apartheid: https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-of-apartheid-day
- Human Rights Watch – South Africa’s Transition from Apartheid to Democracy: https://www.hrw.org/report/1994/06/01/south-africas-transition-apartheid-democracy
- The Guardian – Israel accused of ‘apartheid regime’ by UN experts: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/03/israel-accused-of-apartheid-by-un-experts
- Amnesty International – Palestine and the Occupied Territories: https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/palestine-occupied-territories/