“We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
These profound words were spoken by the late great Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, back in 1997.
Had he lived to see today, Mandela would have witnessed his fellow South Africans honoring his battle against apartheid and white minority rule by standing up for those suffering under similar conditions in Palestine.
Today, he is celebrated. But it’s worth remembering, too, that Mandela remained on the US terror watch list until 2008.
Mandela stood head and shoulders above other leaders of the time. And to be clear, his legacy puts many present-day so-called leaders to shame.
Today, South Africans have once more shown what real leadership looks like. Some political leaders have ignored, downplayed, or sought to justify Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.
Western Complicity in Palestinian Suffering
Countries like the United Kingdom and the United States, which have directly facilitated the murder of Palestinians, may now face potential legal implications for war crimes in Gaza.
To that end, not only has South Africa taken Israel to task, but now, according to further reports, South African lawyers are said to be preparing lawsuits against the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) for their alleged complicity in the continued onslaught of the Palestinians.
Make no mistake; the mass killing of civilians, deliberately starving people, and forcing people to leave their homes by making the conditions so intolerable is utterly barbaric. It’s deliberate, without justification and is the end game. Any country claiming to be civilized, supporting, and adhering to any notion of human rights cannot possibly endorse this state of affairs.
South Africa, however, also once colonized, has demonstrated more political backbone and more belief in the democratic process and accountability than the very nations that claim to have founded those ideals and to care about principles of justice and the rule of law.
Western politics currently centers around hypocrisy and the willing enabling of genocide.
The US not only backs Israel to the fullest extent but also provides billions of dollars each year and weapons, enabling Israel’s campaign against the Palestinians. The same applies to the United Kingdom.
Israel’s Violations of International Law
While Israel’s brazen violations of international law against the Palestinians have shocked the world and led millions around the world to demand a ceasefire, internally, Israel has also treated its own citizens with such contempt that, in my view, the Israeli government is closer to a kleptocracy than any notion of democracy.
For years, prior to October last year, Benjamin Netanyahu had faced growing protests at home, facing multiple accusations of corruption. He’s so utterly drenched in allegations that many of the protestors inside Israel itself have come to describe Netanyahu as the ‘Crime Minister’.
Netanyahu was also slammed in recent times for reportedly attempting to seize political control of the courts through a judicial overhaul. It was narrowly thrown out by the Supreme Court – an anti-democratic move in every sense of the word. This led Israelis to denounce Netanyahu for seeking to take the country closer to authoritarianism.
In addition to this, it’s been well documented over the years that Israel’s own citizens, orthodox Jews, are often attacked by Israeli police for simply exercising their democratic right to protest in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel’s far-right government and supporters have no regard for Palestinian life; international law reflects the reality that Israel is most certainly not a democracy despite promoting itself as the only one in the Middle East surrounded by ‘hostile neighbors’.
We also have to be honest about something very important at this point: Israel is not even a safe haven for Jews. How so, one might ask.
The Plight of Black Jews in Israel
The biggest standout is Israel’s treatment of its own black Jewish citizens. From the 1970s onwards, Ethiopian Jews began to migrate in larger numbers to Israel. They believed it to be a homeland for the Jews.
Over the years, however, the Israeli government has increasingly been hostile to their growing numbers. Today, there are more than 160,000 Ethiopian Jews in Israel.
While they are Jewish in every sense of the word, practicing Judaism as a people for longer than the state of Israel has existed, they are treated as lesser citizens. And that’s putting it lightly.
Ethiopian Jews experience much higher levels of unemployment and lower rates of pay and often live in inferior housing while experiencing much higher rates of arrest, police brutality, and imprisonment.
Similar disparities are also found in health, the education sector and so on. If this sounds familiar to black American audiences, it’s because the parallels speak for themselves. All of these inequalities are classic hallmarks of countries founded on settler colonialism. That is what Israel is.
Related Stories
Parallel Struggles of Black Jews and Americans: Black Lives Matter Protests
Over the years, there have been numerous Black Lives Matter protests in Israel, similar to those we have seen in the United States and also around the world, following egregious instances of police brutality, sometimes deadly, and settler violence fueled by anti-black racism in Israel.
Indeed, it should come as no surprise to readers that Israeli police and US police forces have often trained together, perhaps sharing notes and tactics on how to brutalize black people.
Shockingly, several years ago, Israel was forced to admit that it has been administering birth control drugs to black Ethiopian Jewish women. It was its effort to control the Black Jewish population numbers. Israel claims to be a safe haven for the Jews. But it’s not, and the facts prove it.
It’s a safe haven for some White Jews, many of whom were born outside of Israel.
The fact of the matter is that Israel has long ago forfeited the right to speak about international law while claiming to be a democracy. In addition, the plight of black Jews in Israel crushes any notion of a Jewish state.
There is a sentiment that Black Jews in Israel have the wrong skin color to be considered fully Jewish. And people need to acknowledge this.
Apartheid Comparisons: South Africa and Israel
Israel is apartheid. It’s just like we saw in South Africa. The only thing more outrageous than the far-right Israeli government is our leaders in both the UK and the US. They are cheerleading for the mass murder.
History will remember them for what they really stand for.
Without them, Israel’s campaign of genocide simply would not be possible. Our political leaders must be held accountable, and we should be inspired by African leadership in South Africa demanding accountability.