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Shame On Apartheid
The Guardians Middle East correspondent Chris McGreal has a two part series comparing the South African apartheid regime and Israel. He has lived in South Africa for 10 years and for 4 years in Jerusalem. The view is knowledgeable and the facts are from the ground. I recommend to read both parts.
Part one, Worlds Apart, looks at the inner working of the ‘grey racism’ in Israel.
Though the motives in both countries cases may be different, the methods applied and the outcome seem equivalent.
The specific apartheid language and openly displayed racism is much less developed in Israel, than it has been in South Africa, but the methods of legalized theft of property based on race are essentially the same. Allocation of state money for education, health care and infrastructure is all but proportional. Like in South Africa this leads to underdeveloped ghettos, reinforcing the basic us-better-than-them meme within the Jewish population.
McGreal cites many overwhelming facts to underpin the above, especially with regards to the Palestinians living within Israeli boarders.
The second part, Brothers in arms – Israel’s secret pact with Pretoria, is a history of relations between apartheid South Africa and Israel. While some Jews took part in the ANC’s fight against apartheid, the official collaboration was ever extended up to the cooperation to develop nuclear weapons.
There is no agreement if contemporary Israel is really comparable to South African apartheid.
The motives for the Israeli behavior are a different mix than they have been in South Africa. But as the effective results are quite similar, the fall of the South African apartheid regime, may also show a possible development in Israel.
But, as ordinary Israelis discovered, such a system cannot survive unchallenged. Apartheid collapsed in part because South African society was exhausted by its demands and the myth of victimhood among whites fell away. Israel has not got there yet. Many Israelis still think they are the primary victims of the occupation.
For Seidemann, the crucial issue is not how the apartheid system worked but how it began to disintegrate. "It unravelled because it couldn’t be done. Apartheid drained so much energy from South African society that this was one of the compelling reasons beyond the economic sanctions and pressures that convinced De Klerk that this was not sustainable. This is what is coming to Israel."
Unfortunately, the situation in Israel might get even worse before it will become better.
International sanctions and boycotts may further a solution. Therefore I personally avoid to buy Israeli products when possible.
But a more effective way may be to continuously unveil the facts on the ground. Thorough information could generate shame. Shame, which may go a long way to change the opinion and behavior of the Jewish population of Israel and its international supporters.
In this, McGreal’s piece is a good start.
Alan,
I wonder if Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates feels that he has enough money, despite his $25 Billion fortune, ownership of two prime sports teams, and 215 million shares of Microsoft. What’s the connection? He is the world’s 4th richest man. By most accounts Israel has the world’s 4th most powerful army. They have enough nuclear weapons to destroy every single city in the US with a popuation over 100,000, and the delivery systems to destroy France, if they wanted too.
At Oslo, the PLO recognized Israel’s right to exist. Many Palestinian leaders have recognized that right publicly. Of course, there are some Palestinians who would like to do away with Israel, just as there are some Israelis who would like to do away with all the Palestinians, and in my youth, with all Germans. We have to accept those people too, and recognize that just because some small minority is very hostile does not mean that they are able to do anything bad. It is like when someone doesn’t like us in the classroom, it is uncomfortable but we have to live with it. We don’t generally blow them away.
I see Israel as a huge football lineman, holding this five year old kid in the air and shaking him violently, saying, “You must recognize my right to exist!” How could the kid not? All he wants is to be put down in one piece. The lineman needs to recognize that he is not a little kid anymore, that he has grown up and is really quite large.
I hear a lot of fear in your response. Perhaps there is no way for you to address that fear; for you to feel that Israel has the 100% fail-safe security that you require. In that case, how would you proceed? What conditions would make you feel better about things? You can help me by stating what you feel that you need, more than I can help you by telling you it is OK.
I think you would benefit by meeting an actual Palestinian, talking with them, and getting to know them as a human being. They have the same concerns we do–for the safety of their family, a decent job, food on their table, and some healthcare. Maybe you should go to Palestine and see what the kids are doing, what their schools are like, and whether they get enough food and proper healthcare. You would learn a lot by traveling, or at least trying to travel, through the territory.
Whether or not other Arabs help the Palestinians out is irrelevant. We do not spend much time in the US worrying about the poor and starving of Mexico.
My great-grandparents fled the pogroms in Russia and came to America around 1900. Growing up, I heard from my grandparents and parents about the depression and the struggles they went through. Well, as late as 1947, Jews only owned 6% of the land, and comprised, at most, 18% of the population of what was to become Israel. There are many Palestinians alive who still remember those days. They remember their homes which they had taken from them, their lives, their villages, their society, which was changed forever. I’m not going to tell you what the answer is, but you have to hear people and respect their positions and stories before you can each trust each other.
I was fortunate to have had the experience of having Palestinian friends when I lived in St. Croix. They were just friends; we went out drinking together, talked about girls, shot some pool, went swimming, and hung out. Eventually, over time we shared our stories, and talked about it. But they did not feel the need to convince me, and I did not feel the need to convince them. That is a good beginning.
Here is another link which tells the story in a very impartial way and very simply. It doesn’t get caught up in all the details which historians love to wrangle over. Background to the Israel-Palestine Crisis It is written by an American Jew. Why don’t you read it, and if you have any questions, come back and ask me.
You say that I sound like I am trying to convince myself that I am anti-Israeli. Over here at “Moon” we make the distinction between supporting the people of a nation, and supporting the policies of their government. Just as I don’t agree with what our President is doing in the world, but I don’t want harm to come to Americans, I can disagree with what the leaders of Israel are doing and still wish peace and good fortune for Israel and Israelis.
I, too, am very concerned about anti-semitism, and a potential backlash on Jews worldwide. That is why I believe that we need to respect other people and cultures, and treat them as we would want to be treated. William Blum says it better than I can, on another thread today:
Anti-American terrorists are not motivated by hatred or envy of freedom or democracy, or by American wealth, secular government, or culture. They are motivated by decades of awful things done to their homelands by US foreign policy. It works the same all over the world. In the period of the 1950s to the 1980s in Latin America, in response to a long string of Washington’s dreadful policies, there were countless acts of terrorism against US diplomatic and military targets as well as the offices of US corporations. The US bombing, invasion, occupation and torture in Iraq and Afghanistan have created thousands of new anti-American terrorists. We’ll be hearing from them for a terribly long time.
Our actions DO determine how people will treat us back.
You say I am gullible. I believe in the saying which states that “we should trust in God, but tie our camels.” But I worry that we, and Israel, are becoming so concerned that we are tying and re-tying our camels, until they are being strangled. A child raised in complete safety would have to be a bubble child, and a nation attempting to be absolutely safe would eventually start to strangle its own citizens.
There is nothing about Arabs that makes them unable to live in peace with Jews, and vice-versa. In the 80’s, I attended a synagogue of Iraqi Jewish immigrants on Long Island. They were Jewish and living in America, but they looked just like the Iraqis we see every day on the news. The US had a war with Mexico, but now we live in peace, and the border states are so mixed, and people are so intermarried, that it is quite unremarkable.
You are correct that the best option is to learn to co-exist peacefully. It is difficult when both parties feel victimized. It is more difficult when monied interests profit from other’s strife. That is also something we need to keep in mind as we attempt to heal a very wounded situation.
I hope this helps you to understand things better.
Posted by: Malooga | Mar 22 2006 20:16 utc | 37
“[Martyrdom] is a good thing. We don’t want this world, we want the Afterlife. We benefit not from this life but from the Afterlife.” This is the opinion of 11-year-old Yussra, presented in an interview on Palestinian television. According to Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch, the Palestinian Authority teaches its people, and especially its children, to desire “shahada” – death for Allah. Marcus spoke to Cornell students yesterday evening in McGraw 165 about current Palestinian propaganda targeted against Israel and Jews. He first addressed Palestinian newspapers, using the sports pages to reveal glorification of suicide bombers and the clues in a crossword puzzle to show hate propaganda against Jews. One such example in a crossword puzzle included the name of the Holocaust museum Yad Vashem as the solution to “Jewish center for commemorating the Holocaust and the lies.” He presented numerous other examples of such propaganda in children’s school textbooks, songs and dances, television shows and educational television programs. Marcus also addressed the recent landslide Hamas victory in Palestinian elections. The Hamas charter, he noted, contains messages of violence and the illegitimacy of Israel and its Jewish population. Marcus founded PMW in 1996 to understand Palestinian society through the eyes of Palestinian Arabs. PMW monitors the Palestinian media through such mediums as newspapers, television, poetry, book reviews and sermons. Marcus mentioned a specific interest in the messages delivered to children, as their beliefs and actions will impact the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations. He said, “The ultimate goal is to promote peace education.” Marcus adopted a calm and reserved tone of voice while using words such as “horrific,” “ridiculous,” and “libel” to explain Palestinian television clips, quotes and textbook excerpts directed against Jews. One video clip presented featured Ahmad Nasser, secretary of Palestinian Legislative Council, stating, “The State of Israel is Satan’s offspring – a satanic offspring.” Jordan Fabian ’09, who was in attendance, believes that “the entire idea of the presentation wasn’t surprising, but the material he used was interesting,” pointing to the video of Yussra as particularly “unsettling.” In terms of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Fabian said, “[The propaganda] the Palestinians have been perpetuating has made the conflict worse. What [Marcus] said about suicide bombers not being desperate is important. It’s not that they’re desperate, but that they actually believe [killing the enemy] is God’s will.” At the end of his lecture, Marcus admitted being pessimistic towards possible improvements in Palestinian propaganda. He claimed, “Re-education won’t happen without leverage from the West,” and encouraged students to contact the media and government for awareness and help. Andrew Garib ’06, president of Turn Left, said he felt the lecture was informative, “but that it was more for a general audience than for those already aware of the Israel-Palestine conflict.” The event was organized by Cornell Israel Palestine Public Affairs Committee and StandWithUs. Jamie Weinstein ’06, president of CIPAC, introduced Marcus and emphasized that CIPAC had invited all student media groups and many political groups. Sarah Boxer ’07, vice president of CIPAC, said, “I thought it was really cool that there was a wide array of students there. There were students from a lot of demographics on campus. I was really pleased that so many different members from around campus were able to make it.” However, the presentation’s overall fairness was challenged during the question time after the lecture. One student said that the event would have been better if the pro-Palestinian student group, Student Activists for Palestine, had been present. Weinstein admitted that CIPAC had not extended a formal invitation to the student group, but noted that the president of Student Activists for Palestine had attended the lectur
Posted by: dovvod | Jun 8 2006 12:39 utc | 41
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