Who wrote the next quote?
“Whereas the Afrikaner apostles of apartheid in South Africa, for instance, openly proclaimed their sin, the [Israeli] practitioners of apartheid in Palestine beguilingly protest their innocence.”
Amnesty Worldwide? Human Rights Watch (HRW)? Even perhaps the Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem?
Since January of final yr – culminating with Amnesty International this week – all three human rights teams have made worldwide headlines by popping out with main reviews figuring out Israel as an apartheid state.
When you guessed both of these three, although, you had been incorrect. The precise creator of the quote was Fayez Sayegh, the late Palestinian mental, activist and diplomat.
And he wrote it in 1965.
Palestinians have been accurately figuring out Israel as an apartheid state for many years.
I need to admit that I cheated just a little and tweaked the quote ever so barely. The unique textual content (Sayegh’s sensible pamphlet, Zionist Colonialism in Palestine, which you can read in full here), really used the current tense “proclaim” moderately than “proclaimed” as above. In 1965, the South African apartheid regime was, in fact, very a lot alive.
I additionally put the phrase “Israeli” in sq. brackets the place Sayegh really used the phrase “Zionist” – way more correct and proper on this context. I say that as a result of it is not solely Israeli residents who practise apartheid in Palestine, however their Zionist supporters within the West (political, navy and monetary) who make apartheid attainable on the bottom.
After all, a liberal human rights NGO like Amnesty Worldwide would by no means use the phrase “Zionist” for worry of being smeared as anti-Semitic. Herein lies one of many issues and limitations with Amnesty Worldwide. They’re weak on this challenge.
Their coyness to determine and identify the racist ideology on the root of Israeli apartheid – specifically Zionism – has executed them no favours. Immediately and openly, the Israeli authorities smeared them as “anti-Semitic” for his or her correct report on Israeli apartheid this week.
Learn: Amnesty labels Israel an apartheid state
Amnesty International’s report is to be welcomed. Late is best than by no means, and we are able to hope that the group will make good on its promise this week to hold out an precise worldwide marketing campaign towards Israeli apartheid.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t assist however consider the Sayegh quote this week whereas all of the media consideration was on Amnesty Worldwide. Why within the West is the phrase of the natives not believed over the phrase of the white man?Why does it take the phrases of two largely white liberal human rights NGOs for mainstream acceptance of the plainly apparent undeniable fact that Israel is an apartheid state? Amnesty and HRW themselves required the (nearly) permission of the Israeli NGO B’Tselem earlier than they went forward with their Israeli apartheid reviews. Why is that?
Why are the well-documented and reported experiences of Palestinians themselves not sufficient? Why are the phrases of Palestinian rights teams like Al-Haq, Addameer, the Palestinian Centre for Human rights, and plenty of others, not sufficient?
Is it the deeply embedded nature of racism inside our societies or our media? And even inside the human rights teams themselves?
I haven’t got all of the solutions to all these questions. However one factor is for positive – Israel has now misplaced the propaganda struggle and the PR battle on the query of the apartheid label.
By Israel lashing out at Amnesty Worldwide this week, with the absurd slur that the group is “anti-Semitic” on account of its opposition to Israeli apartheid, the nefarious nature of its smear campaigns towards the Palestinians and their supporters is clearer to many extra folks.
It is taking far too lengthy, however we’re profitable the struggle towards Israeli apartheid.
Opinion: With apartheid an irrefutable reality, Israel’s democracy has always rested on blind faith
The views expressed on this article belong to the creator and don’t essentially replicate the editorial coverage of Center East Monitor.
