If you want to learn a thing or two about apartheid, the first place to look, surely, is South Africa. It was there, after all, that a white South African Government adopted a policy of institutionalized segregation, eventually drawing widespread international condemnation, divestment and boycott before ultimately inducing the downfall of their regime. South Africans lived, breathed and otherwise experienced apartheid, day in and day out, for almost 50 years. It is for this reason that we should not take lightly the words of their leaders in regards to that term.
When former South African President Hendrik Verwoerd says, for instance, that “Israel, like South Africa, is an apartheid state” it is reasonable to suppose that there is some validity to that notion.
When such a statement is reinforced by the assertion of Archbishop Desmond Tutu that his visit to Palestine “reminded [him] so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa,” we can be certain that apartheid is indeed an appropriate term to invoke.
When confronted further by Nelson Mandela’s declaration that “we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians,” we should stand up and take heed. This is what we, the Boston University Students for Justice in Palestine group, have endeavored to do. Predictably, our detractors have been quick to malign our efforts, misrepresenting both our position and intentions in the process.
First, they have attempted to silence, intimidate and slander us. Jewish religious figures on campus have made direct appeals to Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore to deny us our right to free speech, while pro-Israel activists have publicly labeled us “terrorists” and “liars.” Others still have attempted to associate our group with such groups as Hamas. No such association exists.
Second, our detractors &- most notable among them Professor Richard Landes of the history department &- have made a concerted effort to create confusion and divert attention from the issue at hand. They have, for example, highlighted the poor human rights records of Arab States. They have likewise pointed to the central role Israeli scientists have played in numerous technological developments (see the billboards scattered about campus entitled “Israel wants peace, Do you?” for pertinent, indeed comical, examples of this practice &- there you will find the laughable contention that Israel’s role in the development of cell phones is evidence of its desire for peace).
While indisputably true, these statements are utterly irrelevant. Their purpose is only to redirect attention away from the matter at hand. To the discerning reader, however, this should serve only to reveal the weakness of the pro-Israeli position.
Notice, if you will, that none of these strategies include arguing with the facts of our contention. This should come as no surprise, however, given the tenuous position of pro-Israel advocates when confronted with the stark realities of Israel’s actions in both Gaza and the illegally occupied West Bank.
In putting forward the accusation of apartheid, we are not, as our detractors would have you believe, calling for the eradication of Israel. Nor are we acting out of anti-Semitic convictions (just ask the large Jewish American contingent of our group). We are simply trying to draw attention to the appalling conditions under which Palestinians are being held.
In so doing, it should be noted: we have not been the first to apply the term apartheid to Israel. We are merely echoing the statements of distinguished Nobel Laureates who, incidentally, happen to know apartheid better than anyone else.
Omar El Kayal
College of Arts and Sciences 2011
President, Students for Justice In Palestine
Editor’s note: Professor Landes wrote a letter to the editor about Israel Apartheid Week that was published in The Daily Free Press on March 2. He was also quoted in a story about Israel’s public diplomacy campaign and anti-Israel sentiment that was published on March 1 (“New campaign aims to improve Israel’s world image,” p. 1).
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