Unveiling Injustice: Apartheid and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -Frank Chikane #gaza

Frank Chikane drawing parallels between apartheid experiences in South Africa and the Israeli treatment of Palestinians. He begins by recounting his first visit to Palestine/Israel in 1988, where he immediately identified the Israeli regime from the Jordan to the Mediterranean as "more than just a racist apartheid system." Chikane's observations over multiple visits, including the displacement threats faced by families in Sheikh Jarrah and discriminatory laws favoring Jewish claims over Palestinian lands, fortified his view of systemic racism and apartheid. He underscores the historic backdrop of the 1947/48 Nakba following U.N. Resolution 181, which he believes instigated ongoing conflicts and displacement, calling it a "racist Zionist ideology" aimed at eradicating Arab Palestinians from their homeland.

Chikane also discusses the broader implications of historical injustices and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He criticizes the global response, particularly the complicity of Western nations in overlooking atrocities against Palestinians, which he compares to the genocide in Gaza. Highlighting the upcoming Global Anti-Apartheid Conference, Chikane calls for international solidarity similar to that mobilized against apartheid in South Africa, aiming to end Israel's "apartheid regime and promote coexistence". He calls for "comprehensive sanctions against Israel" to acknowledge and correct injustices, emphasizing that real security and peace in the region can only stem from mutual justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. Chikane concludes with a reflection on the transient nature of power and the imperative for those in power to pursue justice universally, not just for narrow interests.