Israel is the old South Africa

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israel-palestine map
This weekend I’m at the “Conference on Palestine” in Auckland.

[If you are reading this on Sunday morning (23 June) you have time to get down to the Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber for the second day with two impressive international guests and an Oscar-nominated documentary film “5 Broken Cameras”. This start at 1pm with the film at 4pm and the international speakers – Palestinian activist from Gaza, Yousef Aljamal and Miko Peled, Israeli peace activist and author of the book “The General’s Son” at 6.30pm. No registration fee – just a koha.]

The conference opened yesterday with workshops to discuss the campaign to isolate apartheid Israel in the same way the international community was able to isolate apartheid South Africa and bring great pressure for change.

The isolation campaign uses the shorthand BDS for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions and you will be hearing a lot more about it soon.

The goals of the campaign are to end the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territories; end discrimination against Palestinians living in Israel (similar to the laws in apartheid South Africa) and allow the return of Palestinian refugees who were driven out of their homes and off their lands when Israel was formed.

There is a strong consensus emerging that the much vaunted “two-state solution” is dead. Israel has ensured there could never be a viable Palestinians state by continuing to build illegal, Jewish-only settlements throughout the West Bank – leaving just fragmented scraps of land divided by Israeli military roads for a Palestinian state. Even with the best will in the world it wouldn’t have a chance even if it deserved one.

However the US and even our own Foreign Minister Murray McCully are trying to resurrect this so-called “solution” but it would need a zombie reincarnation to breathe life into this particular political corpse.

In the meantime New Zealand played an important role in bringing international pressure on South Africa. We can similarly punch well above our weight in the international campaign to isolate the apartheid state of Israel.

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

When you come across the call for BDS give it all the support you can.

12 COMMENTS

  1. Israel is the new South Africa …. and wasn’t it they who propped up that apartheid regime by supplying its weaponry whilst we were all being told otherwise?

  2. Israel’s a racist state that should be re-formed, the same way South Africa was. Zionism is an evil ideology. New Zealand should cut it’s ties with Israel until it becomes an equalitarian state like the rest of us.

  3. Pressure on Israel itself seems to me to be useless. The cause of the Palestinians would be better served by destroying the political power of AIPAC and other members of the Israel lobby. As long as such groups have the political influence they have in the US, UK, etc. there will be no change.

  4. The present Israeli government is behaving appallingly at present, with the hard line Zionist zealots getting the support of the electorate. This is playing into the hands of Islamic extremists, and their willing advocates in the west. Of course it hasn’t always been this way. The Israelis are often the first to the peace table, looking to secure a homeland for their people; they are desperate for the violence to end. In contrast it appears that the religiously inspired zealots that surround them are very reluctant to discuss a peaceful option that would allow their cohabitation with Jews. This goes back to scripture in the main, an even more appalling reality up there, and a position that should be unacceptable to the secular modern west. That it isn’t is an indictment on our ability to stand up for hard one secular principles of fairness and decency.

    It shouldn’t be hard to get support to isolate Jews; a variety of quite disgusting people and their followers have been doing that for thousands of years. The Nazis are perhaps the most famous of course, but it’s the Islamist’s who pose the most overt threat to them today.

    Time to recognise the reality in Palestine and instead start to isolate violent political Islamism and totalitarianism, wherever it infects communities, and which defines Israel’s neighbours to a tee, and give the Israelis a reason to behave like the modern community they aspire to.

    • It has never been about isolating Jews, after all the brilliant Mico Peled who I heard speaking at the Auckland town hall yesterday is one, it is about isolating Zionists and the rights they think they have.

  5. Bringing humanity to the state of Israeli is a nice ideal but it won’t happen until after present global arrangements collapse; Jews are in control of the US Federal Reserve and the bulk of international banking system.

      • The old racist ‘Jewish money controller’ line. I guess some thinkings never change! What I find abhorrent is that genocide victims are so capable of committing genocide. The International Solidarity Movement have heaps of info on the BDS movement.

  6. I have often thought that the nation of Israel has a collectively damaged psyche, a bit like the mistreated dog that savages anybody who comes near it. There’s no question that many Israeli citizens can remember vividly the horrors of the third reich and I do think that it is reflected in the way that they treat the Palestinian population. There’s precious little logic or rational thought and all that they are doing by their hardline stance is creating future generations of Palestinians intent on one day liberating THEIR homeland. It flies iin the face of reality for John Dennis to suggest that the Israelis “are desperate for the violence to end”.

    • nice analogy kingi. I agree the violence won’t end over there unfortunately, though I would suggest that the Israelis are more peace-seeking. The whole area will continue to have troubles, how can it not? Israel’s God – This is my people’s land, rest of you out. Islamist around, especially Jordan currently – Won’t stop till all Israel is gone. I don’t think some of the neighboring countries even recognize Israel as a country currently?

      • Please watch the film ‘5 broken cameras’ before you may comments again that Israel is more peace seeking. I have not read so much nonsense. How many Israelis have died and how many Palestinians. Just look at the figures. The zionists have the backing of the American government and that is what makes them able to continue occupying Palestinian land. The US and Israel have repeatedly voted against resolutions at the UN that would have made a difference for the Palestinians. The rest of the world has voted in favour of these resolutions. Get a grip!

  7. Aggressors invade Israel. Israel win. Aggressors lose territory. Israel return territory. Aggressors invade Israel. On and on and on. Arab peoples are treated fairly and equitably in Israel. Your comments are simply nonsense.

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