Two apartheids: Similar nature, methods, and endings

July 18 marks the birthday of Nelson Mandela, a man imprisoned in the 1960s as a terrorist and who remained on the US terrorism watch list until 2008. His crime was fighting against a government where a minority of aggressive settlers exploited the indigenous majority through force. This government, termed “Apartheid” by its founders, received support from Western powers for years, brutally suppressing any opposition and imprisoning freedom fighters under the label of terrorism.

Today, July 18, 2024, more than nine months have passed since the significant actions of Hamas fighters in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Since 1997, Hamas fighters have also been labeled as terrorists. Their crime is resisting a government where aggressive settlers, through force, aim to destroy the indigenous population and dominate the region. This government, established as a homeland for Jews worldwide and named Israel by its founders, has pursued a project of ethnic cleansing through genocide and restricting the indigenous population for years, with the support of Western powers.

Israel and Apartheid: Two kindred regimes

The Israeli regime was founded on religious and racial discrimination, while the Apartheid regime was based on racial discrimination alone. The driving force behind both is Western imperialist hegemony, which spares no blatant injustice in its pursuit of greater control over other nations’ resources. This is why Western powers only stopped supporting Apartheid when the cost of support outweighed its benefits. Today, these same countries shamelessly justify the crimes of the Zionist regime. This double standard — condemning Apartheid in its final years while supporting the Zionist regime — illustrates the hypocrisy of Western powers. A close examination of the laws and behaviors of these two regimes reveals remarkable similarities.

The first and most significant similarity is the seizure of indigenous lands. The Apartheid government, ruled by white people, after seizing over 80 percent of South Africa’s territory, designated areas called Bantustans where black people were allowed to reside. In one instance of land seizure, the Apartheid government ordered the evacuation of an area known as “District 6,” displacing over 60,000 black residents.

The Zionist regime has similarly had a long history of displacing Palestinians since its establishment in 1948. On Nakba Day, over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes, cities, and villages, forced to migrate to neighboring countries or refugee camps. In 1967, the Zionist army expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem, paving the way for the occupation of over 80 percent of Palestinian lands. Over the years, the Zionist regime has repeatedly seized Palestinian land by demolishing homes and agricultural fields, subsequently building settlements on these lands.

Restricting movement: A tool of psychological and economic warfare

Both the Apartheid regime and the Zionist regime have used movement restrictions to exert pressure on indigenous populations. In South Africa, black people needed permits to leave Bantustans, and if found without one outside these areas, they were arrested. Similarly, the Zionist regime has divided the occupied Palestinian territories into several regions with walls and checkpoints, requiring Palestinians to obtain permits from the Israeli government to move between them. Understanding the benefits these regimes gain from restricting movement is crucial. In the occupied Palestinian territories, the Zionist regime creates barriers between agricultural land, workplaces, schools, and homes to economically and socially cripple the population, facilitating land seizures without resistance. Another example of these movement restrictions is limiting access to holy sites, affecting both Palestinian Christians and Muslims. Over time, such pressures can lead to waves of emigration. In South Africa, restricting the movement of black people deprived them of economic opportunities and ensured the economic superiority of white people, as the most fertile lands were usually outside the Bantustans.

Legal discrimination

Under the “The Black Homeland Citizenship Act,” enacted in South Africa in 1970, black people were not considered citizens, depriving them of the right to vote and self-determination. This denial of citizenship allowed for arbitrary repression and punishment. In Apartheid South Africa, black people could be detained for long periods without trial simply for leaving the Bantustans without a permit. Similar legal discrimination exists in the occupied Palestinian territories, where two legal systems are applied in the West Bank: civil law for Israeli citizens and military law for Palestinian residents. Additionally, Israeli law permits the detention of Palestinians without trial for up to six months, with the possibility of extending this detention.

A key difference

Apartheid in South Africa relied on black labor for its economic growth and progress. Although discriminatory and segregated policies extended to infrastructure such as education and transportation, the regime’s essential need for black labor enabled the South African people to overthrow the government through widespread civil disobedience and mass protests. While the Apartheid government suppressed opposition through massacres like Sharpeville in 1960 and the Soweto uprising in 1976, and by executing and imprisoning protesters, its brutality was not comparable to that of the Zionist regime.

The Zionist regime desires Palestinian land without its indigenous people. Since its inception, it has carried out the bloodiest attacks against Palestinians and openly declared its intent to expel them from their land. This difference in approach has led to different forms of resistance against the two regimes. Nelson Mandela could take steps toward freeing his people from racial discrimination by enduring imprisonment. In Palestine, this struggle is waged by enduring the heat and pressure of living in underground tunnels and fighting against the Israeli army. While Bishop Desmond Tutu’s marches struck a blow to Apartheid, the harsh experience of Gaza’s Great March of Return and Palestinian diplomatic efforts have shown that resistance against the Zionist regime is achieved not through demonstrations, but by enduring its brutal attacks and raising a resilient generation.

In this context, Imam Khamenei states that resolving the Palestinian issue requires the destruction of the Zionist regime followed by a referendum of all Palestinians:

The all-out endeavors of the Palestinian nation – political, military, moral and cultural endeavors – should continue until those who have usurped Palestine give in to the votes of the Palestinian nation. The opinion of all the people of Palestine – including Muslims, Christians, Palestinian Jews and those who have been exiled outside Palestine – should be sought through a poll and they should determine what kind of system should rule in Palestine. Then, everyone should abide by it. The fight should and will continue until that time. By Allah’s favor and grace, the Palestinian nation will win in this peaceful and humanitarian cause which is accepted by all sensible and reasonable conventions in the world and the country of Palestine will be given back to the people of Palestine.