A former colleague of South African human rights icons Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu expressed sturdy help for his nation’s determination to take Israel to the International Court of Justice, condemning the months-long siege and blockade of Gaza as nothing in need of a genocide in opposition to Palestinians.
Speaking to Anadolu, Andrew Feinstein, a onetime key determine within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) who now lives in Britain, emphasised his distinctive perspective as a Jewish son of a Holocaust survivor.
“My mother survived the war in occupied Vienna itself. She lost dozens of members of her family, mainly in the death camp of Auschwitz, where I’ve lectured on genocide prevention,” he defined.
“I am here today to talk about why it is that South Africa have taken Israel to the International Court of Justice, because I think it’s particularly symbolic because South Africa knows what apartheid it is.”
Feinstein pointed to a authorized doc from South Africa presenting proof of Israeli actions in Gaza as genocidal in each conduct and intent.
“So, I think it’s incredibly important that South Africa has brought this case to the International Court of Justice describing what is happening in Gaza as a genocide of the Palestinian people,” he mentioned.
“And it’s absolutely clear from the South African document, which is an extraordinary legal document, that this is a genocide, both in terms of the conduct of the Israeli operation in Gaza, and because of the intent that has been voiced by Israeli politicians to remove all Palestinians from Gaza and for Israel to effectively take over Gaza completely,” mentioned Feinstein.
‘ISRAELI APARTHEID FAR MORE BRUTAL THAN ANYTHING WE SAW IN SOUTH AFRICA’
While acknowledging variations between the conditions in South Africa and Israel, Feinstein underscored the shared parts of racial discrimination, the creation of separate territories, and the usage of brutal pressure in opposition to oppressed populations.
Feinstein started by highlighting the discrimination confronted by the Palestinian inhabitants in Israel, drawing a parallel with the a long time of mistreatment of black Africans in South Africa.
He argued that even Palestinian residents of Israel are relegated to lesser rights than even their Jewish counterparts-a stark violation of ideas of equality below the regulation based mostly on race, ethnicity, or faith.
On the apartheid-era technique of making “little homelands,” or Bantustans, in South Africa, he in contrast it to Israel’s insertion of settlements and separation of territories in Gaza, the West Bank, Hebron, and Ramallah.
Feinstein mentioned the deliberate division hinders the potential for a two-state answer, echoing oppressive techniques seen within the apartheid system.
“And then most importantly, both Israel and South Africa have used brutal military force to oppress those populations that they see as somehow inferior to themselves, which is a system of racism. So, by all of those similarities, Israel is an apartheid system, according to the Rome statute of international law,” he mentioned.
“My former boss, Nelson Mandela, and my friend and political mentor Archbishop Desmond Tutu, they knew better than anyone I’ve ever met what an apartheid state is. And they were very critical of apartheid because apartheid Israel was a very close ally of apartheid South Africa -they helped each other become nuclear powers, to develop nuclear weapons,” mentioned Feinstein.
Israel has by no means acknowledged its standing as a nuclear energy, whereas South Africa formally deserted its nuclear arms improvement program in 1989.
While recognizing the numerous similarities within the two conditions, Feinstein did underscore one essential distinction.
Unlike South Africa, which closely relied on the black African group for its financial system and workforce, Israel is much less depending on Palestinians for its financial stability, he mentioned.
“And that is one of the reasons why Israel has killed tens of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians. They don’t want them, they don’t need them. And that has made Israeli apartheid far more brutal than anything we saw or experienced in South Africa,” he mentioned.
Feinstein additionally blasted Keir Starmer, the chief of the UK Labour Party and good prospect for doable future prime minister, for refusing to help a cease-fire in Gaza.
“Starmer, who claims have been a human rights lawyer, will not support a cease-fire in Gaza. And when asked whether he thinks Israel is violating international law, his response was to say: ‘I’m a politician. I can’t comment on that’,” mentioned Feinstein.
“So we’re saying to him that he doesn’t represent us and we will refuse to vote for him at the next election. Because he has turned his back on the awful suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza and across the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Source: www.anews.com.tr