- Israel and the Apartheid-era South Africa regime have
a lot in common, said William Fletcher. They are both "settler states,"
who created myths that God had given them "the land," and that
the land "was unoccupied upon arrival." They also both portrayed
themselves as "victims" and their aggressions as a "defensive
act." Fletcher said: "Israel is a rabid state," which is
capable of a maniacal act, like "unleashing a nuclear weapon."
-
- "'Imprisonment Wall' is more descriptive than 'Security
Fence.'" - Jimmy Carter, former U.S. President, in writing about Israel's
notorious Apartheid Wall. (1)
-
- WASHINGTON, DC --
"The logic of both Israel and Apartheid-era South Africa can be found
in their common origins as settler states," said Professor William
Fletcher. On Dec. 1, 2006, he gave a talk at the Palestine Center, entitled,
"Two Walled Cities: Jerusalem and Johannesburg, Apartheid and Palestine."
Fletcher emphasized: "In both cases the settlers created myths, semi-religious
or explicitly religious, including that God had provided the land for them
and that the land was unoccupied upon arrival...In both cases, the settlers
portrayed themselves to be victims against the natives, who were described
as semi-barbaric and/or intolerant. Given the permanent state of siege,
every settler state's aggression came to be described as a defensive act."
(2)
-
- Fletcher, a native of New York City, was a former assistant
to President John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO and the ex-CEO of the TransAfrica
Forum. He is presently the Belle Zeller Visiting Professor at Brooklyn
College, City University of New York. A graduate of Harvard, in 1976, with
a B.A. degree in Government, he now lives in Maryland with his family.
In his youth, Fletcher dabbled in the politics of the Black Panther Party
and helped to form a "Black Student Alliance" on his high school
campus. (3)
-
- Continuing, Fletcher said: "For the settler state,
[Israel and Apartheid-era South Africa], there is a zero sum calculation
when it comes to the natives. This does not necessarily mean that the natives
necessarily must be annihilated, but it does mean the natives can never
be allowed to prevail. In this context, one can look at Jerusalem and Apartheid-era
Johannesburg as emblematic of settlers' strategy and of the settler state
as a whole. Though there are significant differences between Israel and
Apartheid-era South Africa, e. g. the religious significance of Jerusalem,
the settlers' approach in both cases in these cities shares much in common.
In the case of Jerusalem, the entire city has been seized by the settlers,
who have no intention of sharing it with the Palestinians. The settler
plan is one of driving out the Palestinians through a combination of intimidation
and inconvenience, otherwise known as psychological warfare. That is the
painful difficulty encountered by Palestinians living in occupied East
Jerusalem. Johannesburg, however, was constructed to be for whites only."
(2)
-
- More tie-ins between the duo regimes: While Nelson Mandela,
later the first President of a free South Africa, languished in a prison
cell for close to 27 years, mostly on Robben Island, the Apartheid-era
South African clique and the government of Zionist Israel were in bed together.
The authors, Edward Herman and Gerry O'Sullivan, experts on state terrorism,
wrote: "[They] had a de facto military alliance for many years, and
Israel had given support to all of South Africa's terrorist clients, including
UNITA and RENAMO." (4) In 1979, there was even media speculation that
Israel-South Africa had jointly tested "a nuclear weapon" in
the Indian Ocean. Both governments denied that charge. (5)
-
- Fletcher underscored: "Each settler state has handled
its indigenous population somewhat differently...In South Africa...the
premium was placed on the removal of the natives from the land and their
sociopolitical marginalization. In the case of Palestine, I would argue
a bit of both seems to be underway. Though the emphasis seems to be on
the removal from land. In both the Occupied Territories and Apartheid-era
South Africa, the settler state wishes to make the situation so inhospitable
that the indigenous people leave on their own. It combines violent coercion
with what can be described as...psychological warfare...Just as the Apartheid-era
South African regime presented itself to the world as visonary...creating
those fictitious Homelands...with limited resources...[for the natives]...so
too, do the Israelis when it comes to their vision of a Palestinian state
or statelet." (2)
-
- A question was raised by an audience member about ex-President
Jimmy Carter's new book and about Rep. John Conyers' (D-MI) criticism of
the use of the word "Apartheid" in its title. (1) Fletcher responded:
"I think [Conyers] should have just kept his mouth shut...I was very
troubled by that. And, I have to say to some extent, I was surprised...He
needs to hear from his friends...This was really off-the-wall. This was
wrong."
-
- Relevant to Fletcher's theme, former President Jimmy
Carter put the nub of the Israel-Palestine question this way in his latest
best selling book: "The overriding problem is that, for more than
a quarter century, the actions of some Israeli leaders have been in direct
conflict with the official policies of the United States, the international
community, and their own negotiated agreements. Israel's continued control
and colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary obstacles to
a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy Land. In order to perpetuate
the occupation, Israeli forces have deprived their unwilling subjects of
basic human rights. No objective person could personally observe existing
conditions in the West Bank and dispute these statements." (1)
-
- If the above didn't hit home hard enough, President Carter
added this mega zinger: "The 'Wall' ravages many places along its
devious route that are important to Christians. In addition to enclosing
Bethlehem in one of its most notable intrusions, an especially heartbreaking
division is on the southern slope of the Mount of Olives, a favorite place
for Jesus and his disciples, and very near Bethany, where they often visited
Mary, Martha, and their brother, Lazarus. There is a church named for one
of the sisters, Santa Marta Monastery, where Israel's thirty-foot concrete
wall cuts through the property. The house of worship is now on the Jerusalem
side, and its parishioners are separated from it because they cannot get
permits to enter Jerusalem. Its priest, Father Claudio Ghilardi, says,
'For nine hundred years we have lived here under Turkish, British, Jordanian,
and Israeli governments, and no one has ever stopped people coming to pray.
It is scandalous. This is not about a barrier. It is a border. Why don't
they speak the truth?' Countering Israeli arguments that the wall is to
keep Palestinian suicide bombers from Israel, Father Claudio adds a comment
that describes the path of the entire barrier: 'The Wall is not separating
Palestinians from Jews; rather Palestinians from Palestinians.' Nearby
are three convents that will also be cut off from the people they serve.
The 2,000 Palestinian Christians have lost their place of worship and their
spiritual center." (1)
-
- Getting back to Fletcher. He said: "The Carter's
book offers a really great opportunity for people to say, 'The guy is right.'
Even if that is all we say, it starts to have an impact. I'm convinced,
particularly that when I look at the poll numbers in response to the Israeli
invasion of Lebanon...that we actually can shift opinion." Throughout
his talk, Fletcher also gave vivid examples of the evils of colonialism,
with regard to the massive crimes of the British in Australia, New Zealand,
Tasmania and in Ireland. (6)
-
- Fletcher mentioned, too, the defeat in the Democratic
Primary of Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) in the last election and how she
was targeted by the Zionists for daring to speak out for human rights for
the Palestinians. He said, "Zionist elements wanted her out!"
Fletcher said she was an "apparition that floated behind every member
of the Congressional Black Caucus." He added, people who support a
free and democratic Palestine need to learn how to organize and "to
mobilize" politically around that issue. That can mean, he argued,
giving candidates who are under attack, like McKinney, money for their
campaign and volunteers. "There is no room for lethargy. Wishful thinking,"
the idea that if a candidate does the right thing, people will rush in
to support the politico, "is the problem."
-
- Finally, Fletcher made this chilling statement, with
regard to Israel-Palestine, he said: "Clearly, there are economic
objectives that are there in terms of seizing the land-getting the best
land...But, the Israeli state is a rabid state. And, I don't think that
we should ever assume that they wouldn't do something maniacal. You know,
like unleashing a nuclear weapon, if they felt that they had to, regardless
of the consequences. And, I think that they would do so with the assumption
that the U.S. would support them."
-
- Notes:
-
- 1. "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid" by Jimmy
Carter.
- See also, www.stopthewall.org/activistresources/792.shtml
- www.adamnieman.co.uk/wall/index.html
- www.vtjp.org/background/Separation_Wall_Report.htm
- 2. www.youtube.com/watch
- 3. www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp
- 4. "The Terrorism Industry: The Experts and Institutions
that Shape our View of Terrorism" by Edward Herman and Gerry O'Sullivan.
- 5. www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/farr.htm
- 6. www.artbabyart.com/article/ethniccleansing.htm
-
- © William Hughes 2006.
-
- William Hughes is the author of "Saying 'No' to
the War Party" (Amazon.com). He can be reached at liamhughes (at)
comcast.net.
|