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Ahmed Timol vs Muhammad Abu Latifa: Apartheid South Africa vs Apartheid Israel

July 29, 2015 at 2:46 pm

The death of anti-Apartheid activist Ahmed Timol was confirmed officially on 28 October 1971. It was reported that the teacher had committed suicide by throwing himself from a window on the tenth floor of John Vorster Square Police Station in Johannesburg. His death, which we now know was a brutal police murder, sparked a nationwide reaction of shock and anger, as well as a national day of mourning. He is celebrated rightfully today as both a revolutionary martyr and a national hero of the 20th century.

On 27 July 2015, 18-year-old Muhammad Abu Latifa was shot dead by Israeli forces in an early morning raid on the Qalandia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. There are conflicting reports about how Abu Latifa was killed. While the Tel Aviv regime claims that he fell to his death while shot in his lower extremities as he attempted to evade arrest, eyewitnesses report that he was shot several times on his rooftop and that he was still alive when arrested by the soldiers. He bled to death in custody. Muhammad is the 18th Palestinian killed by the Israeli forces so far this year and the fourth this month. Despite the gap of 44 years, the similarities between Apartheid South Africa and Apartheid Israel are undeniable.

Arthur Lenk, the Israeli Ambassador to South Africa, would have us believe that Israel is a rosy, perfectly-orchestrated democracy, isolated in a sea of terrorists. From his description, it is easy for anyone to be fooled, but if the points he raises are analysed critically the gaping holes in his distorted reality of what Israel actually is, as expounded in a recent article, are exposed very easily.

In “South Africans should visit Israel“, he harps on about the justice system of his country, but fails to mention the 200 Palestinian child prisoners are currently among the more than 7,000 Palestinians being held by Israel, 540 of them without charge or trial. A recent report claims that Palestinian children detained by Israel have been abused by security officials. Israeli law also states that once arrested, Palestinians can be detained for up to 18 days without being informed of the charges being laid against them; they can also be barred from seeing a lawyer for up to 90 days after their arrest, and security officials are also allowed to forget about informing the families of detainees about the arrest of their relatives.

The ambassador talks about encouraging young South Africans to take a helicopter ride over Gaza to see the threat that Israel faces from the besieged land every day. I am surprised he is not concerned that the future young leaders might see the devastation Israel unleashed on the civilian population this time last year. In 51 days, Israel completely destroyed 17,200 homes, 244 schools were damaged and key aspects of Gaza’s infrastructure were left unusable. The UN states that at least 2,104 Palestinian were killed by Israel, including 495 children and 253 women. The only lesson to be learnt by South African youth there is about Israeli hate and destruction.

Next, Lenk boards the religious train, encouraging South Africans to visit Israel, “a place that is holy for Jews, Christians and Muslims, where the religious sites are carefully protected and accessible to people of all faiths.” Tell that to the Muslims whose third holiest site, Al-Aqsa Mosque, was attacked and desecrated by Jewish settlers a few days ago. And perhaps his memory does not extend up until last month, when the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish was torched by Jewish extremists. One of the most popular stops for Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, a passage from a Jewish prayer, calling for the elimination of idol worship, was found scrawled in red spray paint on a wall outside the church as it was set alight. Is this the religious tolerance that the Israeli ambassador would like our future leaders to learn about?

Listing Israel’s alleged recent innovations as a reason to overlook its multiple human rights violations is preposterous, exposing once again the almost laughable idiocy of Lenk’s rationalisation. According to his twisted logic, Nazi Germany should not be condoned for its horrific crimes, as if it was not for the Germans we wouldn’t be enjoying countless luxuries and advancements today. Nazi Germany was the first country in the world to ban vivisection; most current laws pertaining to animal conservation in Germany and, indeed, the rest of the world, are derived from the laws created by the Nazi Party. Hitler also pioneered one of the most expensive and effective tobacco-banning movements in history.

One of the most popular car manufacturers in the world, Volkswagen, whose vehicles are known for their reliability, stylish design and ease of use, was developed by the Nazi regime, as was the popular Adidas brand. The man who invented rockets as we know them today, Wernher von Braun, was a member of the Nazi Party; his greatest achievement was undoubtedly the development of the Saturn V booster rocket that helped man to reach the moon in July 1969. Von Braun officially opened the gate to space travel through his inventive mind. Modern medicine wouldn’t be what it is today without the contribution of Nazi doctors to the profession.

However, just as Nazi Germany cannot be excused for its crimes simply because of its vast contributions to humanity, Israel’s inventions cannot be used as an excuse to detract from the fact that its governance is a form of Apartheid, not only in the occupied Palestinian territories but also in Israel itself. Young South Africans can learn no lessons about democracy from a country that only deserves sanctions, and that is why they — and anyone else — should most certainly not visit Israel.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.