PERSPECTIVE:
Mandela's First Memo to Thomas Friedman
by
Arjan El Fassed
MANDELA'S
FIRST MEMO TO THOMAS FRIEDMAN
MEMO
March 28, 200
To:
Thomas L. Friedman (columnist New York Times)
From: Nelson Mandela (former President South Africa)
Dear
Thomas,
I
know that you and I long for peace in the Middle East, but
before you continue to talk about necessary conditions from an
Israeli perspective, you need to know what's on my mind. Where
to begin? How about 1964.
Let
me quote my own words during my trial. They are true today as
they were then:
"I
have fought against white domination and I have fought against
black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic
and free society in which all persons live together in harmony
and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to
live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for
which I am prepared to die."
Today
the world, black and white, recognise that apartheid has no
future. In South Africa it has been ended by our own decisive
mass action in order to build peace and security. That mass
campaign of defiance and other actions could only culminate in
the establishment of democracy.
Perhaps
it is strange for you to observe the situation in Palestine or
more specifically, the structure of political and cultural
relationships between Palestinians and Israelis, as an
apartheid system. This is because you incorrectly think that
the problem of Palestine began in 1967. This was demonstrated
in your recent column "Bush's First Memo" in the New
York Times on March 27, 2001.
You
seem to be surprised to hear that there are still problems of
1948 to be solved, the most important component of which is
the right to return of Palestinian refugees.
The
Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not just an issue of military
occupation and Israel is not a country that was established
"normally" and happened to occupy another country in
1967. Palestinians are not struggling for a "state"
but for freedom, liberation and equality, just like we were
struggling for freedom in South Africa.
In
the last few years, and especially during the reign of the
Labour Party, Israel showed that it was not even willing to
return what it occupied in 1967; that settlements remain,
Jerusalem would be under exclusive Israeli sovereignty, and
Palestinians would not have an independent state, but would be
under Israeli economic domination with Israeli control of
borders, land, air, water and sea.
Israel
was not thinking of a "state" but of
"separation". The value of separation is measured in
terms of the ability of Israel to keep the Jewish state
Jewish, and not to have a Palestinian minority that could have
the opportunity to become a majority at some time in the
future. If this takes place, it would force Israel to either
become a secular democratic or bi-national state, or to turn
into a state of apartheid not only de facto, but also de jure.
Thomas,
if you follow the polls in Israel for the last 30 or 40 years,
you clearly find a vulgar racism that includes a third of the
population who openly declare themselves to be racist. This
racism is of the nature of "I hate Arabs" and
"I wish Arabs would be dead".
If
you also follow the judicial system in Israel you will see
there is discrimination against Palestinians, and if you
further consider the 1967 occupied territories you will find
there are already two judicial systems in operation that
represent two different approaches to human life: one for
Palestinian life and the other for Jewish life.
Additionally
there are two different approaches to property and to land.
Palestinian property is not recognised as private property
because it can be confiscated.
As
to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, there is
an additional factor. The so-called "Palestinian
autonomous areas" are bantustans. These are restricted
entities within the power structure of the Israeli apartheid
system.
The
Palestinian state cannot be the by-product of the Jewish
state, just in order to keep the Jewish purity of Israel.
Israel's racial discrimination is daily life of most
Palestinians. Since Israel is a Jewish state, Israeli Jews are
able to accrue special rights which non-Jews cannot do.
Palestinian Arabs have no place in a "Jewish" state.
Apartheid
is a crime against humanity. Israel has deprived millions of
Palestinians of their liberty and property. It has perpetuated
a system of gross racial discrimination and inequality. It has
systematically incarcerated and tortured thousands of
Palestinians, contrary to the rules of international law. It
has, in particular, waged a war against a civilian population,
in particular children.
The
responses made by South Africa to human rights abuses
emanating from the removal policies and apartheid policies
respectively, shed light on what Israeli society must
necessarily go through before one can speak of a just and
lasting peace in the Middle East and an end to its apartheid
policies.
Thomas,
I'm not abandoning Mideast diplomacy. But I'm not going to
indulge you the way your supporters do. If you want peace and
democracy, I will support you. If you want formal apartheid,
we will not support you. If you want to support racial
discrimination and ethnic cleansing, we will oppose you.
When
you figure out what you're about, give me a call.
Last modified:
July 19, 2007
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