The accusation of genocide is credible
Israel appears guilty as accused. The US is Israel’s most committed defender in the international community. Yet, even President Biden has warned Israel that it is losing international support because of its indiscriminate bombing of Gaza.
But nothing betrays Israel’s genocidal intent quite like Israeli government ministers threatening to drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza.
Furthermore, discussions about resettling displaced Palestinians in Africa do not help Israel’s defense. That echoes a dark historical precedent: In 1816, White Americans began planning to deal with their “problem” by resettling (freed) Blacks in Africa.
Of course, the spokesman for the Israeli government insists resettlement is not official policy. The problem is that this same spokesman keeps insisting that destroying Palestinian homes and killing innocent women and children is not official policy. Yet, Israel has destroyed about 300,000 of 439,000 homes and killed 23,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
History acts as a mirror, and Israel’s reflection is looking increasingly diabolical. Indeed, South Africa is holding up this mirror by using the H-word, comparing what Israel is doing to the Palestinians to what Germany did to the Jews.
South Africa: a flawed accuser
The case is sensational, yet as indicated above, the case South Africa is presenting appears flawless. And Israel knows it.
In a case that strikes at the heart of Israel’s national identity, South Africa formally accused the country of committing genocide against Palestinians and pleaded Thursday with the United Nations’ top court to order an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in Gaza. …
As a sign of how seriously they regard the case, Israeli leaders have taken the rare step of engaging with the court to defend their international reputation. Israel often boycotts international tribunals or UN investigations, saying they are unfair and biased.
(CNN, January 11, 2024)
The problem is that South Africa is a flawed accuser, so much so that the whole case reeks of political mischief and opportunism.
Most compromisingly, South Africa is presenting this case against Israel while defending Russia as it commits genocide in Ukraine. Even worse, South Africa has hosted war games with Russia to provide military cover for its war crimes. Arguably, that makes South Africa complicit.
In other words, South Africa presenting this case is like accusing someone of theft while your partner in crime is busy robbing a bank. The hypocrisy is almost admirable in its audacity.
But why South Africa? Why not Egypt or another Muslim-majority nation? Or why not China, especially given the infamous “friendship without limits” agreement it signed with Russia mere weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine?
This case seems less like a genuine pursuit of justice and more like a geopolitical chess game, where Palestine is a pawn, and the real king to protect seems to be Russia. It’s a distraction, a sleight of hand, to draw eyes away from Ukraine.
South Africa’s dubious alliance with Russia
Russia has made no secret of its alliance with Hamas. This is despite the notable lengths Israel has gone to remain neutral in Russia’s war against Ukraine. In this sense, it’s arguable that South Africa’s alliance with Russia makes it allied with Hamas: the ally of my ally is my ally.
Of course, South Africa and Russia would claim solidarity based on historical ties. Black South Africans sought refuge in the old Soviet Union during Apartheid. And there’s no denying the camaraderie they developed. However, there’s also no denying that the Soviet Union used them as pawns to portray communism as more conducive to racial and cultural diversity than capitalism.
Moreover, the US and Western nations did far more to liberate Black South Africans than the Soviet Union. Frankly, suppose Black South Africans depended on the USSR/Russia instead of the USA for liberation. In that case, they’d still be living under Apartheid.
In any event, never before in the history of international politics has a nation been this willing to sacrifice its alliances, reputation, and goodwill to play useful idiot for a pariah nation.
No clean hands, but a strong case
My heart goes out to the innocent Israelis Hamas killed and captured. But my shared humanity compels equal sympathy for the innocent Palestinians Israel killed – not just in retaliation for October 7, but as the prerogative of its decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories.
That said, the tragic irony is that South Africa has unassailable standing to make the most unimpeachable argument against Israel. It can effectively defend what Hamas did to Israel and damn what Israel is doing to Palestinians.
South Africa needs only to pose these questions: What if Black South Africans had done to their White apartheid oppressors what these Palestinians just did to their Israeli oppressors? Do you think that the apartheid government would have been justified in retaliating by decimating Black townships, the way Israel is retaliating by decimating Gaza?
Ultimately, though, there’s no overcoming the unconditional support South Africa is providing for the genocidal crimes Russia is committing in Ukraine. This situation transcends mere political maneuvering; it represents a tragic fall from grace. That’s why iPINIONS thinks this case is less about supporting the Palestinians and more about covering for the Russians.
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