The call to Make Apartheid History is more resonant than ever as we mark the 75th anniversary of the start of the NAKBA – the Palestinian Catastrophe – as the state of Israel was founded, along with the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland.
On 15 May MAH shared its short videos in solidarity with NAKBA 75 and BDS including BSC calls for both a cultural boycott and military boycott of Israel until it complies with international law.
NAKBA 75: DISMANTLE ISRAEL’S APARTHEID SYSTEM
Why Make Apartheid History. A short explanatory video with Leila Sansour, Reem Talhami, Iman Aoun, Sliman Mansour, Atef Abu Saif, Issam Aruri, Adjoa Adoh, Juliet Stephenson, Ken Loach, Dave Randall, and our beloved Jeremy Hardy.
A brief mini-update below on some of the issues we continue to work on with a few links we hope may be of interest.
WE ARE MANY FILM April 8th
We’re excited to share news about Stop the War’s Mass Viewing of We Are Many and Q&A with director Amir Amirani on Wednesday 8 April.Stop the War are giving 5 days to try and watch this acclaimed film about the global anti-Iraq war movement, after which they will host a Q&A with Amir and two special guests, via Zoom.
‘The Triple Evils of economic exploitation, racism and militarism are forms of violence that exist in a vicious cycle. They are interrelated (and), all-inclusive…’’
Martin Luther King 1967
Today July 18th we mark the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth.
In 2018 the world marks anniversaries of three inter-linked movements that spanned the 20th and into the 21st century.
Civil Rights, Anti-Apartheid and Palestine Freedom Struggles
Mandela Centenary 1918-2018
Palestine Nakba -‘Catastrophe’ 1948.
MLK Assassination 1968
All three struggles faced King’s ‘triple evils’: racism and far right organising; bearing the brunt of a massive security and military establishment; economic exploitation. But the power of effective domestic and international solidarity economic, academic, cultural and sporting boycotts is also a critical part of their shared story.
In 1948, the same year as the Palestinian Nakba which saw zionist militia ethnically cleanse more 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland and destroy more than 500 palestinian villages, South africa formally adopted the apartheid regime.
“Apartheid was an extension of the colonial project to dispossess
people of their land. That is exactly what has happened in Israel and the occupied
territories; the use of force and the law to take the land. That is what apartheid
and Israel have in common.’’
Ronnie Kasrils, the Jewish South African cabinet minister and former ANC guerrilla, Jerusalem, February 2009.
“Expelling people from their homes is a war crime. As well as preventing them from returning. Israel didn’t just commit a war crime in 1948 but continues to commit one to this day.’’
Salman Abu Sitta, Author of Atlas of Palestine 1948
MANDELA, the ANC & the PLO
June 1961 Letter From Underground, Nelson Mandela wrote:
“The histories of our two peoples, Palestinian and South African, correspond in such painful and poignant ways, that I intensely feel myself being at home amongst compatriots’’
“We identify with the PLO, because just like ourselves they are fighting for the right of self determination.”
“Yesterday’s South African township dwellers can tell you about today’s life in the Occupied Territories… More than an emergency is needed to get to a hospital; less than a crime earns a trip to jail… If apartheid ended, so can the occupation. But the moral force and international pressure will have to be just as determined. The current divestment effort is the first, though certainly not the only, necessary move in that direction.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
CIVIL RIGHTS FREEDOM RIDERS INSPIRE THE PALESTINIAN MOVEMENT
MARTIN LUTHER KING & MANDELA
In 1955, at the age of 25, young Memphis pastor Martin Luther King was asked to become the churches lead on the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It took more than a year, but it was successful in its aim to desegregate the buses. Economic boycotts were to become a critical tool in King’s strategy – right up to the end. In his final ‘mountaintop’ speech, the night before he was murdered, he was calling for the boycott of Coca-Cola.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr City Temple London 7th December 1964
Clearly there is much in Mississippi and Alabama to remind the South Africans of their own country… great leaders, like Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe, are among the many hundreds wasting away in Robben Island prison… It is in this situation, with the great mass of South Africans denied their humanity, their dignity, denied opportunity, denied all human rights; it is in this situation, with many of the bravest and best South Africans serving long years in prison, with some already executed; in this situation we in America and Britain have a unique responsibility, for it is we, through our investments, through our governments’ failure to act decisively, who are guilty of bolstering up the South African tyranny…. If the United Kingdom and the United States decided tomorrow morning not to buy South African goods, not to buy South African gold, to put an embargo on oil, if our investors and capitalists would withdraw their support for that racial tyranny that we find there, then apartheid would be brought to an end. Then the majority of South Africans of all races could at last build the shared society they desire.
BOYCOTT DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS
This movement is led by Palestinian civil society and inspired by the South African apartheid movement and boycott effort. It calls for BDS until Israel complies with international law with regard to occupation of land, discrimination against Palestinians and refugees right of return. Ending Israeli apartheid is at its heart.
Israel was founded 70 years ago today, on 14th May 1948. Palestinians commemorate the next day, 15th May, as their ‘Nakba’ – day of catastrophe.
This Arabic term refers to the mass expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from British Mandate Palestine during Israel’s creation (1947-49) when between 750,000 and one million Palestinians were expelled and made refugees by Zionist paramilitaries, and subsequently Israeli forces, during Israel’s creation in 1947-49.
Brian Eno is a supporter of Palestine . He was born on the same day as the founding of Israel. Here he speaks to MAH of his support for Palestine and in particular, his reasons for backing the BDS campaign.
NAKBA 2018 -CALENDAR EVENTS
Every May, along with so many other organisations and projects around the world, Make Apartheid History commemorates the ‘Nakba’. MAH is recording both ICAHD and @70 cultural events.
The PSC Right of Return conference – @70: Palestinian Refugees and the Right of Return – aims to provide the tools and education necessary for activists in the UK to continue to campaign for the right of return of Palestinian refugees, as enshrined in International law.
ABOUT MAH
Make Apartheid History has an extensive video gallery from a wide range of contributors. MAH connects civil rights, anti-apartheid and Palestinian struggles. This year, 2018, has three momentous anniversaries: 100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela, 70 years since the Nakba and 50 years since the murder of Martin Luther King.
We hope there is something here for everyone in our autumn round-up, whether film related, campaign related – or both.
It’s been a summer where we have seen no let-up of the horrors inflicted by all sides on the people of Syria; calls to halt the sales of UK arms to Saudi Arabia as it continues its attacks on Yemen’s civilian population; Donald Trump seemingly rising in the polls; confusion after Brexit; and an unhealthy media preoccupation with Jeremy Corbyn resulting in attention to deeper domestic issues inevitably being sidelined.
But we are seeing progress in one hugely significant area. TTIP is now on the ropes. It has been a long battle – and it’s not over yet – but it proves that civil society’s determination to take on huge vested interests can pay off, as hundreds of thousands citizens across the EU who took part in the effort to stop TTIP can testify to. Continue reading →
July 18th is International Mandela Day. It asks ‘what will you do to serve your fellow human beings?’.
One of the things you can do to answer this call, is to support Palestinian civil society’s call for boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel until it complies with international law and to make apartheid history, once and for all. As South Africans, and over many years, Nelson Mandela and his dear friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu, made their support for the Palestinian struggle clear as they saw the parallels between apartheid South Africa and Israel/Palestine.
Make Apartheid History launched one year ago. We are marking this Mandela Day by sharing a short video loop of the highlights of our first year’s activity. We hope you enjoy this compilation of short films, events and performances.
This 7th-15th May, an incredible range of activity across the UK organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, will mark the 68th anniversary of the ‘NAKBA’ – Palestinians’ loss of their land when the state of Israel was created in 1948. The programme’s closing evening event (15 May London) includes Maxine Peake reading excerpts from The Shroudmaker, by Ahmed Masoud and first performed by Justin Butcher earlier this year.
On 15 May, people will remember the violent dispossession and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948. These events, which took place during the creation of the state of Israel, are known to Palestinians as ‘the catastrophe’ or, in Arabic, the ‘Nakba’. They are the events which have led directly to today’s situation, with Palestinians dispossessed, stateless and living under occupation in the West Bank, under occupation and siege in Gaza, or in exile around the world, including millions in refugee camps to this day. And the Nakba is not over for Palestinians, as the Israeli Government continues to steal their land in the West Bank through illegal settlement building and the construction of the separation wall.
Almost 800,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes in 1948-9 and during the June 1967 war a further 325,000 Palestinians became refugees. Under UN Resolution 194, the Palestinians have the right to return to their homes, but Israel has always refused to implement the Resolution. Today over 6 million Palestinians are refugees, hundreds of thousands of whom still live in overcrowded refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza, and in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
Life under occupation
The past 40 years have seen the establishment of over 200 illegal Israeli settlements, housing nearly 500,000 settlers, within occupied Palestine. The separation wall in the West Bank, construction of which was started in 2002, cuts deep into Palestinian land and, along with the “settler only” roads, cuts off many communities from water supplies, hospitals and their agricultural land. Palestinian residents face severe travel restrictions and for many it is impossible to enter Jerusalem or to travel abroad. The treatment of Palestinians, both within Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territory, is widely recognised as a system akin to the Apartheid regime of South Africa.
Palestinians are continually under attack from Israel’s occupying forces and are increasingly harassed by settlers, who attack farmers and steal their land. Collective punishments, such as prolonged curfews and house demolitions are frequently imposed.
Palestinians living in what is today the state of Israel, also face discrimination and are treated as second class citizens.
For more information on the historical background and the situation today, read this [pdf].
Google Earth can help bring the 1948 ‘Catastrophe’ up to date
What does the ongoing ‘Land grab’ started in 1948 look like?
Established in 1979 to protect and promote human rights and the rule of law in the occupied Palestinian territory, Al-Haq is an independent Palestinian non-governmental human rights organisation based in Ramallah, West Bank. They have utilised the power of Google Maps to create interactive presentations that illustrate aspects of the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and present Al-Haq’s written and visual documentation of human rights violations.
This 7th-15th May, an incredible range of activity across the UK organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, will mark the 68th anniversary of the ‘NAKBA’ – Palestinians’ loss of their land when the state of Israel was created in 1948. The programme’s closing evening event (15 May London) includes Maxine Peake reading excerpts from The Shroudmaker, by Ahmed Masoud and first performed by Justin Butcher earlier this year.
Make Apartheid History (once and for all) is the follow up to Bethlehem Unwrapped and is an international project that brings together creative individuals, organisations and networks from around the world – starting with Palestine and the UK; South Africa and USA – for a programme of popular events connecting civil rights, anti-apartheid and Palestinian solidarity movements. Commencing summer 2015 and culminating summer 2016.
Following on from our first public event at London’s Southbank in July, our Make Apartheid History campaign picked up again this month by marking two moments.
We marked the anniversary on 12th September of the death of South African freedom fighter Steve Biko, by sharing two MAH films:
(Steve Biko was the subject of Richard Attenborough’s film Cry Freedom)
Our ‘rationale’ which explains why and how the apartheid framework applies to Palestine;
and our interview with MAH supporter Ronnie Kasrils. Ronnie Kasrils – a Jewish, white South African, a longstanding ANC fighter and compatriot to Mandela, was given the role of ANC Deputy Defence and Security Minister under President Mandela. Ronnie talks in detail about the parallels he sees between South Africa and Israel.
We also mark September 21st – International Peace Day, by calling to Make Apartheid History Once and For All through support for BDS, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions on Israel until it complies with international law. There can be no peace where apartheid exists. Watch our video below and find out more about it here:
And watch out for future activities in October and November.
MAH Partners
OPGAI (Occupied Palestine and Syrian Golan Heights Advocacy Initiative), PSCC (Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee), Bedouins Without Borders, Tipping Point North South, Pressure Cooker Arts, ICAHD UK (Israeli Committee against House Demolitions UK). In partnership with Artists for Palestine UK and Palestine Legal Action Network.
Make Apartheid History (once and for all) is the follow up to Bethlehem Unwrapped and is an international project that brings together creative individuals, organisations and networks from around the world – starting with Palestine and the UK; South Africa and USA – for a programme of popular events connecting civil rights, anti-apartheid and Palestinian solidarity movements. Commencing summer 2015 and culminating summer 2016.
Following on from our first public event at London’s Southbank in July, our Make Apartheid History campaign picked up again this month by marking two moments. Continue reading →
Here is a selection of Make Apartheid History videos. Make Apartheid History (once and for all) is an international project that will bring together creative individuals, organisations and networks from around the world – starting with Palestine and the UK; South Africa and USA – for a programme of popular events connecting civil rights, anti-apartheid and Palestinian solidarity movements. Commencing summer 2015 and culminating summer 2016.
TPNS works with film-makers and in house freelancers to produce all MAH short video made in the UK. We also co-devise our key MAH short films with our lead partners in Palestine – OPGAI and PSCC – who produce the Palestinian content.
Here is the YouTube playlist of the whole selection:
It’s time to ‘Make Apartheid History’ starting Mandela Day, Sat 18th July, 2015
Make Apartheid History, the follow-up to Bethlehem Unwrapped, launched online on Saturday 18th July, and we held our first event at London’s Southbank with a programme of poetry and prose linking civil rights, anti-apartheid, and Palestinian solidarity movements.
Edited highlights of performances by Paterson Joseph, Miriam Margolyes, Kika Markham, Leila Sansour, Jeremy Hardy and Sam West are here.
Make Apartheid History is an international project that brings together creative individuals, organisations and networks from around the world – starting with Palestine and the UK; South Africa and USA – for a programme of popular events commencing summer 2015 and culminating Mandela Day, summer 2016. Our short introductory video is here.
Make Apartheid History launches in a year of significant anniversaries: in the UK it is the 800thanniversary of Magna Carta; in the USA it is 60 years since Rosa Parks sat at the front of that segregated bus; in South Africa it is 25 years since Nelson Mandela walked free; and in Palestine it is 10 years since Palestinian civil society called for BDS – Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions on Israel until it complies with international law:
‘I know first-hand that Israel has created an apartheid reality within its borders and through its occupation. The parallels to my own beloved South Africa are painfully stark indeed.’
Nelson Mandela
We believe it is time to make apartheid history, once and for all, by supporting the call by Palestinian civil society for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions on Israel until it complies with international law.You can find out more at www.makeapartheidhistory.org. Our video gallery has a wide range of contributors from Palestine, UK, South Africa and USA and we’ll be uploading content to this page on a regular basis.
Do keep in touch with our forthcoming plans and activities! Find us on Facebook and Twitter
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It’s time to ‘Make Apartheid History’ starting Mandela Day, Sat 18th July, 2015
Make Apartheid History, the follow-up to Bethlehem Unwrapped, launched online on Saturday 18th July, and we held our first event at London’s Southbank with a programme of poetry and prose linking civil rights, anti-apartheid, and Palestinian solidarity movements.Edited highlights of performances by Paterson Joseph, Miriam Margolyes, Kika Markham, Leila Sansour, Jeremy Hardy and Sam West are here.
Tipping Point North South 