Palestinians have no rights and are hardly seem as humans in the eyes of the Israeli government Photo Addmeer
World – The Israeli genocide has sparked global outrage, prompting discussions on justice, human rights, and international alliances. Despite mounting concerns, several Western nations staunchly support the Israeli government, often justifying the deaths of Palestinians casualties as Israel’s right to self-defence.
While many are solely focused on what happened on 7 October Professor Thulisile Madonsela, Law Trust Research Chair in Social Justice at Stellenbosch University, has asked the world to look beyond that. Genocides do not occur overnight. There is a historical context many leaders and influential people choose to overlook.
“What is emerging now is a genocide and genocides don’t start overnight. It is a process that humanity ignores. If we think about the Jewish Holocaust itself, it didn’t just start overnight. It was a process of dehumanisation. It was a process of what Professor David Livingston Smith says when we banish people from the circle of human considerations we then deal with them as we deem fit having made them subhuman. That’s what happened in Rwanda and that’s what’s happening in Palestine.”
The narrative being portrayed is tying Palestinians to attacks that are happening now. This is a deliberate attempt to portray innocent Palestinians as terrorists to the global community, said Madonsela. This creates the notion Palestininas are subhuman.
Western leaders have not condemned Israel on anything, not even when Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant described Palestininans and Hamas as “human animals”.
“We need a word for anti-black people because racism, as you saw right now with the rugby game, anybody can claim racism … With the issue of Palestine, the Israelis can claim antisemitism but the Palestinians do not have a word to talk about how the world dehumanises them.”
The actions of world leaders, especially in the West, have been scrutinised. While calls for peace negotiations are made, the arming of Israel raises concerns. Madonsela questioned the sincerity of peace efforts when military support is provided to one side. This perhaps shows Western leaders are not sincere when they call for peace, especially after the UK, US and France voted against calling for a ceasefire.
Distinguishing between people and politics and the historical context
As the Israeli genocide continues and gets worse, we need to take into consideration distinguishing between political actions and the people they affect. Madonsela emphasised the importance of not dehumanising Israelis while condemning the policies of the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. There are Jewish people in Israel who are against the government and the atrocities they are committing against the Palestinians. It is also important to distinguish Judaism from Zionism.
“Zionism is a zealotry part of Jewish culture, Jewish faith and Jewish way of life. What Netanyahu has been doing has been resisted by many people inside Israel. We have seen people protesting. We’ve seen him sacking judges and we don’t resuscitate feelings of antisemitism. My worldview is a world where Jews and Palestinians are recognised as full human beings. As equal human beings as worthy of equal considerations.
The establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 brought forth complex issues of land, displacement, and historical claims. When the Nakba took place, thousands of Palestininas were killed, had their villages razed to the ground and those that survived either sought refuge in other countries or stayed behind and were persecuted.
“There are historical claims to the land but the condition on which Israel was given that land was that Palestine gets its portion as a country. Not as a province of Israel. Not as an open prison for humans … I think a lot of what the leaders are reflecting, it may not be just racism. It is what they regard as self-preservation. So a lot of world leaders reject the war in Ukraine for different reasons than many of us … but other leaders would support Ukraine because they would like to have a friend in that region and I think it’s the same thing with Israel.”
If world leaders just adhered to international law, worked within the bounds of international law, there would be no need for friends, explained Madonsela. The targeting of civilians and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians goes against these laws and constitutes a war crime.
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Humanising the Palestinians
Madonsela admits what the Palestinians are going through is worse than Apartheid South Africa. The only way for this to end is to get the world to see Palestinians as humans, as people who love life and not as terrorists or animals as they have been portrayed.
“It really starts with the world needing to accept that Palestinians are humans and accept that they deserve, like all of us, freedom, joy and the land that they call their own. That Israel’s wish for security is no higher claim than the claim of Palestinians for freedom for self-determination. We need honest brokerage from the United Nations and global leaders that do not tell Israel what Israel wants to hear … I do understand that Hamas has been born out of pain and suffering … I would say when people behave like that they undermine a good cause that war has to be fought for peace if necessary but harming innocent civilians undermines their own cause even for Israel but Israel has been allowed for many years to harm civilians as collateral damage.”
Palestinians desire to reclaim their homeland and coexist harmoniously with Jewish people, but this vision seems distant. Leaders like Netanyahu, who dehumanise Palestinians, make prospects of a two-state or unified peaceful coexistence a mere fantasy. Until this changes, until the world and its leaders start to see Palestinians as humans, Israel will be allowed to carry out its genocide and there can be no hope for peace.
