Israel-Palestine and the Question of Apartheid

The links to sign up for the webinars can be found below.

Apartheid is a crime against humanity

The Apartheid Convention of 1973 classifies apartheid as a crime against humanity. The 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) lists apartheid as a crime against humanity, bringing its investigation and possible prosecution under the jurisdiction of the ICC.

In this series of webinars, we will discuss the relevance of the concept of apartheid in the analysis of the human rights situation in Palestine, and for the Palestinian struggle against institutionalized oppression, discrimination and colonization. To what extent can the term apartheid, which is derived from the history of the former apartheid regime in South Africa, be applied to Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians?  How does apartheid manifest itself in Israel and in ’67 occupied territories on legal, policy and practice levels, and how does that affect Palestinians in their various situations? How can  Palestinians resist this situation? What can past and present struggles against racism elsewhere teach us about activism against Israeli apartheid? And finally, how can solidarity activists all over the world be most effective in supporting the Palestinian struggle against apartheid?

Recent developments, such as Israel’s adoption of the Jewish Nation-state Law in the summer of 2018 and its current US-backed plans to annex large and vital parts of the occupied West Bank underline the urgency of discussing apartheid and how to deal with it.

Three webinars on apartheid, three Thursdays between 7 and 8.30 p.m CET

Thursday, May 28: Presentations on Apartheid and International Law

Speakers:

• John Dugard “The crime of apartheid: South Africa and Palestine”
• Virginia Tilley “The Relevance of the concept of Apartheid to the case of Israel and Palestine”

Thursday, June 4: Mechanisms of Apartheid,  Apartheid in practice in Israel, the diaspora and the oPt

Speakers:

• Kholoud al Ajarma – The JNF as an Instrument of Apartheid
• Diana Buttu – Israeli Law and Jewish hegemony

Thursday, June 11- Anti-Apartheid mobilisation and the global struggle against racism and discrimination

Speakers:

• Ilan Pappe – Lessons from Jewish activism
• Ronnie Kasrils – lessons from anti-apartheid activism in South Africa

Registering for the webinars

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8426945594309763088

In order to sign up for session 2 on June 4, please use this link:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4580786850140118288

In order to sign up for session 3 on June 11, please use this link:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8471407645513892112

Introduction to the speakers

John Dugard is emeritus professor International Law and author of the book “Confronting Apartheid”

Virginia Tilley is professor Political Sciences at South Illinois University, and co-author of Beyond Occupation: Apartheid, Colonialism and International Law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Kholoud al Ajarma is a researcher and lecturer on the anthropology of Islam at Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, photographer, film producer, refugee rights advocate

Diana Buttu  is a lawyer specializing in negotiations, international law, and international human rights law. Early in her career, Buttu worked as a negotiator in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, serving as the only female negotiator during her five-year tenure.

Ronnie Kasrils is an anti-apartheid struggle veteran and former SA Cabinet Minister

Ilan Pappe is professor with the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter, and is author of “Israel and south Africa: The many faces of Apartheid”