Nkosi Zwelivelile, grandson of Nelson Mandela, has drawn stark parallels between Israel's treatment of Palestinians and the apartheid regime in South Africa. Writing in a British newspaper, he argued that Israel's policies constitute the crime of apartheid under international law, and in some respects are even worse than what South Africa endured.
Zwelivelile cited Israel's nation-state law, which grants only Jews the right to self-determination, as a key example. He also pointed to the segregation wall, discriminatory admissions committees, ID-card systems, and the fragmentation of the West Bank as evidence of systematic oppression. The recent demolition of the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar, he said, amounts to ethnic cleansing to make way for illegal settlements.
The grandson of the anti-apartheid icon highlighted the plight of Palestinians, including the killing of unarmed protesters in Gaza, which he called the 'Palestinian Sharpeville'. He praised young activist Ahed Tamimi, who was imprisoned for confronting Israeli soldiers, as a symbol of Palestinian resistance, and noted that thousands of Palestinians, including children, remain in Israeli jails.
Zwelivelile called for international solidarity, echoing Mandela's statement that 'our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people'. He welcomed the Labour Party's call for an end to UK arms sales to Israel and urged South Africa to use its influence among Brics countries to push for an arms embargo. He described such sanctions as a minimal requirement to end complicity in maintaining Israeli apartheid.
He concluded that all people of conscience have a responsibility to oppose states that violate human rights and international law, and that history will judge those who fail to stand up for justice.
