Abstract
In this article I investigate the scientific grounds for reflecting on Palestine-Israel in light of other struggles, particularly those against Nazism and South African apartheid. Keeping in mind the distinction between simplistic comparisons and the use of analogies when events are not exact replications of one another, I evaluate John de Gruchy’s intersectional approach to Israel and the Palestinians. Likewise, I reflect on the cross-contextual reasons for Jewish Israeli and South African activists’ impression of the Palestinian struggle being part of a broad moral struggle against othering that transcends the boundaries of the geo-political context. The article concludes that critical scientific discussions and responsible moral discernment on Israel’s relation with the Palestinians cannot ignore the meta-narratives of systemic injustices such as state-sanctioned violence, apartheid, colonialism or ethnic cleansing that gave rise to resistance movements and prophetic theology in the contexts of Nazism and South African apartheid.
Highlights
The idea of referencing other contexts of gross human rights violations in relation to the practices and policies of Zionist Israel is often viewed as deeply problematic by many
I reflect on the cross-contextual reasons for Jewish Israeli and South African activists’ impression of the Palestinian struggle being part of a broad moral struggle against othering that transcends the boundaries of the geo-political context
This is followed by a review of arguments proposed by Jewish Israeli and South African activists who link the nature of the Palestinian struggle to the dynamics of other crimes against humanity before a conclusion is reached
Summary
The idea of referencing other contexts of gross human rights violations in relation to the practices and policies of Zionist Israel is often viewed as deeply problematic by many. States of America, for example, indicate that Christians who value scientific verification and who find fundamentalist and literal interpretations of the Bible problematic do not associate with the Palestinians’ experience of pain and their quest for self-determination and freedom These Christians are generally progressive on human rights for especially the historically oppressed and women, and yet they tend to be sceptic about the validity of the Palestinian struggle (Raheb 2014:25–26). I consider the merits of using an intersectional approach to reflect on Palestine-Israel in the work of John De Gruchy This is followed by a review of arguments proposed by Jewish Israeli and South African activists who link the nature of the Palestinian struggle to the dynamics of other crimes against humanity before a conclusion is reached
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