Israeli Apartheid Week South Africa Team
5th Floor, Mishumo House, 77 De Korte Street Braamfontein Johannesburg, 2001
31 January 2019
SEEKING YOUR ORGANIZATION’S ENDORSEMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN THE ANNUAL “ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK” PALESTINE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
Dear Fraternal and Partner Organizations,
We are writing to you requesting your organization’s endorsement and participation in the upcoming 15th international #IsraeliApartheidWeek (IAW) awareness raising campaign taking place on the African continent between 01 and 07 April 2019.
IAW is an annual international series of self-organized events (including rallies, lectures, cultural performances, music shows, sports events, films and workshops) that seeks to raise awareness of Israel's apartheid policies, violations of international law and human rights abuses toward the indigenous Palestinian people. The campaign takes place in over 250 cities across the world. On the African continent it is endorsed by over 125 organizations, trade unions, churches, mosques other groups. The former Chairperson of the African Union, National Speakers of Parliament, former Presidents as well as several Ministers, Mayors, Members of Parliament, artists, sports people and well-known comedians have previously participated in the initiative.
The theme of this year’s campaign is “Africa For Palestine”. We will focus on, among other things, the historic relationship between African liberation struggles and that of the Palestinians, as well as, Israel’s current oppression and expulsion of African refugees. In the past, on the African continent, the campaign primarily took place in South Africa but this year in particular we are actively seeking the endorsement and participation of organizations from other African countries and in the hope that more events will take place in other African Countries
Endorsing and participating in IAW includes: 1. Accepting the IAW Basis of Unity (find on page 4 or here: http://apartheidweek.org/basis-of-unity/). 2. Your logo will appear on the IAW poster together with the over 110 African organizations. 3. Your organization, if possible, releasing a statement of support for the campaign prior to IAW (please send a copy to [email protected]) 4. If possible, releasing a communiqué to your structures (branches, regions, provinces etc.) encouraging them to participate in IAW; 5. If possible, your organization (and its structures) organizing events/actions during and for IAW (see page 3 for ideas, we can also provide posters, flyers and necessary DVD movies.); 6. Finally, for your organization to please pass on this request for endorsement to organizations in other African countries.
If your organization would like to endorse and/or participate in this campaign please send an email to [email protected]. In addition, if possible, please send us details of someone from your organization to be represented on the IAW Africa organizing team (name, surname, email, telephone) so that we can add them on the IAW Africa email mailing list, Whatsapp Group etc.. Your representative will also be invited to the weekly IAW Africa meetings which take place over teleconference.
The IAW Africa organizing team forms part of the IAW International Coordinating Committee that has representatives from various regions/continents of the world. There is an IAW Africa continental organizing- team at a continent level, and then there are IAW Africa country organizing-teams in the various African countries. Some cities have IAW Africa city organizing-teams for their city/region and some universities have IAW Africa university organizing-teams at their universities.
In solidarity,
Rashaad Dadoo (IAW Africa Convener) and Palomino Jama (IAW Africa Spokesperson) Israeli Apartheid Week (Africa) M: +27 (0) 82 313 4227 W: www.iawafrica.com E: [email protected] FB: www.facebook.com/iawafrica T: http://www.twitter.com/IAW_Africa IG: http://www.instagram.com/iawafrica
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15TH INTERNATIONAL ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK (IAW) 01 - 07 April 2019 (African Dates) See below for more info and on how to get involved, or visit www.iawafrica.com
BACKGROUND
“The world must hear the Palestinian voice and give them support” Former President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere
Hendrik Verwoerd, the architect of Apartheid, said in 1961: “Israel, like South Africa, is an Apartheid State”. Since then there have been several senior -and more appropriate- South Africans who have compared Apartheid South Africa to current-day Israel, including: Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Former South African Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Mothlante (who was the keynote speaker at IAW 2017); Anti-Apartheid Icons Ahmed Kathrada, Denis Goldberg (who was a keynote speaker at IAW 2013), Kader Asmal and Winnie Mandela. Other notable personalities who have compared the two situations include poet Breyten Breytenbach, jurist John Dugard and the late author Allister Sparks. Speaker of the South African Parliament Baleka Mbete (who was a keynote speaker at IAW 2016) said that the Israeli regime is not only comparable but 'far worse than apartheid South Africa'. The South African Government itself has on several occasions condemned Israeli practices toward the indigenous Palestinians as "reminiscent of Apartheid" (refer to the following: statement 1, statement 2). In January 2018, at the UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), South Africa slammed Israel as “the only state in the world that can be called an apartheid state”.
But beyond comparisons, there is also a growing paper trail. In 2009, in a 300-page report commissioned by the South African government, the Human Sciences Research Council found that Israel is guilty of practicing apartheid. This position was then confirmed by the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, in 2011. In March 2012 the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination made similar findings followed a month later by the United Nations Human Rights Council releasing a scathing report on the state of human rights in Israel, finding that a form of “institutionalized discrimination” is practiced by Israel. In 2017 a United Nations report, which Israel later forced to be withdrawn, was released by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) detailing how Israel has established "an apartheid regime that oppresses and dominates the Palestinian people as a whole". Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and various other legal and human rights organizations have made similar findings reaffirming Israel as an Apartheid state.
MOTIVATION
“International solidarity is not an act of charity: It is an act of unity between allies fighting on different terrains toward the same objective” Former President of Mozambique, Samora
During the 1980s, for the liberation of Africans, people of the world mobilized in their hundreds of thousands, if not millions: they held protests, rallies, concerts, free Mandela events, lectures, film screenings and a host of other events and campaigns to raise awareness of Apartheid South Africa's racist policies as well as the oppression of the people of Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe etc.
Israel shamefully supported the Apartheid regime of South Africa as well as other colonial powers in African countries supplying these countries with weapons that were used on our people. However, it was the Palestinian people, who gave South Africans and other African nations resources, military training and other forms of support and solidarity.
Today we have the opportunity to "give-back" by joining the international movement in solidarity with the indigenous Palestinian people (and their progressive Jewish Israeli allies) who are campaigning against Israeli Apartheid – endorsing and participating in Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is one such form of solidarity with the people of Palestine.
2 15 WAYS TO GET INVOLVED IN ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK (IAW)
1) ARRANGE A FILM SCREENING OF A PALESTINE MOVIE OR DOCUMENTARY FILM A MOVIE CAN BE SCREENED AT YOUR UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL, CHURCH, COMMUNITY CENTER OR WORKPLACE. THE IAW AFRICA TEAM HAS MANY FULL- FEATURE MOVIES AND DOCUMENTARY FILMS INCLUDING OCCUPATION 101, ROADMAP TO APARTHEID, VILLAGE UNDER THE FOREST, GAZA UNDER FIRE, OMAR, 5 BROKEN CAMERAS, STONES CRY OUT (ON THE PLIGHT OF THE PALESTINIAN CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY), THE WANTED 18 AS WELL AS MANY MORE THAT WE CAN MAKE AVAILABLE (FREE OF CHARGE) FOR YOU TO SCREEN AS PART OF YOUR IAW EVENT. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SCREEN A SPECIFIC MOVIE CONTACT US [email protected] OR +27(0)114032097 AND WE WILL SEND YOU A (FREE) COPY.
2) ARRANGE A TOURNAMENT, 30 SECOND PALESTINE QUIZ OR OTHER SIMILAR COMPETITION DRAW UP QUESTIONS ON PALESTINE, GET PEOPLE INTO TEAMS AND ORGANISE A COMMUNITY QUIZ, TOURNAMENT OR OTHER SIMILAR COMPETITION. GET BRANCHES OR ORGANIZATIONS IN YOUR REGION TO COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER!
3) HOST A MUSIC EVENT, COMEDY SHOW, POETRY EVENING, SOCCER TOURNAMENT OR SPORTS DAY ORGANIZE A SPORTS DAY, SOCCER TOURNAMENT, POETRY SESSION, COMEDY SHOW, FASHION SHOW, POP-UP MARKET OR MUSIC CONCERT WITH “PALESTINE” OR “ISRAELI APARTHEID” AS THE THEME.
4) PAINT A WALL, ORGANISE A FLASHMOB, DO GRAFFITI... BE CREATIVE! CREATE A PAINTING/MURAL/GRAFFITI WITH "ISRAELI APARTHEID" AS THE THEME WITH LOCAL ARTISTS, FRIENDS AND ACTIVISTS. SEND US YOUR PHOTOS AND VIDEO FOOTAGE. BE CREATIVE: BUILD A MOCK ISRAELI APARTHEID WALL OR SETUP AN ISRAELI CHECKPOINT! ORGANIZE A FLASH MOB!
5) ARRANGE A LECTURE, WORKSHOP, RALLY, SEMINAR OR PEACEFULPROTEST THERE ARE MANY SPEAKERS THAT WE CAN SUGGEST FOR YOU TO HOST AT YOUR SCHOOL, CAMPUS OR COMMUNITY EVENT. ALTERNATIVELY, ARRANGE A PEACEFUL PROTEST AGAINST A STORE, MALL, OR COMPANY THAT STOCKS ISRAELI PRODUCTS OR IS RELATED TO THE ISRAELI EMBASSY. CONTACT [email protected] / +27(0)114032097 FOR SPEAKERS OR MATERIALS.
6) CREATE AWARENESS BY PUTTING UP POSTERS, DISTRIBUTING FLYERS OR DOING A BLITZ AT YOUR SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY, WORK-PLACE, TAXI-RANK, BUSY INTERCHANGE…WAVE FLAGS & PUT UP A BANNER FROM A BRIDGE IAW POSTERS, FLYERS, STICKERS, FLAGS ETC. ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE ON OUR WEBSITE OR FROM OUR OFFICE. DOWNLOAD, PRINT, DISTRIBUTE AND SPREAD THE WORD. (CONTACT US FOR MORE INFO).
7) JOIN US ONLINE - #ISRAELIAPARTHEIDWEEK HELP US SPREAD THE WORD ONLINE BY CHANGING YOUR PROFILE PHOTO AND COVER IMAGE TO THE IAW 2019 POSTER ON WHATSAPP/FACEBOOK/TWITTER/INSTAGRAM. REMEMBER TO USE THE HASHTAG #ISRAELIAPARTHEIDWEEK. VISIT WWW.IAWAFRICA.COM FOR PROFILE PHOTOS, COVER-IMAGES AND MEDIA RESOURCES.
8) GET YOUR SRC, STUDENT BODY OR ORGANIZATION TO ENDORSE THE IAW CAMPAIGN GET YOUR SRC, STUDENT GROUP, ORGANIZATION, COMMUNITY FORUM, TRADE UNION OR HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP TO ENDORSE THE #ISRAELIAPARTHEIDWEEK CAMPAIGN. MAKE SURE TO LET US KNOW SO THAT WE CAN ADD YOUR LOGO TO THE POSTER AND WEBSITE.
9) GET YOUR CHURCH, MOSQUE, SYNAGOGUE OR TEMPLE TO PARTICIPATE ARRANGE FOR THE TOPIC OF YOUR CHURCH’S SUNDAY SERVICE TO BE ON THE PLIGHT OF PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS OR FOR YOUR MOSQUE’S FRIDAY PRAYERS TO BE ON #ISRAELIAPARTHEIDWEEK AND THE PALESTINIAN STRUGGLE. IN 2015 PALESTINIAN CHURCHES TOGETHER WITH THE SA COUNCIL OF CHURCHES CALLED ON ALL CHURCHES TO DEVOTE SUNDAY SERVICES DURING IAW TO THE TOPIC OF PALESTINE. IN 2016, THE GRAND MUFTI OF JERUSALEM ALSO WROTE AN OPEN LETTER SUPPORTED BY THE MJC AND JAMIATUL ULAMA TO THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY TO PARTICIPATE AND DEDICATE FRIDAY SERMONS TO IAW. IN 2017 A MEMBER OF THE HINDU COMMUNITY WHO HAD TRAVELLED TO PALESTINE, IN AN OPEN LETTER THAT WENT VIRAL, CALLED ON MEMBERS OF THE HINDU FAITH TO GET INVOLVED IN IAW. IN
10) WRITE A POEM, ARTICLE OR SONG FOR YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL RADIO STATION, WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR – RAISE AWARENESS IN THE MEDIA! WRITE AN OP-ED, ARTICLE OR LETTER ON THE TOPIC OF ISRAELI APARTHEID FOR A LOCAL NEWSPAPER, MAGAZINE OR OTHER PUBLICATION. ALTERNATIVELY CONTACT YOUR LOCAL RADIO/TV STATION AND REQUEST A DISCUSSION ON ISRAEL AND PALESTINE. WRITE AND PUBLISH YOUR OWN POEM, SONG ETC.
11) ORGANISE A BOOK REVIEW OR DISCUSSION ORGANISE A BOOK REVIEW SESSION IN YOUR COMMUNITY OR BRANCH. BE IN TOUCH WITH US FOR SUGGESTED BOOK TITLES AS WELL AS CHAPTERS FROM OR COPIES OF BOOKS ON THE TOPIC OF PALESTINE, ISRAEL AND APARTHEID.
12) ORGANISE A CAKE SALE, HIGH-TEA OR OTHER FUNDRAISING EVENT ORGANISE A CAKE SALE, HIGH-TEA OR OTHER FUNDRAISING EVENT FOR #ISRAELIAPARTHEIDWEEK. DONATE THE FUNDS TO A PALESTINIAN ORGANISATION, THE BDS MOVEMENT OR OTHER SIMILAR ORGANIZATION.
13) DONATE AND ASSIST US FINANCIALLY #ISRAELIAPARTHEIDWEEK (IAW) IS FUNDED BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS LIKE YOURSELVES. ASSIST US IN ACHIEVING A SUCCESSFUL IAW THIS YEAR BY MAKING A (TAX-DEDUCTIBLE) DONATION. DONATIONS (FOR WHICH YOU CAN CLAIM A TAX DEDUCTION) CAN BE MADE TO BDS SOUTH AFRICA, ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS OF IAW (BDS SOUTH AFRICA, FNB, 62273997943, ROSEBANK, 253305, REFERENCE: IAW, SWIFTCODE: FIRNZAJJ).
14) GET YOUR SCHOOL INVOLVED GET YOUR SCHOOL TO SCREEN A FILM ON PALESTINE (WE HAVE CERTAIN MOVIES SUITABLE FOR SCHOOL SCREENINGS) OR BE MORE CREATIVE, FOR EXAMPLE, HOST AN ART COMPETITION, SPEECH CONTEST OR SIMILAR EVENT. ANOTHER IDEA IS FOR STUDENTS TO LINE UP ON THE SCHOOL FIELD/YARD IN THE SHAPE OF THE #IAW LETTERS, TAKE A PICTURE AND SHARE IT SOCIAL MEDIA USING THE HASTHAG #ISRAELIAPARTHEIDWEEK.
15) TAKE A SELFIE PHOTO OR MAKE A SHORT CELLPHONE VIDEO TAKE A SELFIE OR A GROUP PHOTO HOLDING A SIGN THAT SAYS: “I SUPPORT #ISRAELIAPARTHEIDWEEK”. ALTERNATIVELY MAKE A SHORT VIDEO WITH YOUR PHONE SAYING YOUR NAME, WHERE YOU FROM AND PLEDGING YOUR SUPPORT FOR #ISRAELIAPARTHEIDWEEK. POST THE PHOTO/VIDEO UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA USING THE HASHTAG #ISRAELIAPARTHEIDWEEK. ANOTHER IDEA IS TO CREATE A PLACARD THAT SAYS “ISRAELI APARTHEID,” HOLD THE PLACARD UNDER A STOP SIGN AT AN INTERSECTION, TAKE A PHOTO, UPLOAD THE PHOTO ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH THE HASHTAG #ISRAELIAPARTHEIDWEEK AND WE WILL SHARE IT! 3
IAW BASIS OF UNITY
Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) was initiated by student activists at the University of Toronto in 2005 and has since spread to cities across the world, including cities in Palestine and South Africa. We are a global network of student, youth, and community organizations working to build Israeli Apartheid Week as part of worldwide actions in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The aim of IAW is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns as part of a growing global BDS movement.
We push forward an understanding of Israel an apartheid state. Palestinian citizens of Israel are barred from controlling and developing over 90% of the land, and discriminated against in most aspects of life, particularly in education, health care, public services and employment; simply because they are Palestinians. Palestinians expelled in 1948 and 1967 are denied the right to return to their homes and lands, while the fact that anyone of Jewish background – from anywhere in the world – has the automatic right to become an Israeli citizen and live in Palestine. In the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinians live under separate and discriminatory military law, in isolated Bantustans surrounded by the Wall.
We work to end all international complicity with this apartheid state. Governments provide extensive political and economic support to the Israeli apartheid regime. Corporations profit through investments and joint operations with Israeli companies. Institutions, organizations and unions provide economic and moral backing by maintaining investments in and relations with Israel. Artists, intellectuals and sports teams legitimize Israeli apartheid by continuing business as usual. It is this type of support and cooperation, which allows apartheid to continue to exist, and this is why ending international complicity is so important.
We understand Israeli apartheid as one element of a global system of economic and military domination. To this end, we stand in solidarity with all oppressed groups around the world, in particular, indigenous communities suffering under settler colonialism, exploitation and displacement.
We are against the racist ideology of Zionism, which is the impetus for Israeli colonialism, because it inherently discriminates against those who are not Jewish. We are against all forms of discrimination, and believe that there can never be justice without the restoration of full rights for everyone, regardless of religion, ethnicity, or nationality. Our demands are based upon the Palestinian Civil Society Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel, issued on 9 July 2005 by over 170 Palestinian organizations, which states that:
Boycott, divestment and sanctions should be imposed and maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by:
1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands, dismantling the Wall and freeing all Palestinian and Arab political prisoners;
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality;
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN General Assembly resolution 194.
4 Last year in 2018 more than 110 African organizations endorsed IAW including: Action Forum Palestine (AFP), African National Congress (ANC), African National Congress Women’s League (ANC WL), African National Congress Youth League (ANC YL), Ahlul Bayt Youth Movement of South Africa (ABYMOSA), Al Jamah Political Party, Amnesty International (WITS University), Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Amandla, Al Quds Foundation, Botswana National Front (BNF), Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel in South Africa (BDS South Africa), Caring Women’s Forum (CWF), Caring Sisters Network, Centre for Civil Society (CCS), Chemical Energy Paper Printing Wood and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU), Communication Workers Union (CWU), Congress of South African Students (COSAS), Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Conveyors of Hope, Creative Workers Union of South Africa, Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA), Durban University of Technology SRC (DUT SRC), Embassy of Palestine in South Africa, Equal Education, Faithworks, Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU), Freedom For Palestine PE (FFP-PE), Friends of Cuba (FOCUS), Grey Matter Media, IslamicFocus, Jamiatul Ulama of South Africa, Kairos Southern Africa, Kenya Palestine Solidarity Committee, KZN PSF, Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organization, Mangosuthu University of Technology Student Representative Council (MUT SRC), Media Review Network (MRN), Mkhonto WeSizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA), Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), Muslim Lawyers Association (MLA), Muslim Professional Network (MPN), Muslim Youth Movement (MYM), National Black Contractors and Allied Trades – Western Cape (NBCAT), National Coalition for Palestine (NC4P), National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU), National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (PACSA), Palestine Solidarity Alliance (Benoni), Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA Gauteng), Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA PE), Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA Port Shepstone), Palestine Solidarity Campaign Cape Town (PSC CT), People Against Suffering Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP), Pietermaritzburg For Palestine (PMB4PALESTINE), Police and Prison Civil Rights Union (POPCRU), Rhodes University Palestine Solidarity Forum (Rhodes PSF), Runners For The Freedom of Palestine, Rustenburg Palestine Solidarity Forum (Rustenburg PSF), South African Artists Against Apartheid (SAAAA), South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU), South African Communist Party (SACP), South African Council of Churches (SACC), South African Council of Churches Youth Forum (SACCYF), South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), South African Informal Traders Alliance, South African Jews for a Free Palestine, South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU), South African National Defence Union (SANDU), South African National Women’s Muslim Forum (SANWMF), South African Students Congress (SASCO), South African Union of Students (SAUS), Stellenbosch University Palestine Solidarity Society (SU PSS), Steve Biko Foundation, Stop The JNF, Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), UMUZI, UKZN Theology & Development Programme [UKZN-T&D], Union of Muslim Students Association (MSA), University of Cape Town Palestine Solidarity (UCT PSF), University of Johannesburg Palestine Solidarity Forum (UJ PSF), University of Pretoria PSC, University of Pretoria SRC, South African Tamil Federation (SATF), University of South Africa SRC (UNISA SRC), University of Western Cape Palestine Solidarity Association (UWC PSA), University of Western Cape SRC (UWC SRC), Vaal Muslim Womens Forum (MWF), Wits University Progressive Youth Alliance (WITS PYA), Wits University Palestine Solidarity Committee (Wits PSC), Workers World Media Productions (WWMP), World Federation of Trade Union (WFTU), Young Communist League of South Africa (YCL), Zaytoun South Africa
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