We the undersigned are compelled to express ourselves on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a matter of conscience and concern
for the safety and well being of the Israeli and Palestinian
peoples and for world peace.
1. The Fundamental Causes of the Conflict
We assert that the fundamental causes of the current conflict are
Israel's suppression of the Palestinian struggle for national
self-determination and its continued occupation of Palestinian
lands. We do not dispute that certain sectors of the Palestinian
population have resorted to terror and we condemn killings of
innocent civilians from whatever quarter. Yet this is not the root
cause of the problem. The state of Israel was founded as a homeland
for the persecuted Jews of Europe. It came into being as a result
of a war of independence. The action of the British in assuming
that Palestine was theirs by colonial mandate to dispose of
inflicted a great injustice on the Palestinian people. This was
compounded by the subsequent Israeli rule of the Occupied
Territories and the denial of the legitimate claims of the
Palestinian refugees. Recognition of the fundamental causes of the
on-going violence does not constitute anti-Semitism. Rather, it
constitutes an urgent call on the Israeli government to redress
injustice, uphold human rights and satisfy legitimate claims,
without which peace negotiations will fail. Nor does it amount to a
denial of Israel's right to exist. It recognises that such
negotiations require that the Western Powers, the Arab States and
the Non-Aligned States, through the aegis of the UN, guarantee the
mutual security of the state of Israel and the state of
Palestine.
2. Our History Compels Us to Speak Out
All Jews live in the shadow of the Holocaust. For some of us, the
lesson of that tragedy has been that survival is the highest
morality. For others, the lesson is that Jews must support justice,
and freedom from persecution, for all people. Many feel torn
between these two. But we believe that Jewish survival and the
fulfillment of Palestinian national aspirations are not mutually
exclusive goals. We believe that the path forward is through
championing the legitimate desires of the Palestinian people, and
we reject an approach that is guided by existential fear and which
sacrifices principles of justice in the name of collective
survival.
3. Repression Intensifies Resistance
In light of the suffering that we Jews have experienced ourselves,
especially in the past century, we object to the ruthless security
methods employed by the Israeli government against Palestinians. [.
. .]These include the deployment of bulldozers, tanks, helicopter
gunships, and fighter planes; the use of lethal force, as a matter
of policy, even against civilians armed with stones and slings; the
targeted assassination and extra-judicial killing of political
leaders and activists; the "collective punishment" of Palestinian
communities; the demolition of homes, destruction of farms, and
uprooting of olive groves; and the stringent curfews and road
blocks that make normal life impossible and create a daily ritual
of control and humiliation. These intolerable practices, together
with the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, invite
condemnation of the Israeli government and give rise to further
resistance against it. [. . .]
We take note of the fact-finding report by members of South
Africa's Parliament who visited the Middle East in July 2001. The
report observes: "It becomes difficult, particularly from a South
African perspective, not to draw parallels with the oppression
experienced by Palestinians under the hand of Israel and the
oppression experienced in South Africa under apartheid rule." We
are committed to justice and freedom for pragmatic, as well as
ethical, reasons. Oppression almost always gives rise to rebellion
and thereby threatens the security of the oppressor. Repression and
reprisals in response to rebellion provide no relief. They only
deepen, broaden and prolong the cycle of violence and
counter-violence. The notion that security can be achieved through
reliance on force is demonstrably false, as the struggle against
apartheid testified. The struggle against apartheid also
demonstrated that successful resistance to oppression depends on a
coherent non-violent strategy alongside the armed struggle. [. .
.]
We also note that the key to successful resistance in South Africa
was a commitment in good faith by the resistance movement to the
suspension of the armed struggle once negotiations had begun. This
commitment has also recently been made by the Irish Republican Army
in Northern Ireland. We note that Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat has repeatedly condemned terrorism and we call on him
to pursue every effort to end terrorist acts committed by some
sectors of the Palestinian population. President Mbeki has provided
moral guidance by stating that "no circumstances whatsoever can
ever justify resort to terrorism." We note that Chairman Arafat is
only able to rule with great difficulty in the Palestinian areas
and hope that the situation in the Occupied Territories improves to
the point where the Palestinian leadership can offer security
guarantees to the Israeli people. But this will be impossible to
achieve in the context of current Israeli policies "Ÿ
especially the expansion of settlements, the aggressive and
pointless reprisals, and the collective punishment of the
Palestinian people for individual acts of terror.
4. The Security of Israelis and Palestinians is
Inseparable We understand the fears of Jews in Israel and
their longing for security. The security of Israelis and
Palestinians, however, is inseparably intertwined. Neither group
will be secure as long as the other is insecure. There is
consequently no alternative to a negotiated settlement that is
just, that recognises both Palestine and Israel as fully
independent sovereign states, and that provides for peaceful
coexistence and co-operation between these states. It is only on
this basis that peace and security can be achieved. [. . .] We also
call attention to the insecure status of Palestinians and non-Jews
living within Israel's 1948 boundaries. We insist that Israel take
steps to guarantee the full and equal rights of all who dwell
within its borders, Jews and non-Jews alike.
5. A Call for Peace and Security
Israel carries a great responsibility to improve the dangerous
state of affairs, in the Middle East and internationally, by
recognising the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and
creating the basis for peace and stability. [. . .] We support
[the] call for the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the
Palestinian Territories. We call on South Africans of Jewish
descent, and Jews everywhere, to raise their voices and join with
all governments and people in support of justice for Palestine, and
peace and security for all in the Holy Land. This is a vital step
towards reducing the grave threat of international disorder and
anarchy which the September 11 terrorism in the US has so
horrifically demonstrated.
6. As an Immediate step toward peace,
We call on the Government of Israel:
To resume and sustain negotiations with the Palestinian Authority
in good faith.
To conduct negotiations within the framework of the relevant
resolutions of the United Nations (Resolutions 242 and 332 in
particular) and expanding on the proposals tabled at negotiations
in early 2001.
To conduct its security operations with restraint and in accordance
with humanitarian law.
To work in partnership with the Palestinian leadership and the
international community to build a lasting peace on the basis of
reconciliation and realising the solution of two independent states
living side by side in friendship and co-operation.
The above is based on an address to the South African National
Assembly by Ronnie Kasrils, MP, Minister of Water Affairs and
Forestry made on 23 October 2001. This statement was co-authored
with Max Ozinsky, member of the Western Cape Legislature. It has
also been endorsed by the following people:
Nadine Gordimer, novelist and Nobel Prize winner for
literature
Prof. Robin Cohen, Dean of Humanities, University of Cape
Town
Ben Turok, Member of the National Assembly (national
parliament)
John Jefferies, Member of the National Assembly (national
parliament)
Dennis Goldberg, Rivonia Trialist and former political
prisoner
Professor Ralph Kirsch, Head, Department of Medicine, University of
Cape Town
David Kramer, musician
Professor David Saunders, University of the Western Cape
Johnathon "Zapiro" Shapiro, cartoonist
Sheila Weinberg, Member of the Gauteng Legislature
Steven Friedman, academic and journalist
Max Coleman, veteran human rights activist . . .
[A total of 290 signatories until 10 March 2002.]
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