Palestinians have suffered far too long
I write to congratulate the MUN Palestine society for organizing a successful May 15th vigil in recognition of the Nakba, when 75 years ago, in 1948, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families were forced to flee their villages and towns to accommodate the creation of the state of Israel.
Today, the Palestinian people who have remained survive under a system of apartheid, whereby the state of Israel has established laws that systematically deny the Palestinians their fundamental rights. In a comprehensive report, Amnesty International “found that Israel’s cruel policies of segregation, dispossession and exclusion across all territories under its control clearly amount to apartheid.”
It has been 10 years since Nelson Mandela died and world leaders provided homilies to the leader who fought to end to apartheid in South Africa. At this time, most people thought that we would never again witness a system that would allow one race of people to establish laws that would benefit their race at the expense of another. Yet three human rights organizations, including one Israeli, has declared Israel an apartheid state.
This year, for the first time, the United Nations officially recognized the 75th anniversary of the Palestinian exodus. This is significant because it was a 1947 UN resolution that led to the partition of Palestine. In his speech at the UN, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas called on the UN to suspend Israel’s membership until its aggression against Palestinians ended. Abbas also called for action on UN resolutions that implements separate Israeli and Palestinian states. He reminded the world body that despite tens of hundreds of resolutions in support of the Palestinian cause, Israeli oppression continues unabated.
The United Nations has declared apartheid and its system of discrimination and segregation a crime against humanity. When it comes to Israeli apartheid Amnesty International has stated, “The international community has an obligation to act.” For 75 years, the Palestinian people have been denied their right to return to their homeland. This must change.
One can only marvel at the Palestinian people’s tenacity and determination to see justice done. At the MUN Palestinian rally, one poster said it best: Palestinian Existence is Resistance.
Canada likes to talk about its concern for human rights and rules-based law, but when it comes to Israeli apartheid, all we hear from Canadian parliamentarians is silence.