South Africa, Palestine and Fighting For Justice
How do we truly stand in solidarity to say, "Never Again"?
I can’t stop thinking about the South African lawyers that travelled to the International Court of Justice in the Hague to present an 84-page dossier packed with evidence that Israel is committing (or, at least, intending to commit) genocide in Gaza.
Still, there is no verdict—but it is already having a ripple effect around the world. The European Parliament has just passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire
One of the reasons that I find the South African Legal Team so amazing is that it wasn’t that long ago that South Africans were living under apartheid themselves. For more than forty years, South Africans lived under a system where the white minority (descended from British, Irish and Dutch settlers) ruled over the Black majority, enforcing a system of separation where White South Africans lived separately from Black South Africans, enjoying the privileges of living in modern cities and towns while Black South Africans lived in government-enforced poverty.
A global movement ended apartheid in South Africa—and I am reminded of the fact that it must be a global movement, again who holds Israel accountable, who stops the United States from funding their weapons, who stops other countries from condoning their actions with either blind support or a blind eye.
It is no wonder that it is South African lawyers who are spearheading one of the first cases in history that might actually hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza, gathering evidence (many of which is sourced from Palestinian journalists in Gaza, who are tirelessly reporting the news even though Israel has ruthlessly targeted them since the beginning of the war) and rallying support from countries around the world.
While sixty-five countries have publicly supported South Africa, not a single Western country has publicly supported their case. It is clear that the global majority stands with Palestine—what about the privileged minority? Up until now, most western countries have remained silent about South Africa’s case, though the United States and Israel have spoken out against it. Recently, Germany has gone so far as to join the case, but on Israel’s side—falling into a pattern of condemning any support of Palestine or Palestinians as antisemitism, while turning a blind eye to Israel’s actions...
Still, it is too easy to point out the injustices of the world. Hell, my own mind is swimming with questions wondering what the point of “international law” is if it only protects a privileged few, and why it is that some news channels broadcast Israel defending itself against South Africa’s allegations while conveniently avoiding airing the South African lawyers presenting their evidence. But, as I’ve learned from feverishly consuming newsletter’s like Dr. Ayesha Khan’s Cosmic Anarchy, hope is far more difficult—and far more important.
Instead of dwelling on everything that could make us angry—and believe me, there is a lot of it—I want to do something new, where I focus on what should give us hope. Who are the lawyers that are pushing back against these legal systems, even though they have been quite literally built to prioritize the needs of the Global North over those of the Global South? I am so inspired by the way that the South African legal team has gone up against a system that many assume is entrenched, and used every tool in their arsenal to challenge it.
Who are the journalists, who are still documenting the ongoing atrocities in Gaza—the actual, completely man-made, globally-facilitated Hellscape on our earth—even though they are being targeted, attacked, harassed and imprisoned every day. Many of us have pointed out how so many journalists in the West have been silent while our colleagues have been slaughtered. What can we do to support those who are still alive and honor the memory of those who have fallen? Traditional media outlets might be selective with what it decides to broadcast—but we don’t have to be. We can keep sharing information on social media, keep fighting the shadow bans that are hiding videos uploaded by Palestinian journalists, and having conversations about justice and accountability, on and offline.
What does accountability—and justice—look like in our modern, digital age? Over the past three months, it has been surreal to realize that we can either livestream war crimes or completely shut them out, depending on how we use the technology that is available to us. Palestinians in Gaza do not have this privilege—so how can we stand with them, and truly say: “Never again”?