In 1948, as Zionist militias displaced 750,000 Palestinians from their homes during the Nakba that created the Israeli state, South Africa's Nationalist Party formally instituted a program of apartheid. The two communities--Black South Africans and Palestinians--have a long history of solidarity informed by their shared experiences of settler colonialism and apartheid. The latest chapter unfolded today, as South Africa argued before the International Court of Justice that Israel is committing acts of genocide against Palestinians.
"We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians." -Nelson Mandela, 1997