Apartheid Israel: The Politics of an Analogy

by Sean Jacobs (Editor), Achille Mbembe (Foreword), Jon Soske (Editor)

In Apartheid The Politics of an Analogy , eighteen scholars of Africa and its diaspora reflect on the similarities and differences between apartheid-era South Africa and contemporary Israel, with an eye to strengthening and broadening today’s movement for justice in Palestine.

Contributors include Andy Clarno, Bill Freund, Mahmood Mamdani, Heidi Grunebaum, Shireen Hassim, Sean Jacobs, Robin D. G. Kelley, Arianna Lissoni, Achille Mbembe, Marissa Moorman, Jon Soske, T.J. Tallie, Salim Vally.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Middle East, Africa

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2015

Reviews

[Zach Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I revisited this collection after a few years, and its relevance has only sharpened. The increasingly common comparison of Zionist settler colonialism, military occupation, and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians to the South African Apartheid regime is a powerful one. And this book covers it all. Hearing from twenty scholars of the African diaspora, this clarifies everything you need to know about the comparison between Israel and South Africa (both their similarities and differences), but most importantly, it answers the question: what does South Africa *mean* to Palestinians? After all, the Palestinian civil society's call to BDS in 2005 was inspired by the international boycott movement against South Africa that ultimately led to apartheid's collapse. This is truly an essential read to understanding where the analogy starts and stops, as well as how we can use the analogy to construct an international movement against Zionism and for a free Palestine.

[Jonathon McKenney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some excellent essays, some less good ones. One problem is that seeing all these essays at the same time, it can start to repeat a little bit. But the central analogy works for me, and this book is one that I hope to use as a reference one day. Particular highlights are "The Historian and Apartheid", "Academic Freedom and Academic Boycotts", "Apartheid's Black Apologists" (fascinating), and "Apartheid as Solution". Elements that stayed with me: the necessity of bringing in Israeli's to the liberation movement (a la white Afrikaners in SA), the statement (I think it was in "Checkpoints and Counterpoints") that Israel and Palestine both had liberation movements at the wrong historical time (one was a European settler style that went out of favor, and the Palestinians were less vocal/active during the decolonization wave of the back half of 20th century). It was just a great collection of essays.

[Taylor G · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

Excellent perspective. Some essays were better than others. Definitely not something to read straight through but to read one or two essays and then ruminate on for awhile.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not very long and none of the essays are particularly long either. You can really tell which writers were academics or not when reading their essays. The ones at the beginning were by far the best, kind of dims towards the end. But overall great collection and a very important and just comparison!

[Malcolm Murrell-Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This text is essential in understanding how people in general, and in particular professionals in related fields, require words and definitions to make sense of something. While modern Zionism has made a devastating impact in the middle east, especially towards the Palestinians they have occupied for more than half a century, the evolution of applying imperial and settler-colonial policies is clearly not stagnate. Apartheid is a process, and even with its end in South Africa has not ended inequality. The common denominator between South African and Israel/Palestine Apartheid must be understood so that the roots of the problem can be targeted. While this book and the contributor's chapters help show the battleground that is the analogy of apartheid, more evidence is needed in the arguments. This book will certainly compliment others but without prior knowledge the depth of this analogy is shallower than desired. Certain historical sources, grievances, and perspectives would certainly be useful in expanded the arguments.

[Oscar Gómez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apartheid Israel is a wonderfully focused work that implements a regimented system of analysis on apartheid. Both apartheid Israel and apartheid South Africa have contained a systematized regime of racial and ethnic discrimination against a population using a variety of similar and different methods that are contrasted and compared in great detail. This book is one of relative brevity that captures the encapsulating topic with the respect needed and although the genocide of Palestine has escalated severely since this book was published, it is, I believe, an instrumental read.

[Mads Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent work of essays by different authors on the subject, and a brilliant conceptual undertaking. The only reason it doesn’t receive five stars is that some of the essays -in my personal opinion- could’ve been redacted whilst keeping the punch of the work’s intent very much intact. The chapter concerning „Pinkwashing” Israel was especially potent.

[mat bullock-betts · Rating 3 out of 5]

The comparison was never meant to imply that what has happened and continues to happen in Palestine is exactly what happened in South Africa. I was hoping to get a lot more out of this book.

[Ava Jane Walton Moorlach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some essays had incredibly thoughtful analysis that helped to change my perspective on the issue. Other essays just fell short.

[Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

More relevant than ever