A delegation comprised of the general secretaries of Arab political parties in Israel and academics and political activists travelled to South Africa to participate in an intensive two-week educational course held from 5-20 October 2008. The course consisted of lectures and workshops aimed at examining the experience of South Africa in fighting Apartheid and the struggle of the African National Congress (ANC) for equality for black citizens of the state and the country’s transformation to a democratic state.
The delegation was comprised of Mr. Awad Abel Fattah, the Secretary General of the National Democratic Assembly (NDA)-Balad, Mr. Ayman Awdeh, the Secretary General of the The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (al-Jabha), Attorney Osama al-Sa’di, the Secretary General of the Arab Movement for Change Party, Mr. Ibrahim Hijazi of the Islamic Movement, Mr. Yousef Sawa’ed of the Arab Democratic Party, Ms. Aida Suleiman of al-Jabha, Ms. Einas Hajj from the NDA-Balad, Ms. Tamam Badeer of the Islamic Movement, and from Adalah, Dr. Khaled Abu Asbi, Dr. Amal Jamal, Dr. Thabet Abu Ras and Attorney Orna Kohn.
The delegation began its activities in Soweto, adjacent to Johannesburg, and visited the memorial commemorating the deaths of 600 people who were killed during the student demonstrations that took place in the city in 1967 against the Apartheid regime. The delegation then visited a museum documenting the history of Apartheid, which has been named after Hector Pieterson, the first child to be killed in the events of 1976.
The delegation later heard a lecture by the South African Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr. Pallo Jordan, who was a leader of the ANC party during Apartheid era and responsible for its media work. Mr. Jordan’s lecture dealt with the historical period from the beginning of Apartheid to the founding of the ANC, and examined the social and political historical background of Blacks and Whites in South Africa during this time. Mr. Ibrahim Ibrahim, another leading figure within the ANC, also gave a lecture on the establishment of the party and its development between 1912 and 1960, and how the regime in South Africa slipped from being a regime that discriminates against Blacks to an officially Apartheid regime. Former minister Ronnie Kasrils lectured on the various ways and means of struggling against Apartheid, namely the four main components: popular struggle, armed struggle, the struggle of the professional unions and the struggle of the international solidarity movement. His lecture focused on the period between the 1960s until the fall of Apartheid in the 1990s.
The delegation also attended an important lecture by Mr. Fareed Esakh, a professor in Islamic sciences and a leader in the Islamic Movement, which is a partner in the South African United Democratic Front. Professor Esakh is a well-known women’s rights activist who holds the post of delegate for equality between the sexes in the new South African government. In the lecture, Professor Esakh discussed the role of Muslims in the struggle against Apartheid and the formation of a common front among people with varying political standpoints and opinions regarding the struggle against Apartheid.
On the subject of the struggle waged by the trade unions and the workers, the delegation heard a lecture by Mr. Willie Madisha, an activist in the South African Communist Party and professional trade unions during the Apartheid era, and a former president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) following the collapse of Apartheid. Mr. Madisha discussed the ways of organizing a mass struggle involving enormous numbers of people in the shadow of the policy of national and class-based oppression that was practiced by the previous regime.
The delegation was also hosted by the Palestinian Ambassador to South Africa, Mr. Ali Halima. The members of the delegation discussed political conditions in the region and the internal Palestinian crisis, as well as other local and regional topics with the ambassador.
The visit included daily field visits to historical sites of the anti-Apartheid struggle, including the Constitutional Court, which was built on the remains of Apartheid prisons; the Apartheid Museum; and the site of the former Supreme Court, which sentenced ANC leaders to life.
The visit was initiated by Adalah and the HSRC in coordination with the South African government and the Chairman of the High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens in Israel, Mr. Shawqi Khatib.
This visit is the third to have been organized by Adalah and the HSRC. The first visit consisted of a delegation of the families of the victims of October 2000 and representatives from Adalah and the High Follow-up Committee. That visit aimed to strengthen international advocacy around the October 2000 killings and to internationalize the demand for the establishment of an impartial investigatory committee that could uncover facts and lead to the punishment of those responsible. The second visit was undertaken by a delegation of Arab members of Knesset, the High Follow-up Committee and Adalah with the goal of learning from the South African experience about constitution-building processes. These two visits both attracted a large amount of press coverage in South Africa and in Israel.