John Hogan, Department of Politics and Public Administration, writes for RTÉ’s Brainstorm that many of the human rights violations suffered by Palestinians today call to mind the ills of apartheid, though there are some important differences.
Amidst the shocking footage from the Gaza-Israel border this week, many online observers noted one photograph for its similarity to an iconic image from apartheid-era South Africa. In 1976, 12 year-old Hector Pieterson was shot dead by South African police during the Soweto Uprising, which started as a student protest against the implementation of English and Afrikaans as the languages of instruction in schools. The photograph of a Soweto resident carrying Pieterson’s lifeless body was published around the world the next day prompting international condemnation and increased scrutiny of the brutal nature of apartheid.
Read in full at www.rte.ie/eile/brainstorm/2018/0518/964343-does-israels-treatment-of-palestinians-amount-to-apartheid/