History of Western Oppression and Genocide (of Indigenous Peoples) Certainly ‘Rhymes’

Obscured within the mists of time is the history relevant to the west’s unquestioning support for apartheid Israel, namely the west’s covert support for apartheid South Africa.

After Boer South Africa annexed German Southwest Africa (1915) the United States initiated arms shipments to South Africa until the late 1980’s, even subsequent to the ‘voluntary’ UN Arms Embargo to South Africa of 1963, and after the mandatory embargo of 1977.

South Africa’s white supremacist ideology essentially denied the right of self-determination to the indigenous people there. Likewise, the apartheid Boer regime had expansionist ambitions in the region that are particularly notable via US/CIA support for South African expansion into Angola, until the Afrikaaners experienced defeat in their offensive versus Luanda. [1]

Western supply of weapons to apartheid South Africa continued on, nearly to the end the regime, when F. W. de Klerk’s caretaker government prepared to relinquish power to the African National Congress. Europe was heavily invested in supplying arms to apartheid South Africa as well, via its arms bazaar based in Lichtenstein, Brussels, London, and Luxembourg. London and West Germany were particularly loathe to end weapons sales and deliveries to apartheid South Africa, because the profits were great, and both perceived the apartheid regime there as being anti-Soviet.

Just as Israel possesses nuclear weapons at its nuclear site in the Negev (Dimona),  apartheid South Africa operated a covert nuclear weapons development program, too.  The program was run by Armscor, where Armscor also initiated illegal importation of weapons technology from Canada to South Africa. Prime Minister Botha labeled the potential nuclear deterrent as a “political weapons system” and reportedly did not intend to use nuclear weapons to destroy the world, as Israel claims it will do (if the regime is threatened with extinction) as defined by Israel’s “Samson Option”.

But expansionist South Africa is not considered to have committed a genocide versus the indigenous population of South Africa as Israel does in Gaza, however the Botha regime certainly targeted civilians by means of indiscriminate artillery shelling of farms and schools where civilians were present.

Western support for apartheid Israel’s genocide does not fully parallel western support for apartheid South Africa, because weapons that the west provides to Israel (for the genocide in Gaza) are overtly supplied and not covertly. And likewise the United States is fully complicit in that Gaza genocide, whereas regarding apartheid South Africa, it was not.

And of course at present time there is no UN arms embargo for the supply of weapons to Israel. The UN has scheduled a future meeting of the Security Council on the subject, but the United States responded by revoking visas that would allow the Palestinian delegation to attend.

Also, at one time, in modern history, the west recognized (or at least paid lip service to) the right of indigenous people to self-determination. The right of self-determination is implicitly recognized by the United States Declaration of Independence with three unalienable rights being, “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” which governments are created to protect. That historic proclamation reflects Natural Law, where there is no law today… other than profit and exploitation. Today the right to self-determination of any people is void. In other words, there is no prospect of a United Nations Arms Embargo versus Israel, and even if by some miracle there was, the United States would find a way to void that.

Israel owns the western world financially and politically – and owns its media. Israel colludes with corrupt powers all over the world, including Egypt, Turkiye, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Syria and the Gulf Monarchies. So the world stands idly by and merely wrings its hands in disbelief at the humanitarian atrocities Israel is engaged in, its starvation and genocide, and intentional murder of journalists and heads of state. Any resistance to Israel’s agenda will result in a loss of funding and attacks in the media – and perhaps military attacks, too.

Therein lies the great difference between the global treatment of apartheid South Africa, and genocidal apartheid Israel today. At one time the world reacted in horror to what the supremacist regime in apartheid South Africa was doing; today the world stands idly by while thousands are murdered and millions displaced.

[1] Remarkably, apartheid South Africa’s Sturmbannführer’s were called the “South African Defence Force” just as Israel’s storm troopers call themselves the Israeli Defense Force today

Steve Brown