Sharpeville Massacre & Gaza Massacres Compared – Boycott Apartheid Israel & All Its Supporters

 

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The world has been shocked over the last 5 weeks at the cold-blooded killing by Israeli soldiers of nearly 50 Palestinians  and the wounding of about 6,800 more  out of thousands of unarmed Occupied Palestinians protesting  70 years of exile and highly  abusive confinement in the Gaza Concentration Camp. Comparisons with the 1950 Sharpeville Massacre in Apartheid South Africa must surely ramp up  global  Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Apartheid Israel and all its supporters.

On 21 March 1960 some 5,000-7,000 unarmed African protestors held a demonstration against the racist pass laws outside the police station in Sharpeville, Transvaal, South Africa.  The police opened fire, killing 69 demonstrators  and causing a total of 289 casualties including  29 children.  This atrocity excited indignation  throughout the world, this leading to global boycotts against Apartheid South Africa, UN determination that Apartheid was a crime against Humanity and the eventual overthrow of US-, UK-, Australia- , Canada- and Apartheid Israel-backed Apartheid  in South Africa and emplacement of equal rights for all, including 1-person-1-vote. While the world celebrates Human Rights Day on 10 December, post-Apartheid South Africa marks 21 March as Human Rights Day.

On 30 March 2018 thousands of unarmed Indigenous Palestinians demonstrated against their forcible exile and abusive incarceration in a “Great Return March” near the near-impregnable boundary of the Gaza Concentration Camp. The Apartheid Israeli military commenced shooting them and, as of 3 May 2018, the Israelis have shot and killed 47 Palestinians, and wounded 6,793 of whom 24 required amputation. No Israelis have been killed or wounded in this latest Gaza Massacre [2] that is the latest atrocity in the ongoing Palestinian Genocide which has been associated with about 2.3 million Palestinian deaths from violence (0.1 million) or from imposed deprivation (2.2 million) since the British invasion of Palestine in WW1 [3-6]. US-, UK-, Australia- and Canada-backed Apartheid Israel denies all human rights, including the right to vote for the government ruling them, to 74% of its Indigenous Palestinian subjects who, despite repeated Rohingya-scale ethnic cleansing, presently represent 50% of the subjects of Apartheid Israel [7].

The violent deaths of 69 unarmed Africans in the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre galvanized the world and led to a world-wide anti-Apartheid movement (notably led by India)  that applied Boycotts against Apartheid South Africa that were ultimately successful with the fall of Apartheid in the early 1990s. In the period 1987-1993 the ruling White Minority National Party Government  had negotiations with the African National Congress (ANC) , in 1990 prominent ANC leaders such as Nelson Mandela were released from prison, Apartheid legislation was abolished in mid-1991, and majority rule was finally achieved after one-person-one-vote, multiracial elections in 1994.

However the 69 violent deaths and 220 wounded in the Sharpeville Massacre, that provided significant impetus for the ultimately successful Boycott Apartheid movement, were just the tiny tip of an iceberg of millions of avoidable African deaths from Apartheid-imposed deprivation. Avoidable   mortality (avoidable deaths, excess mortality, excess deaths, untimely deaths, premature deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) can be estimated as the difference between actual deaths in a country and deaths expected for a decently-governed, peaceful country with the same demographics (birth rate and age distribution ). For poor, high birth-rate, Developing countries the baseline of expected deaths is about 4 deaths per thousand of population each year. Using UN Population Division data it was estimated that South African avoidable deaths from deprivation in the period 1950-2005 totalled 13.5 million, overwhelmingly of Africans and with only about 1.3 million White South Africans dying thus [8]. Notwithstanding one-person-one-vote, it can be estimated from the latest  UN Population Division data for South Africa [9] that continuing endemic poverty presently results each year in about 0.3 million African avoidable deaths from deprivation and deprivation-exacerbated disease as compared to essentially zero (0) such White deaths. Equal rights and one-person-one-vote is just the beginning of social justice.

Similarly, the gunning down by the Israelis  of 47 unarmed Palestinian demonstrators in the last 5 weeks should provide hugely transformative impetus to the global campaign of Boycott, Divestment and  Sanctions (BDS) against Apartheid Israel and  all people, politicians, collectives, corporations and countries supporting the nuclear terrorist, racist Zionist-run, genocidally racist, democracy-by-genocide, rogue state of US-backed Apartheid Israel. However these heroic martyrs represent just a  very tiny tip of a genocidal mass murder iceberg. While about 4,000 Zionist have been killed by Palestinians since 1920, about 100,000 Palestinians have been killed violently by Zionists since about 1935 [10]. However it is estimated that Occupied Palestinian and Exiled Palestinian  avoidable deaths from imposed deprivation totalled about 1.9 million (1950-2005), and 0.1 million (2005-present) [3].  About 0.1 million Palestinians  perished in the WW1 Palestinian Famine [6, 13-11] and one surmises a comparable number of impoverished  Palestinians dying avoidably from deprivation under the British between WW1 and 1948.

As of 2018, of about 14 million Palestinians (half of them children), 7 million are forbidden to even step foot in their own country, 5 million are held hostage with zero human rights under Israeli  guns in the Gaza Concentration Camp (2 million) or in ever-dwindling West Bank Bantustan ghettoes  (3 million),  and 1.8 million live as Third Class citizens as Israeli Palestinians under Nazi-style Apartheid Israeli race laws [3]. 90% of Palestine has now been ethnically cleansed of Indigenous Palestinian  inhabitants in an ongoing war criminal ethnic cleansing that has been repeatedly condemned by the UN and most recently by UN Security Council Resolution 2334 that was unanimously supported with remarkable Obama US abstention rather than veto [14, 15].

The GDP per capita is US$2,800 for Occupied Palestinians as compared to US$39,000 for Apartheid Israel [16]. Poverty kills and  through  imposed deprivation each year Apartheid Israel passively  murders about 2,700 under-5 year old Palestinian  infants,  and passively murders 4,200 Occupied Palestinians in general [3, 17].  Apartheid Israel violently kills an average of about 550 Occupied Palestinians each year [3, 17]. Occupied Palestinians are deprived of essentially all human rights by Apartheid Israel [7] which also determines that the 74% of its now 50%  of Indigenous Palestinian subjects who are Occupied  Palestinians  cannot vote for the government  ruling them (i.e. egregious Apartheid) [5].

While Apartheid Israel attempts to justify its horrendous violence – even the deliberate killing of unarmed demonstrators  –  as a response to “terrorism” the statistics  say otherwise.  Thus there have been 32 Israeli deaths from Gaza rocket and mortar attacks in the period 2004-2017 [18] that were used as asserted justification for repeated Gaza Massacres in which thousands were killed and thousands more injured [6]. According  to the Israeli Foreign Ministry  only about 4,000 Zionists have been killed by Palestinians since 1920 as compared to 100,000 Palestinians killed by Zionists over the same period [6].

The Zionist ethnic cleansing of 90% of Palestine means that the Two-State Solution is dead. The World must urgently demand an end to race-based Apartheid Israel after the example of post-Apartheid South Africa and its replacement by a Unitary State in Palestine with return of all refugees, zero tolerance for racism, equal rights for all, all human rights for all, one-person-one-vote, justice, goodwill, reconciliation, airport-level security, nuclear weapons removal, internationally-guaranteed national security initially based on present armed forces, and untrammelled access for all citizens to all of the Holy Land.

Peace is the only way but silence kills and silence is complicity. In the opinion of the UN the bombed, blockaded, besieged and deprived Gaza Concentration Camp may become uninhabitable within a few years [19]. Decent people everywhere must follow the example of anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish critics of Israeli Apartheid,  speak out forthrightly [19-26], and urge and apply  comprehensive Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against nuclear terrorist, democracy-by-genocide  Apartheid Israel and all people, politicians, parties, collectives, corporations and  countries supporting this genocidally racist  and grossly human rights-violating pariah state.

References.

 

[1]. “Sharpeville Massacre”, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpeville_massacre .

 

[2]. Robert Inlakesh, “Gaza death toll reaches 47: Palestinians prepare for Friday demonstrations”, AMN, 3 May 2018: https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/gaza-death-toll-reaches-47-palestinians-prepare-for-friday-demonstrations/ .

 

[3]. “Palestinian Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/ .

[4]. Gideon Polya, “Apartheid Israel’s Palestinian Genocide & Australia’s Aboriginal  Genocide compared”, Countercurrents, 20 February 2018: https://countercurrents.org/2018/02/20/apartheid-israels-palestinian-genocide-australias-aboriginal-genocide-compared/  .

[5]. Gideon Polya, “Israeli-Palestinian & Middle East conflict – from oil to climate genocide”, Countercurrents, 21 August 2017: https://countercurrents.org/2017/08/21/israeli-palestinian-middle-east-conflict-from-oil-to-climate-genocide/ .

[6]. Gideon Polya, “End 50 Years Of Genocidal Occupation & Human Rights Abuse By US-Backed Apartheid Israel”, Countercurrents,  9 June  2017: https://countercurrents.org/2017/06/09/end-50-years-of-genocidal-occupation-human-rights-abuse-by-us-backed-apartheid-israel/ .

[7]. Gideon Polya, “Universal Declaration of Human Rights & Palestinians. Apartheid Israel violates ALL Palestinian Human Rights”, Palestine Genocide Essays, 24 January 2009: https://sites.google.com/site/palestinegenocideessays/universal-declaration-of-human-rights-palestinians .

 

[8]. Gideon Polya, “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”, that includes a succinct history  of every country and is now available for free perusal on the web: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/  .

 

[9]. UN Population Division: https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/ .

 

[10]. “Palestinian casualties of war”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_casualties_of_war .

[11]. Justin McCarty, “Palestine population: during the Ottoman and British mandate period”, Palestine Remembered: 8 September  2001: http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/Story559.html .

[12]. “Historic population of  Israel/Palestine”: http://palestineisraelpopulation.blogspot.com.au/ .

[13]. Gideon Polya, “Australia PM Turnbull backs genocidal Apartheid Israel with falsehood and exceptionalism”,  Countercurrents, 24 February  2017: https://countercurrents.org/2017/02/24/australia-pm-turnbull-backs-genocidal-apartheid-israel-with-falsehood-and-exceptionalism/ .

[14]. Gideon Polya, “Anti-racist Jewish Humanitarians Oppose Apartheid Israel & Support UN Security Council Resolution 2334”, Countercurrents, 13  January 2017: https://countercurrents.org/2017/01/13/anti-racist-jewish-humanitarians-oppose-apartheid-israel-support-un-security-council-resolution-2334/ .

[15]. Gideon Polya, “Is UN Security Council Resolution 2334 the beginning of the end for Apartheid Israel?”, Countercurrents, 28 December 2016: https://countercurrents.org/2016/12/28/is-un-security-council-resolution-2334-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-apartheid-israel/ .

[16]. “List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita”, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita .

[17]. Gideon Polya, “Israelis Kill Ten Times More Israelis In Apartheid Israel Than Do Terrorists”, Countercurrents,  1 March  2017: https://countercurrents.org/2017/03/01/israelis-kill-ten-times-more-israelis-in-apartheid-israel-than-do-terrorists/ .

[18]. “Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel”, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel .

[19]. Diaa Hadid, “Gaza: U.N. issues warning about living conditions”, New York Times, 2 September 2015: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/03/world/middleeast/gaza-un-issues-warning-about-living-conditions.html .

 

[20]. “Stop state terrorism” : https://sites.google.com/site/stopstateterrorism/ .

 

[21]. “State crime and non-state terrorism” : https://sites.google.com/site/statecrimeandnonstateterrorism/  .

 

[22]. “Jews against racist Zionism”:  https://sites.google.com/site/jewsagainstracistzionism/ .

 

[23]. “Non-Jews against racist Zionism”: https://sites.google.com/site/nonjewsagainstracistzionism/ .

 

[24]. “Boycott Apartheid Israel”: https://sites.google.com/site/boycottapartheidisrael/ .

 

[25]. “Gaza Concentration Camp”: https://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/gaza-concentration .

 

[26]. “Apartheid Israeli state terrorism”: https://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/apartheid-israeli-state-terrorism .

 

[27]. Michael Brull, “The siege on Gaza: a brief guide (Part 1)”, New Matilda, 5 May 2018: https://newmatilda.com/2018/05/05/siege-gaza-brief-guide-part-1/ .

 

[28]. “Nuclear weapons ban, end poverty & reverse climate change”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/nuclear-weapons-ban .

 

Dr Gideon Polya taught science students at a major Australian university for 4 decades. He published some 130 works in a 5 decade scientific career, most recently a huge pharmacological reference text “Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds” (CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, New York & London , 2003). He has published “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” (G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ); see also his contributions “Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality” in “Lies, Deep Fries & Statistics” (edited by Robyn Williams, ABC Books, Sydney, 2007: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/australian-complicity-in-iraq-mass-mortality/3369002#transcript

) and “Ongoing Palestinian Genocide” in “The Plight of the Palestinians (edited by William Cook, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2010: http://mwcnews.net/focus/analysis/4047-the-plight-of-the-palestinians.html ). He has published a revised and updated 2008 version of his 1998 book “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History” (see: http://janeaustenand.blogspot.com/  ) as biofuel-, globalization- and climate-driven global food price increases threaten a greater famine catastrophe than the man-made famine in British-ruled India that killed 6-7 million Indians in the “forgotten” World War 2 Bengal Famine (see recent BBC broadcast involving Dr Polya, Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen and others: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/social-economic-history/listen-the-bengal-famine  ;  Gideon Polya: https://sites.google.com/site/drgideonpolya/home  ; Gideon Polya Writing: https://sites.google.com/site/gideonpolyawriting/ ; Gideon Polya, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_Polya ) . When words fail one can say it in pictures – for images of Gideon Polya’s huge paintings for the Planet, Peace, Mother and Child see: http://sites.google.com/site/artforpeaceplanetmotherchild/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/gideonpolya/  .

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