APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA AND ISRAEL: NATURAL ALLIES

Much of the world shunned apartheid South Africa in the 1970s. However, one country, Israel, found a natural ally in Pretoria’s racially discriminatory government, according to UK journalist Jody McIntyre in this clip.  

McIntyre cites the controversial 1976 state visit of South African Prime Minister Balthazar Johannes ‘BJ’ Vorster (1915-83) to Israel, where he received a red-carpet welcome. Vorster visited the Kfir jet fighter factory, heightening speculation that an arms deal was part of his itinerary to Israel. Jerusalem would benefit from access to vital resources, such as coal, chrome, platinum, titanium, and—significantly for the world’s newest nuclear power at the time—enriched uranium from South Africa.

McIntyre quoted Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) saying Israel’s apartheid state was worse than South Africa’s. In 2002, at a time when many public figures would dare not say it out loud, Tutu called for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine by drawing parallels between the suffering of Black people in South Africa and the tragic experience of Jews during the Holocaust.

Whereas apartheid officially came to an end in 1994, Israel’s occupation of and policy of racial superiority in Palestine is now approaching its 77th anniversary. 

In the latest escalation that began on 7 October 2023, Tel Aviv’s military onslaught may have k*lled as many as 186,000, according to the Lancet medical journal.

As of press time, Israel had blocked delivery of humanitarian supplies to Gaza, cut off the electricity supply, and had violated a 19 January ceasefire multiple times when it k*lled at least 400 Palestinians and wounded 562 on 18 March. The Israeli regime launched a massive assault, which attack took place across Gaza, including in Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza, Gaza City in the north, and central areas like Deir el-Balah.

Video credit: @jodymcintyre_ on IG and X / @jody.mcintyre on TikTok

Quote on Vorster: ‘The Unspoken Alliance’: Israel’s Secret Rela­tion­ship with Apartheid South Africa by Sasha Polakow-Suransky (@sasha_p_s on X)

Sources

https://www.nytimes.com/1976/04/18/archives/vorster-visit-to-israel-arouses-criticism.html

https://time.com/archive/6817482/israel-into-africa-via-the-back-door

https://jacobin.com/2024/12/israel-south-africa-apartheid-weapons

https://imeu.org/article/is-israel-an-apartheid-state/1000

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/29/comment

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/over-61-700-palestinians-killed-in-israel-s-genocidal-war-local-authorities-say/3469641

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1w0l3q4zd0o

https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001100

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/18/israel-launches-gaza-assault-killing-hundreds-and-shattering-ceasefire