The latest international condemnation of Israel will receive the usual denunciation, but it is becoming harder to deny. There is a growing international consensus that Israel is constructing a repressive system governing Palestinians that can be compared to apartheid South Africa. It is a mark of shame, and one that Israel has tried to reject.
The Swedish government yesterday announced that it had thrown its support behind a new book, Colonialism and Apartheid - the Israeli occupation in Palestine, by providing funds for the project as a humanitarian aid project. A joint Swedish-Palestinian collaboration, the book accuses Israel of practising a system of apartheid and calls for an international boycott - as South Africa was isolated before the apartheid regime collapsed.
"Apartheid" is a loaded term that conjures decades of racist white-minority rule in South Africa. Caution is warranted when applying it to the situation of Palestinians living in Israel and the Occupied Territories - after all the injustices that they face need no exaggeration. But in many ways it is an apt comparison.
At a meeting in Cape Town earlier this month, the Russell Tribunal on Palestine concluded that Israel is subjecting Palestinians to an "institutionalised regime of domination" in varying forms. In short, the control over people's movements, livelihoods and basic human rights constitutes a form of apartheid.
Based on the Tribunal on Vietnam, created by the late British philosopher Bertrand Russell, this tribunal on Palestine operates as a model international court. After considering the treatment endured by Palestinians, the tribunal concluded that Israel's dominion does indeed amount to apartheid as defined by international law.
That the findings come out of South Africa is particularly important. When apartheid finally came tumbling down, it was thanks to a period of sustained sanctions against the ruling National Party that effectively banished the country into the international wilderness. It was one of the few occasions where such wide-ranging sanctions achieved the desired results.
Effective economic and diplomatic sanctions against Israel remain a possibility, although perhaps a distant one given the United States' bias. However, Washington was a latecomer to impose sanctions against Pretoria as well. For now, we can recognise that Israel's continued and increasing repression is a crime against Palestinians and a shame to itself.
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Jawan
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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SPECS
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
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