In 1999, South African anti-apartheid activist and revolutionary leader Nelson Mandela visited Gaza and said, “We know too well our freedom is not complete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
Since his death in 2013, Mandela’s unifying message of decolonization reverberated across the globe. The anti-colonial, anti-apartheid struggle that he led to end racial segregation and transform South Africa into a democratic nation has been lauded by Palestinians, who have drawn parallels between Israeli occupation and apartheid to the situation that Black South Africans faced.
Joining Mnar Adley for this week’s MintCast interview to discuss the struggle against Apartheid and the continued struggle against colonialism is Nkosi “Mandla” Mandela, who, since 2009, has been a member of the South African parliament for the African National Congress Party. He is also the grandson of Nelson Mandela.
On Wednesday, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor called on the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders responsible for Operation Shield and Arrow, last weekend’s series of airstrikes against the Gaza Strip.
Over 20 Palestinians have been killed so far since Israel began bombing the world’s largest open air prison. Entire families were killed in their sleep, including children, and several neighborhoods flattened to rubble, leaving many communities homeless.
As the world witnesses yet another massacre committed by the apartheid state, South Africa and other African nations are rising in the fight against Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
Earlier this year, the African Union asked its member states to cut scientific, cultural and even some economic ties with Israel until it reverses its colonial practices against Palestine.
Nkosi Mandela has been one of the world’s most outspoken voices against Israeli apartheid and in support of Palestinian liberation. Join us today for this informative discussion.
Mnar Adley is founder and director of MintPress News and Behind The Headlines and is also a producer and host for both platforms.