Movement and Solidarity

Momentous changes in the organization of society only occur infre-quently. From memorable instances of thorough upheaval, social movements reap the fruit of the past and cultivate their own tradi-tions. In the recent past the comparison between Israel-Palestine and Apartheid South Africa has become a convenient gambit for many solidarity activists in the United States and elsewhere. There are countless reasons for the popularity of this specific example and of course it is not the only material activists rely upon. The South Afri-can struggle, however, has been underscored as a successful model for international solidarity with the ongoing anti-colonial battle in the Eastern Mediterranean. For evidence of this, we can look at how the term apartheid has almost seamlessly permeated the progressive vocabulary for describing Israeli regime’s treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Looking at Israel-Palestine solidarity through a South African prism offers insight into the actors, values, and politics involved in building a movement on an international play-ing field. Fundamental to an effective conceptualization of a global solidarity model is the inevitably complex relationship between lo-cal, Palestinian and Arab actors, and activists based primarily in the United States