Israeli Apartheid: A Face of Racism, Occupation Crimes, and a Crime Against Humanity
Bethlehem | September 27, 2025 –SFI in partnership with the International Academic Campaign Against Israeli Occupation and Apartheid (IACA), organized a youth orientation session under the title “Israeli Apartheid Against the Palestinian People: Conceptual Debates and Modes of Confrontation.”
The session featured Mr. Issa Qaraqe, former Head of the National Library and former Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs, who highlighted that the Israeli occupation systematically enforces apartheid policies against the Palestinian people by creating segregated enclaves for towns and villages, establishing checkpoints and military gates, alongside settlement expansion and racist laws, including those targeting prisoners and detainees.
Dr. Saqr Suleiman, a researcher with the International Academic Campaign, drew on South Africa’s experience in resisting the apartheid regime and touched on the racial segregation witnessed in the United States. He outlined Israel’s racist practices against Palestinians, including land confiscation, forced displacement, and ethnic cleansing.
Mr. Hassan Abed Rabbo, another researcher with the Campaign, addressed the evolution of international positions within the United Nations to confront apartheid policies, referencing the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid and other global efforts to eliminate racial discrimination. He affirmed that the occupation’s racist practices constitute a crime against humanity, noting that Israel’s enactment of the so-called Nation-State Law — defining Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people — serves as an official legal endorsement of racist policies rooted in ideological and biblical justifications, at the expense of Palestinian national rights.
The session also included a discussion of the Campaign’s newly published book on Israeli apartheid policies and resistance mechanisms. Speakers emphasized the legal and humanitarian dimensions of apartheid and its political and social implications on the Palestinian people and their national rights.
They stressed the importance of raising community and youth awareness about apartheid as a crime against humanity and linking it to the ongoing Palestinian struggle, highlighting the vital role of youth in boycott campaigns and in defending national rights on the international stage.
The event witnessed notable participation from volunteers, youth councils, and activists, who engaged in the discussion through questions and interventions that reflected the younger generation’s awareness of the importance of taking part in struggles for liberation and justice.
The session, facilitated and moderated by IACA researcher Ahmad Tqatoqa, concluded with remarks from Mr. Hisham Hindi, Executive Director of the Student Forum Institute, who underscored the importance of Palestinian unity, national awareness, and the active role of youth in confronting racist practices as part of the broader struggle to end the occupation. This activity comes within SFI partnership with Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), aiming to enhance the role of Palestinian youth in intellectual and national dialogues.
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