Historical Echoes: Accusations of Apartheid and Persecution in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Jewish immigration to Palestine began in the late 19th century, with the emergence of the Zionist movement. Here are some key points:

Zionism and Immigration:

The beginning of modern, national-minded Jewish immigration coincides with the foundation of the modern Zionist movement, which is conventionally dated to 1882.

Small groups of Jews dispersed throughout Europe began to cooperate to establish agricultural colonies in historical Palestine.

First Two Waves:

The first two waves of immigration took place under the Ottoman Empire.

The first wave (1882-1903) brought 20,000 to 30,000 Russians fleeing Czarist Russia’s pogroms. The second wave (1903-1914) brought 35,000-40,000 more Russians, most of them socialists.

Building of Tel-Aviv and Kibbutzim:

The newcomers were very active in the building of Tel-Aviv and also founded kibbutzim (collective villages).

Post-WWI Immigration:

The third and fourth waves brought 35,000 Jews from the Soviet Union, Poland, and the Baltic countries between 1919 and 1923, and 82,000 Jews from the Balkans and the Near Orient between 1924 and 1931.

1933 to 1936:

More than 130,000 Jews arrived in Palestine. During this period the Yishuv, or Jewish community in Palestine, grew by about 80 percent.

Abusive actions against Palestinians

Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution:

Human Rights Watch has reported that Israeli authorities are committing crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution.

This finding is based on an overarching Israeli government policy to maintain the domination by Jewish Israelis over Palestinians and grave abuses committed against Palestinians living in the occupied territory, including East Jerusalem.

The crime against humanity of persecution, as defined under the Rome Statute and customary international law, consists of severe deprivation of fundamental rights of a racial, ethnic, or other group with discriminatory intent.

Unprecedented Killings and Repression:

Civilians were targeted, attacked, abused, and killed over the past year at a scale unprecedented in the recent history of Israel and Palestine.

Inhumane Acts:

The 1973 International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid and the 1998 Rome Statute to the International Criminal Court (ICC) define apartheid as a crime against humanity consisting of three primary elements:

An intent to maintain domination by one racial group over another, a context of systematic oppression by the dominant group over the marginalized group, and inhumane acts.