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Volume 40, Issue 2 April-May 2007
The Link
 Published by Americans for Middle East Understanding, Inc. Link 
Archives: www.ameu.org
This version of “About That Word Apartheid”is annotated to provide the source of eachitem in the chronology.
 
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The chronology below is the same as published inthe hard-copy Link issue mailed to AMEU mem-bers and matches as well the text and graphic im-age on the AMEU website (www.ameu.org).However, this version includes, in brackets, thesources for the items in the chronology.
 June 1917:
London. Dr. Chaim Weizmann, futurefirst president of Israel, and Gen. Jan ChristianSmuts, future prime minister of South Africa, meetto exploit British imperial interests for their ownpurposes. Weizmann argues that a Palestineopened for Jewish settlement will help Englandsafeguard its Middle East interests. Smuts sees thewisdom of supporting the Zionist enterprise, as Jews in South Africa, by the end of World War I,constitute per capita the wealthiest Jewish commu-nity in the world. Later, he will tell the AngloAmerican Committee of Inquiry that he was “oneof those who in 1917 took an active part in the plan-ning of the Balfour Declaration.” Two years follow-ing his death in 1950, Israel will dedicate the SmutsForest in the Judean Hills, overlooking the Weiz-mann Forest. [Richard P. Stevens & Abdelwahab M.Elmessiri, “Israel and South Africa,” New Jersey:North American Inc., 1977, p. 54. Chapter 2 (pp. 34-56) offers a well-documented history of the rela-tionship between Smuts and Weizmann.]
May 1948:
Prime Minister Jan Smuts extends
de facto
recognition to the newly established state ofIsrael. Days later, Smuts’s party loses to the apart-heid Nationalist party, many of whose membershad backed Adolph Hitler. [Stevens & Elmessiri,“Israel and South Africa,” p. 60.]
1949:
Daniel F. Malan, the new South Africanprime minister, who in 1938 had led the oppositionto Jewish immigrants from Nazi Germany to SouthAfrica, extends
de jure
recognition to the Jewishstate. [Stevens & Elmessiri, “Israel and South Af-rica,” p. 61.]
 July 5, 1950:
West Jerusalem. Israel enacts theLaw of Return by which Jews anywhere in theworld, that is, by virtue of being born of a Jewishmother or being a convert, have a “right” to immi-grate to Israel on the grounds that they are return-ing to their own state, even if they have never beenthere before. [S. Karesh & M. Hurvitz, eds.,“Encyclopedia of Judaism,” NY: Infobase, 2006, p.287. In 1970 the law was amended to include a spe-cific definition of a Jew as anyone who is born of a Jewish mother or who has converted to Judaism,and who does not profess to be a member of a relig-ion other than Judaism.]
1951:
Pretoria. Prime Minister Daniel Malan intro-duces the Bantu Authorities Act, which sets aside13% of South Africa’s poorest land to establish“homelands” for the different black ethnic groups.The remaining 87% is reserved for the white popu-lation. The idea is to co-opt local black tribal lead-ers to run the Bantustans, thereby creating a rulingblack elite with personal and financial interests inmaintaining the separateness. [Wikipedia, onlineencyclopedia, see “Bantustan.”]
 July 14, 1952:
By putting into effect the Citizen-ship/Jewish Nationality Law, Israel becomes theonly state in the world to grant a particular na-tional-religious group—the Jews—the right to settlein it and gain automatic citizenship. [AvrahamSela, ed., “Political Encyclopedia of the MiddleEast,” New York: Continuum, 1999, p. 382.]
1953:
West Jerusalem. South Africa’s Prime Minis-ter Daniel Malan becomes the first foreign head ofgovernment to visit Israel. He returns home withthe message that Israel can be a source of inspira-tion for white South Africans. . [Jane Hunter,“Israeli Foreign Policy,” Boston: South End Press,1987, p. 23.]
1955:
Military cooperation begins with Israel’s de-
About that Word ‘Apartheid’
 
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livery of Uzi submachine guns to South Africa. By1971, South Africa will be manufacturing the Uzi un-der a license arranged with Israel through Belgium.[Aaron Klieman, “Israel’s Global Reach: Arms Salesand Diplomacy,” Washington: Pergamon-Brassey’s,1985, pp. 16 & 26, cited in Stevens & Elmessiri,“Israel and South Africa,” p. 26.]
1958:
South Africa. Hendrik Verwoerd, editor of thevirulent anti-Semitic newspaper Die Transvaler, be-comes prime minister. During his tenure, NelsonMandela is tried for treason, the African NationalCongress banned, the Sharpeville massacre perpe-trated, and the “grand apartheid” plan introduced.[See “Hendrik Verwoerd” online at Wikipedia; also:Chris McGreal, “Brothers in Arms–Israel’s secretpact with Pretoria,” in: The Guardian, February 7,2006.]
1959:
Pretoria. The Self-Government Act is passedgranting the homelands self-governing, quasi-independent status. Ten “homelands” will eventu-ally be created, each comprising broken tracts oferoded land incapable of supporting their large des-ignated populations. Only two will be totally coter-minous, the others will be scattered blocks, somewidely dispersed. [See “Bantustans” online atWikipedia.]
November 6, 1962:
New York. When Israel sup-ports a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemn-ing South Africa’s policy of apartheid, South Africanprime minister Verwoerd declares that Jews “tookIsrael from the Arabs after the Arabs had lived therefor a thousand years. In that I agree with them, Is-rael, like South Africa, is an apartheid state.” Despiteits U.N. vote, Israel remains one of South Africa’schief trading partners. Reflecting on this contradic-tion, the former Israeli ambassador to Pretoria AlonLiel will later acknowledge, “At the U.N. we keptsaying we are against apartheid … but our securityestablishment kept cooperating.” [Chris McGreal, in:The Guardian, February 7, 2006. See also: BenjaminBeit-Hallahmi, “The Israeli Connection: Whom IsraelArms and Why,” London: I. B. Taurus & Co., 1988, p.110.]
1963:
Israel sells Centurion tanks to South Africa,while South Africa, which has the fourth largest ura-nium reserves in the world, ships ten tons of the ma-terial to Israel for use in its Dimona nuclear reactor.On August 7, the U.N. Security Council imposes itsfirst arms embargo on South Africa and calls on allstates to comply. Later, Israel provides South Africawith technological training, anti-tank rounds, andnatural uranium rods. . In August, the U.N. SecurityCouncil imposes its first embargo on arms to SouthAfrica and calls on all states to comply. Later, Israelwill provide South Africa with technological train-ing, anti-tank rounds, and natural uranium rods.[Robert B. Ashmore, “Israel and South Africa: ANatural Alliance,” in: The Link, vol. 21, no. 4(October-November 1988), p.12.; U.N. SecurityCouncil Resolution 181.; U.S. Central IntelligenceAgency, Directorate of Intelligence, “New Informa-tion on South Africa’s Nuclear Program and South-African-Israeli Nuclear and Military Cooperation,”March 30, 1983; top secret report partially declassi-fied and released May 7, 1996, cited by the Stock-holm International Peace Research Institute, see itsweb site: www.sipri.org/contents/expcon/cnsc2sa.See also: Beit-Hallahmi, “The Israeli Connection,” p.117.]
September 1966:
Cape Town. Following PrimeMinister Verwoerd’s assassination, the Senior Rabbiof the Progressive Jewish Congregation, Rabbi Ar-thur Super, eulogizes him as a man who, like Mosesof old, led his people to the Promised Land after 60years of wandering. Chief Rabbi Professor Abrahamscalls Verwoerd “the first man to give apartheid amoral ground.” [Stevens & Elmessiri, “Israel andSouth Africa,” p. 67.]
 June 1967:
Pretoria. When Israel launches the SixDay War, the South African government releasesover $28 million to Israel from Zionist groups andpermits South African volunteers to work and fightin Israel. Israel occupies the Golan Heights, GazaStrip, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, andthe Sinai Peninsula. The first Jewish settlements be-gin. [R. Ashmore, The Link, vol. 21, no. 4 (October-November 1988), pp. 11-12. Also Hunter, “Israeli
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