Israel persecutes a 16-year-old girl, Ahed Tamimi, at the same time that it persecutes African immigrants, telling the latter that their choice is a ticket “home” or jail. Both of these actions are justified by “security” and “sovereignty”. Ahed Tamimi has not attacked Israel nor have African migrants. If anyone ever needed evidence that Israel is an apartheid state, the conjuncture of the persecution of Ahed Tamimi, and her family, and of African migrants should do.
Ahed Tamimi’s “case” has been widely circulated. Faced with soldiers in her front yard, Ahed Tamimi, 16 years old, confronted the soldiers. She slapped a soldier. Less than an hour earlier, Ahed Tamimi’s 14-year-old cousin, Mohammad Tamimi, was shot in the face by Israeli soldiers. Maybe that matters. Maybe the devastation of an entire generation of girls and boys matters. Ahed Tamimi was arrested, has been indicted, and now faces the prospect of years in prison. Ahed Tamimi is sixteen years old. She slapped someone. She is a threat to national security and sovereignty. When a Jewish teenager slapped an Israeli soldier, what happened? Nothing.
Three years ago, thousands of mostly Eritrean and Sudanese women and children asylum seekers marched through the streets of Tel Aviv, protesting Israel’s new `immigration policies’ and new `open’ immigrant detention center, Holot. On Wednesday, January 3, Israel updated its “immigration policies”. Go home. Refugee? Whatever. Person? Not so much. Explanation: the Africans are “infiltrators.”
None of this new … to those who have studied or remember apartheid. Unarmed sixteen-year-old girls facing off fully armed soldiers are “terrorists”. African refugees are “infiltrators”, “borders” are everywhere and they must be “protected.” None of this is new.
Watch the videos, read the statements “justifying” the abuse of Ahed Tamimi, watch the videos, read the statements “justifying” the abuse of African migrants. “Migrants”. Anwar Suleiman Arbab is 38 years old. He left Darfur in 2003. He arrived in Israel in 2008. He applied for asylum and has not heard. He has a “temporary” visa. He has been in the country for nine years, but he’s still a “migrant”, worse an “infiltrator”. Why? Because he’s African. Watch the videos, read the statements concerning “sovereignty” and “security”. You’ll see the unblemished face of masculinity, yelling that its “it” must be protected.
Writing of the Israeli persecution of Ahed Tamimi, Uri Avnery concluded, “Occupation makes you stupid. In the end, this stupidity will bring us down.” Occupation does make a people and its nation-State stupid, as do racism, xenophobia, White Supremacy, misogyny and other forms of hatred. What’s going on in Israel right now is both the Occupation and something that precedes that occupation, the masculinist doctrine of protection of sovereignty. We see this in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Austria, and beyond, the call to making it great again. There’s a name for the public policy of reclamation justifying violence and atrocity: apartheid.

Ahed Tamimi with her mother Nariman
(Photo Credit 1: Middle East Eye / AFP) (Photo Credit 2: Al Jazeera)
Israel begins issuing deportation notices to thousands of African refugees http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-issues-deportation-notices-african-refugees-benjamin-netanyahu-a8194306.html
These African Asylum Seekers Came to Israel Alone as Kids. Now They Could Face Deportation: ‘Israel Is Part of Who I Am’ https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-these-africans-came-to-israel-as-kids-now-they-could-be-deported-1.5790621
Everything You Need to Know About Israel’s Mass Deportation of Asylum Seekers https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/asia-and-australia/explained-israel-s-mass-deportation-of-asylum-seekers-1.5792570
Ahed Tamimi, Teen Palestinian Activist, Speaks on Life Under Occupation https://www.truthdig.com/videos/ahed-tamimi-teen-palestinian-activist-speaks-life-occupation/
Diplomats concerned about the future of African migrants http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Diplomats-concerned-about-the-future-of-African-migrants-542083
17-year-old Palestinian protest icon to go on trial for slapping Israeli soldier http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/ahed-tamini-trial-israel-palestinian-protest-icon-slapped-soldiers-court-west-bank-a8206361.html
Empty promises and death: What Eritreans found after agreeing to leave Israel http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-african-migrants-voluntary-deportation-205044968
Military Trial Opens For 17-Year-Old Palestinian Activist https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/13/585320714/military-trial-opens-for-17-year-old-palestinian-activist
Palestinian teen protester Ahed Tamimi appears in Israeli military court https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/13/middleeast/ahed-tamimi-trial-intl/index.html
Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi’s trial begins behind closed doors https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/13/palestinian-teenager-ahed-tamimis-trial-begins-behind-closed-doors
srael’s decision to put a Palestinian teen on trial could come back to bite it https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israels-decision-to-put-a-palestinian-teen-on-trial-could-come-back-to-bite-it/2018/02/12/bf33b864-100f-11e8-a68c-e9374188170e_story.html
I’m Ahed Tamimi’s cousin. Israel needs to stop imprisoning kids like her. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/02/13/im-ahed-tamimis-cousin-israel-needs-to-stop-imprisoning-kids-like-her/
African migrants are painting their faces white to stop Israel from deporting them https://qz.com/1215813/photos-eritrea-and-sudan-migrants-paint-faces-white-to-protest-rwanda-deportation/
Anger mounts as Israel begins detention and deportation of African asylum seekers http://theconversation.com/anger-mounts-as-israel-begins-detention-and-deportation-of-african-asylum-seekers-92076
Ahed Tamimi, Lorde, & Monika Schaefer
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=4TOYLr_P6hA
Israel Ought to Grant the African Asylum-seekers Their Wish https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-israel-ought-to-grant-the-african-asylum-seekers-their-wish-1.5866954
UN Human Rights Experts: Israel’s Plan to Deport African Asylum Seekers Violates International Law https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/un-experts-israel-s-asylum-seeker-deportation-plan-violates-int-l-law-1.5867311
Deportation or prison: Israel’s African asylum seekers https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/inthefield/2018/03/deportation-prison-israel-african-asylum-seekers-180302143018483.html
Ahed Tamimi is the symbol of the politicisation of Palestinian youth https://www.equaltimes.org/ahed-tamimi-is-the-symbol-of-the#.Wp1HVSOZNsM
The future of Israel’s “dreamers” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/world/wp/2018/03/05/feature/african-migrants-facing-deportation-in-israel/
A Light Unto Some Nations http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/06/a-light-unto-some-nations-israel-african-asylum-seekers-rwanda-uganda/
Inside Israel’s campaign to deport tens of thousands of African migrants https://www.vox.com/world/2018/3/6/17059744/israel-deport-african-migrants-asylum
Empire Files: 10 Shocking Ways Israel Mistreats Africans @thedailyvox http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/empire-files-10-shocking-ways-israels-mistreats-africans-shaazia-ebrahim/
Justices: Is Israel now deporting migrants against their will? http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Justices-Is-Israel-now-deporting-migrants-against-their-will-544902
Thanks to social media, do teenage girls like Ahed Tamimi now have the power to influence wars? https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/niki-seth-smith/ahed-tamimi-girls-social-media-war
Israel Is An Apartheid State http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/israel-is-an-apartheid-state-alie-komape/
Israel halts asylum seeker deportations — for now https://972mag.com/israel-halts-asylum-seeker-deportations-until-further-notice/133802/
Israel court suspends plan to deport African migrants http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43424973
Israel’s Plan to Deport African Migrants Has Been Suspended—But the Fight Is Far From Over http://www.okayafrica.com/israels-plan-to-deport-african-migrants-has-been-suspended-but-the-fight-is-far-from-over/
Ahed Tamimi gets eight months in prison after plea deal https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/ahed-tamimi-months-prison-plea-deal-180321201412587.html
Ahed Tamimi, Palestinian Teen, Gets 8 Months in Prison for Slapping Israeli Soldier https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/world/middleeast/ahed-tamimi-palestinian-israel-soldier.html
Israel to provide details on plan to deport African refugees https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/israel-provide-details-plan-deport-african-refugees-180326101616989.html
Israel: Deportation of African asylum-seekers is a cruel and misguided abandonment of responsibility https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/03/israel-deportation-of-african-asylum-seekers-is-a-cruel-and-misguided-abandonment-of-responsibility/
Thanks to social media, do teenage girls like Ahed Tamimi now have the power to influence wars? https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/niki-seth-smith/ahed-tamimi-girls-social-media-war
Deportation of Africans to regional states illegal http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Deportation-of-Africans-to-regional-states-illegal-/2558-4366602-xcrsb5z/index.html
Only the Passover holiday stands between African migrants and deportation from Israel https://qz.com/1242275/the-passover-holiday-stands-in-between-african-migrants-and-deportation-from-israel/
Israel scraps plan to deport African asylum seekers https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/02/israel-agrees-un-deal-scrap-plan-deport-african-asylum-seekers
Israel to send African migrants to West under new UN deal http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43619833
Israel reaches landmark deal with UN to resettle half of African migrants https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-reaches-landmark-deal-with-un-to-resettle-african-migrants/
Israel scraps plan to send African migrants to West http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43619833
Israel scraps UN deal to resettle African asylum seekers @AJENews https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/israel-scraps-deal-resettle-african-asylum-seekers-180404103119492.html
Soldiers good, Palestinians bad: Israel’s double standards on justice | Peter Beaumont https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/02/soldiers-good-palestinians-bad-israel-double-standards-justice
Palestinian Ahed Tamimi freed from jail https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/07/palestinian-ahed-tamimi-freed-jail-180729051621393.html
Ahed Tamimi: Israel frees Palestinian viral slap video teen https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-44995949#
Ahed Tamimi: ‘I am a freedom fighter. I will not be the victim’ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/30/ahed-tamimi-i-am-a-freedom-fighter-i-will-not-be-the-victim-palestinian-israel
Ahed Tamimi and the plight of Palestinian child detainees https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-08-13-ahed-tamimi-and-the-plight-of-palestinian-child-detainees/
Real Madrid football club honours Palestine activist Ahed Tamimi https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/real-madrid-football-club-honours-palestine-activist-ahed-tamimi-180930100616622.html
Remember Ahed Tamimi’s arrest https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191219-remembering-ahed-tamimis-arrest/#comment-4730086939
20 in 2020: For Ahed Tamimi, a journey from prison to pandemic https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/2020/12/16/20-in-2020-for-ahed-tamimi-from-prison-to-pandemic