Apartheid, BDS & Palestinian-South African Transnational Solidarity | Andy Clarno
We're excited to announce that our special episodes on Palestine are turning into their own podcast. The atrocities that continue to take place in Palestine are a reminder that, more than ever, we need to dedicate our platforms to stand for justice and truth.
"This is not a watermelon" is a podcast about Palestinian history and culture. In this episode, we sat down with Andy Clarno, author of "Neoliberal Apartheid: Palestine/Israel and South Africa after 1994" to understand more about transnational solidarity particularly between South Africa and Palestine. He helped us define apartheid and neoliberalism, sharing what he considers to be a useful working definition of the terms, unpacking their origins, and explaining what systems and realities they actually refer to. We discussed what it takes to dismantle such systems and how essential the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement is.
Andy sheds light on the decades-strong transnational solidarity between South Africa and Palestine, walks through the steps it took to achieve liberation in South Africa, and considers whether the post-apartheid South African model is what Palestine should be aspiring to. Finally, Andy explains the concepts of racial capitalism and the relationship between neoliberalism and new forms of apartheid.
Andy Clarno is an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the coordinator of the Policing in Chicago Research Group and specialises in Sociology and Black Studies. His research interests include racism, capitalism, colonialism, empire, policing and comparative racial formation. He is the author of Neoliberal Apartheid.
About "Neoliberal Apartheid": This book traces the shifting dynamics of racial capitalism and settler colonialism in South Africa and Palestine/Israel after 1994. The book addresses the limitations of liberation in South Africa, highlights the impact of neoliberal restructuring in Palestine/Israel, and argues that a new form of “neoliberal apartheid” has emerged in both regions.
Palestinian history and culture will not be erased. History warns us how media's dehumanizing rhetoric can pave the way for targeted aggression and allow society to permit atrocities as grave as genocide. It is resolutely within our mission to counteract this dehumanizing narrative. Afikra has always stood in unwavering solidarity with our Palestinian sisters & brothers and individuals of all nationalities and faiths around the world who bravely protest the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and condemn the state violence of the Israeli colonial settler project.
After the events of October 7, 2023 it felt impossible to go on with the podcast like business as usual. So we dedicated The afikra Podcast programming to special episodes relevant to understanding the historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Each episode was recorded in real-time and uploaded to YouTube and everywhere you get your podcasts. For most of these, the time of recording is key to understanding the context in which these conversations took place so make sure to refer to these and to check out all of these highly informative conversations with guests who are from completely different disciplines and have generously shared their time and insight in these dark times.
And as we entered the new year and the atrocities continue, we deemed it necessary to create an exclusive series dedicated to Palestinian history and culture. This is how this podcast came about and will continue to exist so long as the fight for liberation and peace continues.
This Is Not a Watermelon
This podcast series is a celebration and documentation of Palestinian history and culture. We interview experts from various disciplines to help us better understand the facts about Palestine – the land and the people.
