Anti-Zionist activist: Israel's apartheid regime will collapse

Eitan Bronstein Aparicio, an Israeli activist opposed to Zionism, believes that Israel's apartheid regime will one day collapse and that he will return to Israel when Palestine is free.

Aparicio emphasised that other countries should take Türkiye's commercial restrictions as an example.

He was born in Argentina in the 1960s, to a Jewish family that migrated to Israel when he was five years old. After completing his mandatory military service in the Israeli army, Aparicio refused to serve as a reservist in Lebanon and the occupied West Bank.

Five years ago, he decided that he no longer wanted to live under the control of the Jewish state, so he moved with his family to Brussels.

In Brussels, Aparicio operates under the umbrella of the "Anti-Zionist Jewish Alliance in Belgium".

While participating in a demonstration organised by EU personnel to protest the one-year mark of Israel's attacks against Gaza, Aparicio delivered a speech in front of the EU Commission building, stating that his country had transformed into a genocidal state.

"When I understood that the problem of the violence — the core issue is Zionism, is the project of Israel, is a Jewish nation-state — and that this will be impossible to have peace and justice for everyone in Palestine, Israel unless we overcome Zionism.

"Since then, I worked a lot in Israel on the Nakba, on the rights of return of Palestinian refugees," Aparicio, who is the author of Nakba: The Struggle to Decolonise Israel, said.

"I see a future where Israel will collapse one day."

He explained that Israel resembles other colonial or apartheid regimes, drawing a comparison to South Africa's apartheid, which was established the same day as Israel and eventually fell under the weight of international pressure, boycotts and sanctions.

As apartheid regimes collapse, Aparicio believes that most Israelis, with their colonial mindset, would not want to live equally with Palestinians.

"I really hope that there will be people there to live with the Palestinians. My wife and I promised ourselves that the day Palestine is free, we will return," he said.

International pressure

Stressing that "the key to reaching this end is international pressure", Aparicio emphasised the need for sanctions and a weapons embargo from all countries, including the UN and the EU.

Referring to Türkiye's export restrictions with Israel, Aparicio said: "I think what he did (Turkish President Erdogan) is very valuable — completely boycotting, closing the commerce with Israel.

"It's a very strong sanction. I know in Israel, and I talk to people, even people that work in commerce and that import from Türkiye, and I read about it — it causes big problems for the Israeli market."

"Sanctions are important everywhere, at every level. Because only pressure can stop Israel," he added.

West's stance

Aparicio highlighted the historical responsibility of Western countries due to the Jewish genocide, saying, "They take the wrong side of this responsibility."

He pointed out that the EU is Israel's largest trading partner and compared the sanctions imposed on Russia following its attacks on Ukraine to what Israel is doing in Gaza, noting that the scale of casualties and destruction in Gaza is incomparable.

However, he criticised the EU for remaining silent against Israel.

"I believe this is part of racism. Just as in Israel, in the EU, the lives of Palestinians are much less important than the lives of Israelis, Jews and white Europeans."

'Massacre, genocide'

Regarding the October 7 attack by Hamas, Aparicio said it represented a significant defeat for Israel.

He said the events following the attack stemmed from two main factors: Israel's defeat and the rise of far-right and fascist tendencies within its society.

"This combination brought Israelis, the Israeli army and the Israeli government to simply take revenge against the Palestinians," he said.

"What Israel is doing is destroying all that is just for a matter of revenge. It's not about killing Hamas. Israelis knew from the beginning that it would not be possible to destroy it completely."

"A great revenge has turned into a great massacre, a genocide," he added.

Aparicio noted that Israel's year-long genocide is being witnessed by the world.

"Israelis only know the numbers. They know abstract information. They have never seen bombed people, babies dying trembling, bodies in plastic bags — these horrible images that we all see," said Aparicio.

Expressing disapproval of government policies and support for Palestinian rights, he highlighted the genocide experienced by anti-Zionist Jews: "Seeing this horrific massacre done in our name is terrible. Every day we hear that this is being done for the Jewish people. It feels like the crime is being doubled."

"You are killing a nation and claiming that you are doing it for the good of your own people, the Jews in the world. Instead of saying, 'We are doing this for Israel', they say, 'We are doing this for all Jews'.

"Thus, people around the world understand that this is being done in the name of the Jews. This is horrible, and we are very worried about it," he said.