Apartheid: ancient, past and present

Abstract

South Africa's National Party, which ruled the country from 1948 until 1994, itself coined the term apartheid to veil or mask the oppressive elements of its policies and practices. The concept of separateness in itself does not imply any group being favored over any other Segregation per se of ethnic entities, after all, was supported by some South African Blacks. Now in common usage all over the world, apartheid has drifted away from its original lexical meaning to denote physically repressive, economically exploitative and ideologically racist or ethnicist segregation. This paper focuses on three apartheid societies, Graeco-Roman Egypt, South Africa and Israel, and offers conceptual reflections on possible frameworks for future Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, especially with regard to present day Israel.