Lessons for Israel from South Africa

For decades, the majority of Israelis, particularly within the Zionist movement, have rejected the prospect of a single democratic state encompassing all of historic Palestine – Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. Instead, they have largely favoured a two-state solution, one that maintains a Jewish demographic majority and political dominance within Israel’s current borders. However, history suggests that such resistance to change is not unique. South Africa’s experience in the final years of apartheid offers a striking parallel: a regime that once seemed immovable was eventually forced to dismantle itself under the weight of internal unrest, global isolation, and shifting political dynamics. Could Israel face have a similar trajectory? Majority rule ''unacceptable” When South Africans went to the polls in 1994 for their country’s first non-racial democratic election, the moment…