ANC Endorses Letter of Incitement
I’m a bit late on this one, nevertheless it is still worthy of serious attention. Last week, in response to celebrations of Israel’s 60th anniversary of independence a huge, ANC endorsed, paid-for advert demonising Israel appeared in at least two local newspapers (the Citizen and then the Mail & Guardian).
The letter entitled “We fought apartheid; we see no reason to celebrate it in Israel now!” angers me on so many levels, but none more so than the official endorsement of the letter by the ANC. (The letter is also riddled with lies, spreading the myth for example, that 93% of the land in Israel is reserved for Jewish use.)
That the ruling political party in South Africa should stoop to these childish levels of incitement should be a concern to all South Africans; not just Jews. By officially equating Israel with the evils of apartheid the ANC is questioning the ideological legitimacy of the overwhelming majority of Jews in South Africa. Without that legitimacy, can we expect the ANC to deal with us fairly and equitably?
Ironically, the letter fails in what it sets out to achieve. I can count less than 20 top ANC members who have signed the letter, many of them resigned to the post-Polokwane political wilderness. I imagine that all senior ANC members were asked to sign their name to the letter; most of them obviously refused. Also, public intellectuals such as Adam Habib were contacted. Habib signed – but few others joined him. The problem with petitions and signed letters is that, on your side you only have the names on your list! All in all they only managed to get 57 names and this includes the lobbyists themselves, like Kasrils, Jeenah and Jassat.
Still, the ANC has officially endorsed the letter and this implicates all their members, even though only 3 of the 80 National Executive Committee members agreed to sign.
The first name on the letter is of course no surprise - South African Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils.
The name that disappoints me most is Andre Zaaiman. He is (or was?) a member of the Presidential Support Unit which advises the Presidency on international conflict areas. He spoke at the SA Jewish Board of Deputies Biennial Conference in 2004 (see: South African Foreign Policy on Israel). He took a question from me where he bemoaned the radically and overzealous stance adopted by the ANC Youth League against Israel. What hypocrisy.
Another name that surprised me is Minister of Safety and Security Mosioua "Terror" Lekota. He spoke at the Jewish Board of Deputies Conference last year and didn’t come across as so hateful and hostile. I guess it just shows how easy it is for our leaders to pull the wool over our eyes. Both Lekota and Andre Zaaiman should have had the courage to tell us to our faces how they feel about the Zionists in their midst.
The logic is quite simple. The ANC (rightly) hates supporters of South African apartheid. If they believe that Israel is an apartheid state then they will hate Israel and its supporters. So if you are a Zionist, let it be known, the ANC officially hates you and would probably prefer it if you left South Africa. If there was no affluence in the local Jewish community, I wonder whether we would still have our place in the South African sun?
Perhaps my alarmist attitude here is slanted by my fury at the way the ANC continues to support the Muslim lobby in their efforts to, not only delegitimise Israel; but to demonise its supporters in this country lending legitimacy to incidents like the recent hateful graffiti at Wits. Is my concern misplaced? Use the comments to let me know. It’s not the first time the ANC has taken this public stance.
As an aside, the ANC should take a long hard look at their friends in the lobby and consider the current xenophobic crisis we are experiencing. In 2001 we had a chance to discuss and analyse these issues at the World Conference Against Racism in Durban. Instead the lobby hijacked the event and turned it into an anti-Semitic hate-fest. Local xenophobic issues were not given the attention they deserved and 7 years later we are all paying the price.
NB: Organisational affiliations above are for identification purposes only and do not necessarily reflect organisational endorsement Organisational endorsements:
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(Thanks Gary)
Why did the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition sign?
Odd considering that Iran and Libya back Mugabe.
I sent them an e mail informing them they have just lost my support.
Posted by: Gary | May 23, 2008 at 09:58
How difficult is it to put out an add of equal size dispelling their lies and pointing out their duplicity? I can't imagine any valid excuse for not doing this.
Why not contact the Israeli embassy or something to do this?
Posted by: TC | May 23, 2008 at 10:36
nobody cares really, least of all the wimps at the SAJBD. And to be fair, I can't see any newspaper agreeing to publish an add that is pro-Israel and pro-truth, since the newspapers are riddled through with a de facto Jew-hatred from the editorial staff on down.
Posted by: Lawrence | May 23, 2008 at 11:13
I dont think we realise just how serious this is. This is shocking! The tone and accusations...
It includes half the cabnet.
Posted by: Mike | May 23, 2008 at 11:32
Yet the ANC whishes South Africa to be a non-partial mediator in the conflict. I can see how this will help to attain that goal.
Posted by: Ariel | May 23, 2008 at 11:50
What is dis-heartening is that our leadership continually makes out that they have such good relations with government and the ANC, to the extent that it is extolled in our media about their attendances at the Polokwane conference, only to have representatives from that ANC and Government continually take stances against not only Israel but the majority of our community who are Zionistic.
I feel it is the duty of our leadership to stop telling us that they are respected by government and prove it by getting government to show unequivically that it supports us and our interests, especially Israel.
Otherwise they must stop tryingto pull the wool over our eyes!
Posted by: Mark | May 23, 2008 at 11:52
Lawrence, they really care about helping the Zimbabwean refugees, who could care less about them, and not about defending Israel against vicious lies in the South African press? Is this not more important than having anniversary celebrations?
It's important that there is a reply in the press against this. The best reply would point out (1) the falsehoods in the original advert, (2) that the Arabs started the conflict by waging a genocidal war against Israel, (3) that they continue to indoctrinate their children with hateful, racist propaganda, and (4) that the criticism is duplicitous.
Also, an image of klansmen draped in their white hoods, and Palestinian terrorists draped in their white hoods and suicide belts, with text like "Why support one and not the other?" or "What's the big difference?" could have an impact, especially if it documents the racism of Hamas et al.
Posted by: TC | May 23, 2008 at 12:17
The Citizen ran an excellent pro-Israel article celebrating 60 years subsequent to this letter appearing in the Citizen. It was written by Rolene Marks.
But its not about the press because they didnt choose to run it. It was a paid-for advert.
Posted by: Steve | May 23, 2008 at 12:21
I sent a letter to The Citizen and the M&G in response to the hate petition.
I don't know ifd they will publish it but here it is anyway:
I refer to the racist and anti-Jewish petition against Israel which appeared in several newspapers in response to Israel's 60th Anniversary celebrations. signed by among others several Cabinet Ministers and the leaders of the ANC, SACP and COSATU, and those who claim to be concerned about human rights, entitled "We fought apartheid; we see no reason to celebrate it in Israel ".
Every one of you disgust me!
If you have any real humanity (and not just trendy support for the Palestinians) you will look at the faces of the victims of Arab terror at www.walk4israel.com
For the last eight years Israel has been fighting for her very existence - against an enemy whose sole aim is to eliminate physically the entire Jewish population of the Land of Israel.
Thousands of Israeli Jewish men, women and children have died from bombs, bullets or knife attacks, and thousands of others have been maimed, blinded, orphaned, widowed and terrorized.
In 2003 on Erev Rosh Hashanah, seven month old Shaked Abraham was shot dead in her crib by an Arab murderer who forced his way into her parent's house as the family was celebrating the New Year.
A ten-month-old Jewish baby, Shalhevet Pass, was shot in her father's arms by an Arab sniper in 2001.
The following year, a five-year-old girl, Danielle Shefi, was shot to death at point blank range by an Arab killer, while cowering under her parents' bed.
That same year, two boys, four- and five-years old, where shot dead together with their mother as she read them a bedtime story, in a kibbutz, by Arab terrorists.
Children , like five year old Gal Eisenman , have been incinerated in buses by Arab homicide bombers.
In 2004 heavily pregnant Jewish mother Tali Hatuel , was shot to death at point blank range by terrorists of the Popular Resistance Committees , after which her four terrified small daughters-Hila, Hadar, Roni, and Merav-where executed one by one.
Many anti-Israel academics mirror the Nazis in their contempt for the life of Jewish children by their advocacy of the killing of Israeli children.
It seems you feel nothing for murdered Jewish women and children, turning around who are the victims and who are the perpetrators
It is the 'Palestinians' killing the Jews, in a bid to force them out of the Jewish homeland-not the other way around.
The Jewish people have thousands of years of being victimized and eventually have a state of our own.
After the Nazi Holocaust (perpetrated by most nations in Europe and not only Germans) , the UN decided to acknowledge the right of the Jewish people to a much reduced state from the 1920 Palestine mandate promised to the Jews by Britain. Already 75% of Palestine was cut off in 1922 to create the State of Jordan. But that wasn't enough for the Arabs who attacked defenseless Jewish communities who had been residing in the Holy Land for thousands of years (Hebron for example has had successive Jewish populations for thousands of years without any break until 1948 when they where expelled by Jordanian troops aided by 'Palestinian' mobs), although there are powerful forces which aim to make the historic Jewish heartland of Judea and Samaria Judenreihn).
Then what was left of the Jewish Biblical homeland was again divided giving the Jewish people only 12 % of the land which rightfully belonged to us.
The Jews accepted the settlement but the Arabs did not. At this time 600 000 Jews were expelled from Arab countries amid violent pogroms not unlike those perpetrated previously by the Nazis in Europe.
In response to the creation of the tiny fledgling state 7 Arab armies attacked Israel together with the 'Palestinian' Arabs led by one of Hitler's key henchmen in carrying out the Holocaust -the mufti Haj Amin Al Husseini.
The Arabs were defeated amidst great loss of life of Jews but still the Jewish State held out the hand of peace to the Arabs. The Arabs have repeatedly determined to wipe out Israel and attacked the tiny Jewish homeland without any provocation, and to describe the 1948 War of Independence were 7 Arab armies descended on Israel, bent on genocide of her Jews, as Israeli agression is like referring to Poland and Czechoslovakia as the aggressors in 1938/39 when invaded by Hitler . In defending herself, Israel retook the lands that have from time immemorial been the heartland of the Jewish people -Judea and Samaria, and Jews with joy returned to these lands.
Since 1964 when the Nazi PLO was created thousands of Jewish men, women and children died at the hands of Palestinian terror.
In 2000 Ehud Barak offered 95% of Judea and Samaria and the whole of Gaza to Arafat's PA, as well as more land in 'pre-1967 Israel?. Arafat and his PLO responded with a war of terror to drive the Jews into the sea.
After Israel withdrew from Gaza as a peacer gesture to the Palestinians, Gaza's Hamas rulers launched thousands of deadly rockets at Jewish population centers in which hundreds of Jewish men, women and children were killed and injured.
The signatories of the petition against Israel have not expressed any regret about the thousands of Jewish women and children incinerated by Palestinian terror organizations. Perhaps that is because they do not see Jews as human? Do they want Israel to sit by idly while mothers and children are blown to bits in Cafes, Restaurants, Hotels and Synagogues, or Jewish schools targeted by Hamas Kassam and Katyusha rockets from Gaza. Well we will never again walk quietly to the gas chambers .We will react when our men, women and children are killed in cold blood and we will hold on to what belongs to us and the hysteria of the antisemites of whatever stripe will not deter us.
Even though the Palestnianists will continue to work towards our destruction, they will not succeed.
Israel is our home and we are not going anywhere.
G-D Bless the State of Israel on the joyous occassion of the 60th anniversary of her rebirth.
Gary Selikow
Posted by: Gary | May 23, 2008 at 13:04
Gary, good article and an emotionally driven one too that gets my emotions going. However, sensing your audience is key in winning a debate. M&G and Citizen readers don't really care about Jewish history and national pride. Why should they if the readers generally are not Jewish.
Perhaps, a more balanced and fact based argument breaking down each and every accusation, one for one in an objective manner would be more effectual. There is a difference in making oneself heard and winning a debate.
Posted by: Castor Troye | May 23, 2008 at 16:03
I have sent a re-edited copy to both papers where I have replaced "Israel is our home and we are not going anywhere". with "Israeli Jews are also entitled to human rights."
Posted by: Gary | May 23, 2008 at 16:58
"The logic is quite simple. The ANC (rightly) hates supporters of South African apartheid. If they believe that Israel is an apartheid state then they will hate Israel and its supporters. So if you are a Zionist, let it be known, the ANC officially hates you and would probably prefer it if you left South Africa. If there was no affluence in the local Jewish community, I wonder whether we would still have our place in the South African sun?"
This is not logic guys. How can you infer that they would probably prefer that you all leave?
Get a sense of perspective. Jeez. Gary goes on about the murders in Israel. There's no accurate tally but it's been suggested that more than 2000 farmers have been killed in this country since 1994.
You guys are not half as threatened as Afrikaners are and your going on as if the world has ended. If I was you I'd concentrate on defending what you have already achieved - Israel - by making some justified concessions and ignore the ANC.
At the rate things are going now your going to be a minority in your own country and you'll be screwed. Get rid of the illegal settlements for your own sake.
Posted by: Wessel van Rensburg (aka Mhambi, aka Wildebees) | May 24, 2008 at 00:22
Have you noticed that the letter entitled “We fought apartheid; we see no reason to celebrate it in Israel now!" looks like it has been cobbled together by a semi-illiterate South African? Ignoring the content, linguistically it is a matric F.
I note that the "academic", Steven Friedman, has signed it. Obviously, he isn't too bothered about putting his name to such shoddy work!
I am nearly tempted to rewrite it for them.
(Interesting Jacob Zuma, Thabo Mbeki , Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu have failed to sign it. Why hasn't it been endorsed by The FXI ?)
Posted by: BLACKLISTED DICTATOR | May 24, 2008 at 15:09
Wessel,
People of all colours and all faiths should get out of South Africa if they have the chance to do so.
The current SA regime has about as much concern for the well being of the population as the military junta in Burma have for their nationals.
Posted by: BLACKLISTED DICTATOR | May 24, 2008 at 15:40
Steve,
According to David Saks (SAJBD) on his "I don't want to upset the apple cart" Thought Leader blog there really isn't any antisemitism in South Africa.We have absolutely nothing to worry about. Most grafitti can be washed away. Alternatively, a Jew can always avert his eyes as he walks by.
So ironically enough, whilst I have recommended that all colours and faiths "get the... out", perhaps the Jews should stay? If the Zionist dream cannot work in Israel, perhaps it can succeed in South Africa? Wasn't Uganda once touted as a prospective Jewish homeland?
Posted by: BLACKLISTED DICTATOR | May 24, 2008 at 16:08
Does anybody know what process is undertaken for The ANC when they"endorse" a letter? Is it a lengthy procedure?
I have a whole load of material which they might want to "endorse" and I would be obliged if anybody can tell me how I should get their stamp of approval. Should I just rock up at Luthuli House or should I email copies to The ANC?
I suppose I could always ask Ronno Einstein....
Posted by: BLACKLISTED DICTATOR | May 24, 2008 at 16:33
Interestingly last week's issue of Jewish Report had a photo of SA Gvt minister Ms Thoko Didiza wishing Israel well on Yom Ha'atzmaut with the Israeli Ambassador to SA .Also mentioning bilateral SA/ISRAEL trade up to 7 billion per year.
Is ANC willing to lose advantageous trade by cutting relations?I doubt it,but what do you guys think?
Posted by: Akiva | May 24, 2008 at 17:00
Wessel, the anti-Israel lobby continually hammers away about Palestinian casualties in the jihad that the Palestinians are pressing on with against Israel.
Reading the South African media youi would't know that there have been many Israeli casualties.
Why have you never asked the pro-Palestinian lobby to get perspective.
Also the aim of the anti-Israel lobby is the murder of every Jew in Israel to the last child.
Do you really think they care about shoddy journalism, when insanely bent on destroying a nation and a people, Anthony?
Posted by: Gary | May 24, 2008 at 18:06
Wessel, the anti-Israel lobby continually hammers away about Palestinian casualties in the jihad that the Palestinians are pressing on with against Israel.
Reading the South African media youi would't know that there have been many Israeli casualties.
Why have you never asked the pro-Palestinian lobby to get perspective.
Also the aim of the anti-Israel lobby is the murder of every Jew in Israel to the last child.
Do you really think they care about shoddy journalism, when insanely bent on destroying a nation and a people, Anthony?
Posted by: Gary | May 24, 2008 at 18:07
Mr Dictator says: "People of all colours and all faiths should get out of South Africa if they have the chance to do so."
Afrikaners are unlikely to be handed a state somewhere else. This country is all we have.
We have a language based identity, not religion. If we emigrate, after one or two generations the identity will be lost.
You have a country and a religion to fall back on and a great friend in the USA.
Gary asks:
>Why have you never asked the pro-Palestinian lobby to get perspective.
I have Gary on many occasions defended Israel as the only democracy, flawed perhaps, but still in the Middle-East.
> Reading the South African media youi would't know that there have been many Israeli casualties.
I read about Israeli casualties. I'm very sympathetic to your cause, but from where I'm sitting your shooting yourself in the foot.
Posted by: Wessel van Rensburg (aka Mhambi, aka Wildebees) | May 24, 2008 at 21:41
Wessels
Thank for intellectual comments. Too often critics of Israel on this blog are irrational anarchists and so it is pleasant to engage in intellectual debate.
You suggest that Israel needs to make difficult concessions. I assume you mean in order to achieve peace. I agree and so does almost every single Israeli and Jew. Here's the catch....there is absolutely no evidence that such concessions will result in peace, only the opposite. Every time Israel has conceded land or weapons or political control over to the "Palestinians" the violence and terrorism has only increased. I urge you not be believe me but to look at the statistics yourself. The wave of suicide bombings began immediately after Oslo - the vey agreement that recognised the PLO and the "need" to cede land for peace. The more land they got, the bombings they had. The second intifada started after they were offered everything they were asking for other than the right of return (and 4% of Judea and Samaria, which was to be compensated with an equal amount of pre-67 Israel). Israel has lived up to its Oslo obligations, the "Palestinians" have not. In 2005 we removed thousands of Jews from the homes in Gaza, giving absolute control overt to the Palestinians, the result, southern Israel has been hit by 1000's of rockets, sometimes up to 40 per day.
"Palestinian" children are still taught in school to hate Israel, martyrdom is a goal, an ideal, members of all the terrorist groups walk freely in "Palestinian" controlled areas.
The PLO was formed in 1963, 4 years before Israel took control of Gaza and Judea and Samaria. The stated gaol was to destroy Israel. The "Palestinians" hatred of Israel has nothing to do with territory or freedom, it is a religious imperative.
Illegal settlements (and they are only illegal because of recent laws instituted under pressure from supporters of ceding land) are not an obstacle to peace. They have had no effect on the "peace-process" whatsoever. They are, however, vital in strengthening Israels security in these areas. The settlement of these open, uninhabited areas increases Jewish presence and makes those already existing towns less isolated and so more protected from attacks.
In short Wessels, making concessions to those still sworn to destroy us has achieved nothing in the past and is achieving nothing now - what makes you so sure that it will achieve anything in the future.
Posted by: Brett | May 24, 2008 at 23:12
Wessels,
You write that Afrikaners "have a language based identity" which would be lost by emigrating. If that is the case, it might be better to lose your culture rather than your life?
Btw,does anybody know why Cosatu hasn't endorsed the letter?
Posted by: BLACKLISTED DICTATOR | May 25, 2008 at 00:21
Steve,
You write that Adam Habib is a "public intellectual". Has he written any books that anybody reads? He might have a Phd but I don't think that Habib can be considered to be an "intellectual". The same applies to Steven Friedman.
Posted by: BLACKLISTED DICTATOR | May 25, 2008 at 00:25
ahhh... the warm cosy, and yet somehow inadequate blanket of cognitive dissonance ...
"Ironically, the letter fails in what it sets out to achieve. I can count less than 20 top ANC members who have signed the letter, many of them resigned to the post-Polokwane political wilderness. I imagine that all senior ANC members were asked to sign their name to the letter; most of them obviously refused. "
Posted by: Hillel | May 25, 2008 at 09:02
The most criminal amongst them all is the SAJBD who continually assures the SA jewish community that all is well. And the most foolish amongst them all are the SA Jews that believe them.
Posted by: Michelle | May 25, 2008 at 10:49