Israel and Apartheid South Africa

Thanks to a comment posted on Almost Supernatural I have come across this interesting article on Israel's relationship with South Africa. It is a valuable addition to the AS Apartheid category.

The author Maurice Ostroff excellently dispels some of the commonly accepted misinformation.

Trade and Armaments Israel is widely accused of having been out of step with international trends by continuing to trade with South Africa in the eighties. Yet in 1986, while apartheid was suffering worldwide opprobrium, South Africa’s main trading partners were, U.S.A. - $3.4 billion, Japan - $2.9 billion, Germany- $2.8 billion, U.K. - $2.6 billion. In defending Britain’s position at the time, Sir Alec Douglas Home referred to Britain's heavy investment in South Africa and the strategic importance of naval facilities at Simonstown. By comparison, Israel’s miniscule $0.2 billion total trade with South Africa amounted to less than 1% of South Africa's total trade. The ANC’s resentment of Israel’s supplying arms to the apartheid government is fully justified. The puzzle however, is why the resentment continues to smoulder selectively only against Israel, while the main suppliers of weaponry, France, Britain, Canada, West Germany, Italy, India, Belgium and the United States have been forgiven. So too, have other material supporters of apartheid South Africa been forgiven. The apartheid regime could have been brought to its knees much earlier, had its oil supply been cut off. All of its $2 billion annual oil import came from Arab states, mainly Saudi Arabia. A $1 billion barter deal was concluded with Iran, exchanging weapons from South Africa’s own armaments producers in exchange for oil. A similar deal for $750 million was concluded with Iraq. Is it not strange that none of these countries are judged by the same yardstick that is applied to Israel? (Ed- Strange? I'd say It's Almost Supernatural)

Training Programs during the apartheid era Contrary to conventional wisdom and compared with many other countries, Israel has much to be proud of in its contribution towards the new South Africa. It receives no credit for its unique contribution during the apartheid years in providing intensive programs for training Blacks in leadership skills to use in a future new democratic South Africa. Of necessity these Community Development and Leadership programs under the auspices of the Histadrut. were held covertly so as avoid the attentions of the apartheid government. Some two dozen graduates went on to become mayors of cities such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Randburg, George, Grahamstown and Port Alfred. Hundreds of members of local government councils and at least twenty members of parliament and ministers of provincial councils passed through Beit Berl at some time. In addition, The Center for International Cooperation ("MASHAV") of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has over the years carried out capacity-building and technology-transfer activities in 30 different African countries. Some of the courses were carried out at teaching and training facilities in Israel. Others were conducted in the relevant countries, including long-term agricultural projects. Today, the “He-atid” programme continues to organize training sessions in Israel for Black middle managers.

The ANC, the PLO and Hamas While the ANC’s empathy with the Palestinians is a natural and understandable result of having been comrades in arms, the commonality ends there. The philosophy and outlook of the ANC are vastly different from the Islamic based policies of the PLO and Hamas. There is no similarity whatsoever between the lofty aims of the ANC’s Freedom Charter and the hate-filled PLO and Hamas covenants. While the ANC Charter states “South Africa shall strive to maintain world peace and the settlement of all international disputes by negotiation - not war” article 9 of the PLO Charter declares bluntly that the armed struggle is not merely tactical, it is the overall strategy. The Hamas charter makes it even clearer that there is absolutely no room for peaceful negotiation. Article 13 unambiguously states “Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement. There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.” That this attitude remains a guiding principle of Hamas was confirmed by the late Hamas leader Dr. Rantisi who told NY Times journalist Joel Binkley in April 2003, “We in Hamas believe peace talks will do no good. We do not believe we can live with the enemy." Mahmoud al-Zahar told Binkley with a smile.. "Forty were killed and 200 injured in just two operations.," Removing doubt about a distinction between the political and military wing of Hamas, Dr. Rantisi, said that, to generate attacks, he makes public statements that are heard by his followers. The imaginative irrationality of the Hamas concept, so different from the sober tone of the ANC Charter, is illustrated by obsessive phobia about freemasons, rotary clubs, Lions and similar organizations, promising that the day Islam is in control, these organizations, will be obliterated. These groups are accused of everything from control of the world media, stirring the French Revolution, the Communist revolution, World War I and even of forming the League of Nations. They are alleged to have been behind World War II, and instigating replacement of the League of Nations with the United Nations and the Security Council. This type of irrational hate, has no place in ANC thinking, nor would the ANC tolerate the type of incitement to violence which has been emanating for years from the mosques and PA controlled media and taught in Palestinian schools from the earliest age.

Go and read it all.