Kasrils Fomenting Secratarian Hatred in SA?

For the background to this saga see the post below: Kasrils Edited Out Of Mainstream SA Jewry

Ronnie Kasrils has taken his polemical dispute with South African Jewry to the Media Review Network (MRN) which has published his article along with an angry open letter to the editor of the South African Jewish Report. The MRN is an Islamist lobby group. They have on numerous occasions met with terrorists leaders, the most recent example being their July visit with members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and they make no effort to hide their desire to see the Jewish state dismantled.

Kasrils' decision to ally himself with this group in his now acrimonious dispute with the mainstream South African Jewish community is very serious. What business does a Muslim lobby group have getting involved in this furore? By bringing them in, Kasrils is fomenting anti-Jewish feeling in the South African Muslim community. As Minister of Intelligence Kasrils should be well aware of the dangerous consequences of such actions. Does he want to import the Middle East conflict to the Streets of South Africa?

In covering this saga the MRN chairman Iqbal Jassat has weighed in with a serpentine editorial immersed in the sickly sweet stench of hypocrisy.

The MRN has never gone near as far as the SAJR has gone in showing both sides of the story. Their website does not contain one single article that motivates Israel’s right to exist – a concept as anathema to them as comparing Israel to the Nazis is to the SAJR. So who are they to talk?

The rhetoric of the MRN is open for anyone to see with continual referrals to modern day libels such as “the genocide committed a few years ago in Jenin.”

Ronnie will eventually be judged by the company he keeps.

You can read  the MRN editorial, the controversial Kasrils article, as well as his open letter to the SAJR here: JEWISH WEEKLY SLAPS BAN ON KASRILS

Stay tuned…more to follow…

In the meantime, and now with access to the controversial article, do you think the SAJR was right in refusing to publish the Kasrils article? Have your say in the comments of the previous post.

For the comments of this post, do you think we are correct in suggesting that by aligning himself with the MRN that Kasrils is indeed, though unintentionally, fostering hatred?

Comments

[Joel Pollak]

You should also note that Iqbal Jassat is, in fact a Holocaust denier of the most classic variety. He and his organisation opposed the opening of the Holocaust Museum in Cape Town.

[NOAH]

Joel,

Perhaps this point should be put to Kasrils?

What evidence is there that Jassat opposed the opening of the
Holocaust Museum?

[Joel Pollak]

Jassat's organisation posted several Holocaust-denial letters on its website (which are now apparently unavailable since the website was upgraded).

Jassat's colleague, Firoz Osman (not Jassat himself--my earlier comment should be corrected), specifically opposed the opening of the Cape Town Holocaust Museum in the name of the MRN.

Jassat had the opportunity to recant these views on the Tim Modise show on 16 Feb 2005 and refused to do so.

Kasrils relies on MRN for many of his facts, and has acknowledged them as his source on at least one occasion in a public speech.

[PW BOTHA]

I am bored in heaven.

So I just did a web-search for Jassat and checked out his articles on the MEDIA MONITOR NETWORK.

Don't you love the language that he uses in the following extract? >

"It is this apartheid-type psyche, evident in the paranoid behaviour of Tony Blair, which explains why Blair has chosen to remain embedded in America's war of terror as well as introducing draconian 'Israelisation' measures." ( Jassat, Aug 25th 2005)

So it seems that the Brits, like the Israelis, are heading down the PW BOTHA RD.

Amazing how popular Apartheid has become! But, of course, there was nothing wrong with it in the first place

Read Kasril's "unpublished SAJR" reply to Posner in which he now follows the new ANC line with regard to me.

(By the way, does anyone, down there on earth, know if Kasrils has used the term "Israelisation"?)

[Jack Bloom]

This reinforces my view that we just hurt ourselves whenever we respond to Kasrils because he is always afforded the last word. He has now had his views on Israel as Nazis repeatedly in all sorts of media and regardless of the arguments this is going to stick. This is in line with the Durban strategy of demonising Israel, and we are now going to be murdered in the name of the Holocaust since we are just like the Nazis. Truly Orwellian, but effective.

He has positioned himself as the martyred "Jew of conscience" and Jewish Report walked right into the trap although I agree with their decision not to publish his offensive claptrap.

My advice IGNORE HIM, IGNORE HIM, IGNORE HIM (except that the Board should vigorously complain to Mbeki about a Cabinet Minister who is allowed to escape collective cabinet responsibility in constantly talking on the forign affairs portfolio).

[ANTHONY POSNER]

Jack,

I really think that you are confused.

Ignore him?? He is a government minister! If he wasn't in government you might have a point.

My suggestion is that we deal with the Israeli/Nazi slur in the same way as the TAC dealt with Manto. It was after all, foreign pressure, that has led to her marginalisation.

We must bring "The Kasrils Slur" to the attention of the international community. Let's start with the Germans who have also been given an apartheid badge by Kasrils.

But I agree that it is a waste of time debating the issue in The Mail and Guardian, The Star or The Citizen etc.

The Jewish Report has not walked into a trap. Their editor is dealing with the matter in an intelligent manner and is 100% correct to confront "The Kasrils Slur".

[Gary]

Is it not possible to take him to the Human Rights Commission for racism agains the Israeli people?

[ANTHONY POSNER]

Dear Bloggers,

If you want to try and understand "KASRILSPEAK", it might be an idea to start with his PS in the letter that the SAJR refused to publish.

He writes: "Incidentally, I never intended to make a gender-insensitive remark, as Posner alleges."

It's 100% KASRILSPEAK !!

KASRILS DOESN'T SAY THAT HE DIDN'T MAKE A GENDER INSENSITIVE REMARK. HE JUST SAYS THAT HE DIDN'T INTEND TO.

The remark was quoted in the Wits university paper so he couldn't deny making it.

Clearly Kasrils is unable to take responsibility for what he actually says!

ps: I have NOT gone through his whole reply to me as I really can't make any sense of it. It is complicated by the fact that whenever he feels like it, he actually changes my questions to suit his "answers".

And he accuses me of being "economic with truth" ! As well as being "a dictator" and "an embittered correspondent."

(Apologies to those who have read this in the following thread.
But it is my response to Kasril's "unpublished SAJR" letter and I
didnt want anyone to think that I was floored by his reply.)

[5th of November]

It's all about the Middle East. However, Iraq is a diversion. As the army attacks Iraq, the US gov't erodes rights at home by suspending habeas corpus, stealing private lands, banning books like "America Deceived" from Amazon, rigging elections, conducting warrantless wiretaps and starting 2 illegal wars based on lies. Soon, another US false-flag operation will occur (sinking of an Aircraft Carrier) and the US will invade Iran, (on behalf of Israel).
Final link (before Google Books bends to gov't demands and censors the title):
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-38523-0

[mike]

5th of November what are you smoking? Its people like you that give the Left a worse name.

Just as a side point, they didn’t do a very good job of rigging the last election. In case you don’t watch the news, the GOP got trounced.

[Gary]

Oh great , another ultra-left nutjob!