South Africa Silent in the Face of Iranian Anti-Semitism

I have mentioned before that ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’ by Edmund Burke, is one of my favourite quotes. That wicked people do wicked things does not surprise me. But the tacit acceptance of these acts by the rest is what I find alarming. The South African government’s silence in response to the Holocaust denial conference held this week in Teheran is such a case.

I have been trawling the internet for days desperately looking for a statement by the South African government condemning Iran’s stage management of this vile anti-Semitic circus. (For their next trick, the mad mullahs will be eliciting David Copperfield to make Auschwitz disappear). But nothing. Moreover no individual South Africans renowned for fighting racism have been quoted anywhere denouncing this blatant displace of anti-Semitism. Not Mandela, not Tutu, not even our Jewish Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils (so much for his much vaunted ‘Jewish’ conscience).

It’s not like this is some obscure story that you would find in the Verve section of the Star. Internationally it has caused a huge outcry. It has been condemned by almost all major western governments, the Vatican and even the United Nations. Tony Blair denounced it as ‘shocking beyond belief’ and the White House described it as ‘an affront to the entire civilized world’. So why has South Africa chosen to remain silent?

This is not the first time South Africa has refrained from condemning Iran for blatant anti-Semitism. Last year when the Iranian Prime Minister called for the elimination of the Jewish state and described the Holocaust as a myth, the South African government was also silent. When official South African Jewish organisations finally got round to challenging the government on this, our Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad dismissed it as an administrative oversight.

If the government is thinking of excusing South Africa’s silence this time on account of an administrative oversight brought on by the summer holidays, it won’t wash. For on Wednesday, Pahad’s department found the ability to issue a press release expressing disappointment with Israel for its foot dragging on issuing Tutu the necessary travel documents to conduct his fact finding mission in Gaza.

Given our experience with racism, South Africa should have been one of the first states to condemn the Holocaust denial conference. But as we have seen so often of late with South African foreign policy, Third World solidarity trumps human rights. As the polarisation between those who support freedom and those who wish to impose tyranny has grown, South Africa’s ability to straddle the fence has become more difficult. Their silence this week is just a further indication of which camp we favour.

Comments

[Steve]

Yes, its clear where we stand.

Jack Bloom in his book "Out of Step" remembers how South Africa led the calls to remove any references to 'anti-Semitism' from the racism, xenophobia and related intolerance.

'On a resolution concerning follow-up to the 2001 UN Durban World Conference on Racism, Commission members argued for two hours about the inclusion of "anti-Semitism" as a form of racism. Procedural maneuvers, led by South Africa and the African group, with the support of 28 of the 53 members of the Commission, resulted in the deletion of "anti-Semitism" from the resolution on racism, xenophobia and related intolerance. New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland refused to withdraw as co-sponsors of the African-led resolution, after anti-Semitism was deleted. "

We truly are the democracy of hypocrisy.

[Gary]

Oh , what do you really expect , SA , under the ANC-SACP regime , will never speak up against a fellow member of the Revolutionary club , now matter how heinous or evil their actions are.

[Brett]

There can be no doubting where the South Africa foreign affairs ministry stands on this issue. It is a sad reality that we are faced with, that being a rampant anti-Israel undercurrent. It is yet another blatant case of selective morality. I applaud the efforts of IAS and all other responsible South Africans who have the courage of their convictions. We are in for the long haul on this particular issue. As the months become years, so the anti-Israel movement gains ever more insidious proportions. Vigilance is key to countering such vile disinformation tactics. Kudos to Mike and Steve!