Fatima Hajaig issues a veiled apology - Board accepts!

Today the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Fatima Hajaig issued a crocodile apology for her recent anti-Jewish statements. Earlier reports today said that the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) had rejected her "veiled apology" but later reports have indicated that it has been fully accepted. First the earlier report - here's one from the Citizen:

An apology by Deputy Foreign Minister Fatima Hajaig yesterday for allegedly anti-Semitic remarks has made little impression on the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD). “This statement failed to address, let alone repudiate, the blatantly anti-Semitic sentiments originally expressed by her, but merely apologised for any hurt it might have caused to the Jewish community,” said the board in a statement. “It can only be concluded that Ms Hajaig stands by her previous statement that the US and most other Western countries are controlled by Jewish money power.” Hajaig said in a statement: “To the extent that my statement may have caused hurt and pain, I offer an unequivocal apology for the pain it may have caused to the people of our country, and the Jewish community in particular”. Hajaig is alleged to have said in a speech in Lenasia on January 14 that “The control of America, just like the control of most Western countries, is in the hands of Jewish money and if Jewish money controls their country then you cannot expect anything.” Hajaig said she wanted to reiterate that the major issue in relation to the Palestine-Israel conflict was the “enormous suffering of the Palestinian people, and the struggle for peace for all its people based on justice and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike”. The SAJBD urged the government to “unequivocally distance” itself from Hajaig’s allegations. SAJBD chairman Zev Krengel called her statement a “veiled apology” and said she had used her apology to make another statement towards the Middle East and almost “justify” what she had done. “You don’t have to be anti-Semitic to be pro-Palestinian,” he added. — Sapa.

The major change between the earlier reports and the later reports is that President Motlanthe had a meeting with Fatima were he apparently rapped her on the knuckles - see Motlanthe raps Hajaig's knuckles - following which she withdrew her comments. It's been reported that Motlanthe has refused to make the details of their discussion public. But she will keep her job.

Since then SAJBD chairman Zev Krengel is quoted as fully accepting the apology and thanking the Cabinet and President for getting her to apologise. IOL reports:

Maseko said Hajaig had accepted that the comments she made were contrary to stated government policy. "She subsequently apologised unreservedly and unequivocally for the comments, and agreed to withdraw them unconditionally." Earlier, Cabinet had "expressed concern about the statement as it was contrary to the stated polices of this government regarding anti-Semitic sentiments", he said. Maseko said Hajaig's remarks were "something that may have been an error of judgement on her part". While he could not divulge details of the conversation between Motlanthe and Hajaig, he said it was "safe to say that the president would have reiterated government policy that in fact anti-Semitism equates to racism in this country and we will not support any form of racism". The president had accepted Hajaig's withdrawal of the comments and her unqualified apology and there would be no further action against her. "The deputy minister has owned up to the mistake she has committed and government is satisfied," Maseko said. SA Jewish Board of Deputies national chairman Zev Krengel said Hajaig's apology on Wednesday was fully accepted. "We are very happy with the apology and happy that the cabinet and the president took it seriously. "We can thank cabinet and the president for getting her to apologise as she did," he said.- Sapa

I still reject her apology and stand by my statement that I cannot trust a government with her in it. In any other normal democracy she would have been sacked. Perhaps we shouldn't expect more given our department of Foreign Affairs' recent record.

More to follow, hopefully including an exaplanation from the SAJBD on why they changed their tune. I have also heard unconfirmed rumours that they are considering cancelling their case at the Human Rights Commission.

For more commentary and reporting see:

• Z-Word: Fatima - "I meant to say Zionists not Jews"
• Haaretz: S. African politician apologises for saying Jewish money controls America

Update

The SAJBD circulated the following press release to explain their decision. The important thing which a member of the Board pointed out to me, is that the label will stick. Hajaig is now known world-wide as the anti-Semitic Deputy Minister. 

Jewish Board thanks Government for Hajaig Apology 5 February 2009 The SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) commends President Motlanthe and his Cabinet for ensuring that Deputy Foreign Minister Fatima Hajaig has now made an unequivocal apology for and full retraction of the unacceptable antisemitic statements she made at a rally in Lenasia last month. Previous to this, the SAJBD rejected the Deputy Minister’s original statement purporting to be an apology on the grounds that she had very clearly avoided addressing, let alone repudiating, the blatantly anti-Semitic sentiments originally expressed by her. The SAJBD is satisfied that her second apology, which came about as a result of Cabinet’s discussions on the matter and President Motlanthe’s subsequent meeting with the Deputy Minister, constitutes an appropriately unambiguous and unequivocal expression of regret for those statements. The SAJBD thanks President Motlanthe and his Cabinet for the decisive and forthright manner in which they have addressed this serious matter. This is a welcome reaffirmation of the Government’s firm commitment to combating all forms of racism and prejudice in our society, including antisemitism.

Comments

[Gary]

Actually while I despise both of them, I dont see how what Hajaj said is any worse than Zackie Achmat's comment that "95% of Israelis are racist".
It is NOT more accpetable to hate Jews if they live in Israel.

[Jonathan]

They accepted the apology?

[Lawrence]

I pointed out before on several occasions - months ago, perhaps years ago, that the SAJBD and Krengel are a bunch of spineless wimps interested only in their own comfort, and not the wellbeing of Jewry - this proves it. Pollak rightly points out on his blog that with these cowardly fools in charge SA Jews have a lot to be afraid of.

That gets me thinking, Krengel and his gang of pathetic fools have more in common with the COSATU leadership than they could know, they care only for themselves and not those they pretend to serve.

[Bheki]

"Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don't worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it."
Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001, to Shimon Peres, as reported on Kol Yisrael radio.

How is this any different from what Fatima Hajaig said?

[Steve]

Hi Bheki,
This is an old hoax, 0 Kol Yisrael denied ever reporting this - but even if he did say it, would that make it true? There has never been a Jewish president of the US, why don't the Jews just get a Jew appointed? Or why don't the Jews get america to free jonathan pollard, or move their embassy from tel aviv to the capital Jerusalem?

----
Informed that the Kol Yisrael reporter assigned to cover the Israeli Cabinet [where the Sharon statement was alleged to have been made] denied Sharon had made the attributed comment, Dold responded with a different story from Geyer. She now claimed that her sources were two anonymous Israelis.

Finally, Geyer’s syndicate disseminated the following Editor’s Note which appeared on June 14 in the Chicago Tribune and Sarasota Herald Tribune and will likely be published by other papers that ran Geyer’s May 10 column.

Editor’s note: Georgie Anne Geyer’s May 10 column included a quote from Ariel Sharon, 'I control America.’ This quote was widely reported in the Palestinian press but cannot be confirmed in independent sources. Geyer and Universal Press Syndicate regret not having attributed the quote more specifically.

While the syndicate thus admitted that “This quote...cannot be confirmed in independent sources,” it failed to state unambiguously that Sharon never uttered the words and that the alleged quotation first appeared in a press release from the pro-Hamas IAP. Since IAP said that Kol Yisrael was their source and Kol Yisrael denies broadcasting any such report, there should be no question that IAP was attempting to perpetrate a hoax. The syndicate also should have written “alleged quote” whenever referring to the supposed statement by Sharon.

Furthermore, the Editor’s Note implies that the problem was one merely of mistaken attribution – that it would have been acceptable for Geyer to use the bogus quotation had she cited “Palestinian sources.” Obviously, since these sources have been proven false, the quote should not have been published at all.

[anonympus]

So the whole Hajaig saga is over and Jewish Board has "praised" the President for his "commitment" that the Government is deeply opposed to any form of anti-semitism in SA. Just a day or two ago, quite rightly, the JB was furiously pressing ahead with the complaint against Hajaig and by yesterday have capitulated and are now no doubt feeling soothed and relieved by the President's assurances and yet Hajaig has not been directed to make a full and truly unequivocal apology directly to the community. Could they not have shown appreciation and still demanded that Hajaig just to the right thing? Where are their principles beyond feeling "special" because they believe (falsely) that they have unique "smoozy" behind closed doors access to the top echelons of power in SA? So all the corroded anti-semites who have come out of the woodwork of late will see the Board as never having had a real case in the first place and as deflecting whiners. The Board folk are truly SPINELESS in this very important instance. Professor Giliomie who has written extensively about such dynamics in minority politics in SA, must be suffering from heartburn today and wondering why... :)

[Marc]

At first I thought the second "apology was more meaningful and that the Board had done the right thing, but having slept on it (and reread the Board's reaction) I find the reaction VERY problematic. The Board is "very happy with the apology"?!? Jonathan Birger and even the editorial page of the M&G are less than happy with the "apology" and the government's response but the Board is "very happy"?!

Strikes me as reminiscent of the old Diaspora Jew mentality, where we can't afford to be too loud or outspoken for fear of provoking the powers that be. If years of cultivating a good relationship with the ANC result in an antisemitic outburst getting a rap on the knuckles and no other consequences whatsoever, the Board has been wasting its time!

I'd also be curious to know how the acceptability of this "apology" polls with SA Jewry in general. Does the Board's mandate reflect these views? Shouldn't it??

[Mo]

Zionism = Nazism NO
Zionism > Nazism YES.