On Friday at 2pm the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) held an illegal demonstration against the Jewish community in the residential heartland of South African Jewry.
The march was illegal. On Thursday, the Johannesburg City Council denied permission for COSATU to hold the rally. But they went ahead anyway. They are a law unto themselves.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to be there, but I did manage to organise a correspondent who will write a guest blog for us detailing the atmosphere.
I was, however, in the area over Shabbos and the reaction from the community has been one of unification, strength, and resoluteness in support for Israel.
Rabbi Perez at the Mizrachi synagogue on Friday night gave a stirring sermon about the rally. He was one of the 250 or so Jews who managed to, at the last minute, rally to Beyachad in support of the community. I don’t think it’s correct to say in support of Israel – this march wasn’t outside the Israeli embassy, it was within our community – it was a march against us.
Just two hours before the march, e-mails, phone calls and text messages stormed through the community like wildfire, calling on Jews to meet at Beyachad in a show of solidarity. Amazingly, around 250 Jews managed to turn up. The communal leadership decided to stage the solidarity rally inside the walls of Beyachad in order to ensure its legality. This unfortunately meant that most people couldn’t get a glimpse of the protest action beyond the walls. The general sentiment from those who managed to attend was one filled with pride, inspiration and love for this community and for Israel.
Rabbi Perez related that during the protest march, a small number of Jews left the Beyachad building and went to stand directly opposite the crowd of protestors, to send a message that we will not be moved and that we are not here in South Africa on their sufferance. He took his young son with him to stare in the faces of those who wish to crush our freedom both as Jewish Zionists in South Africa and in the land of Israel.
Apparently the police closed off the street where the Jewish communal offices stand – so where did the COSATU and PSC demonstrators move to? Down the road, outside Sydenham Highlands North Synagogue. That’s probably a place more representative of their true feelings anyway.
Ronnie Kasrils was there, along with a swastika bearing banner equating the hatred symbol of Nazism to the Magen-David. An Israeli flag was later burned and stomped on by the crowd. Now just imagine for a moment if a group of Jews had to go and burn a Palestinian flag in Lenasia. They would be donnered by the local community and no one would have much pity for them given such a stupidly provocative move. The Jewish community managed to hold back except for one individual who reportedly threw a plastic bottle at the bus which was transporting the protestors. The protesting crowd immediately launched forward at the area where the bottle thrower was standing, but the police quickly intervened.
The Jewish community outside of the Beyachad building was incensed, to the extent that some of the Muslim protest leaders needed escorts through the crowd in order to get to their cars. The police were about to provide the escort when the national chairman of the Jewish Board of Deputies, Zev Krengel, stepped in. He told the officers that their presence wouldn’t be necessary and he would personally escort them to their cars. How embarrassing for them. Here was the leader of the Jewish Board of Deputies, personally providing an escort to the petrified pro-Palestinian protest leaders, who were there to tell us that we no longer belong in South Africa!
The fallout from this action should be severe. It was an illegal protest against the opinion and presence of
the Jewish communal leadership and the Jews who feel represented by them. More and more Jews I have spoken to are wondering if there will still be a future for them under the South African sun. It used to be that the question of violent crime was the only factor on the scales when a future in South Africa was considered. This seems to have changed.
One thing is for sure though – our political positions will not be changed through coercion or pressure. The overwhelming majority of South African Jews are proud Zionists and will continue to bravely stand against COSATU and the PSC’s illegal intimidation.
Perhaps the saddest thing about the recent pressure tactics placed on South African Jews is how it has reduced the space for dialogue within the community about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Moderate voices that supported the withdrawal from Gaza, and even future withdrawals from the West Bank, have been completely silenced. Whereas last year I found myself arguing with Rabbis about the importance of making compromises, this year I find myself alongside the rest of the community – ostracised and back-to-the-wall in an environment where all energy needs to be directed around supporting Israel’s right to exist. Targeting Jews is one fool-proof way of uniting all Zionists.
View a photo album from the march here: COSATU and PSC march - photo album
Note: Whilst some Jews may argue that the march was not against the entire "Jewish community" but only against those who stand behind the communal leadership's support of Israel, when I refer to the "Jewish community", I am referring to the overwhelming majority of its residents. The 300 odd (plus ten) names we have seen on petitions - though still members of the community who are welcome to their opinions and political positions - need to appreciate that 70 000 less 310 does indeed consitute an overwhelming majority.
Update - we got mail
A member of the Muslim community has sent me the following mail in response to the question I posed in this entry:
You posed the question, on your blog, as to if the time is right to leave Non Racist RSA? Well let me answer that for you……… YES and the sooner the better!!! And like you mentioned ,,,, all "70 000 minus the 310" !!!! |
Corrections
I was originally told that around 2000 Jewish people turned up at the counter rally. This was a serious over-exaggeration. I think 250 is a closer approximation. Apologies for the error.
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