Day: March 6, 2024

LETTER FROM ISRAEL AT WAR – WEEK 22

Never expecting anything from Hamas, I did expect more from the heads of state and of leading humanitarian organizations.

By Harris Zvi Green

March 1, 2024

My dearest friends,

We are now one hundred and forty-seven days into this bloody war. The past five months have been challenging. Having close family members risk their lives in defense of our country, listening to the hair-raising accounts of their experiences and being confronted by a tsunami of antisemitic hatred, has taken its toll.

Experiencing the arrival of a great-grandchild and the wedding of a grandson during this time were especially gratifying, but also uniquely difficult. How does one celebrate when our young men and women are putting their lives at risk to defend us and 134 of our fellow citizens remain in hostage? How does one comfort the bereaved and celebrate special events in the same breath? There are so many conflicts in our everyday lives.

My faith in universal values has become eroded. I believed these values represented principles that transcended cultural, religious and international boundaries. I got it badly wrong. What was once considered good is no longer virtuous. Bad is no longer evil. Truth is no longer absolute. It’s become contextual. Even flexible. There’s no accountability. These so-called “universal values” haven’t stood the test of time. 

The atrocities of October 7 have been rebranded. They’ve been rationalized. When they aren’t plausible, the atrocities are either regarded as unverifiable or simply denied. Given the unimaginable and primitive acts of savagery of October 7, I can understand that.

Is it because the Victims were Jews?  A protest to bring attention the world wants to ignore. The U.N. agency dedicated to gender equality has been sharply criticized for waiting so long to express alarm over the sexual violence perpetrated during the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Whatever way I look at it, murder is murder. Brutal mutilation of dead bodies is savage. It’s not an integral part of a national struggle or the exercising of a right to self-determination. Rape is rape. It’s not resistance. 

I question my identity. Once upon a time, I defined myself as a liberal. Live and let live. I believed democracy, mutual tolerance and respect were liberal values. Again, I got it badly wrong. Today, people who define themselves as liberals tend to display intolerance and even contempt for anything that doesn’t gel with their view of the world. Perhaps liberalism should be defined as the right to call yourself whatever you like rather than being an absolute value in itself. 

It’s like the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea. Does that make North Korea a democracy? Wikipedia describes North Korea as a totalitarian dictatorship. I don’t understand how one can confuse a democratic country with a totalitarian dictatorship. Maybe it’s my poor English.

I never expected anything from Hamas. I do, however, expect much more from heads of state, from the executives of the world’s leading humanitarian organizations, from religious leaders of all faiths and from the presidents of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions.

Israeli activists horrified the world ignored October 7 sexual violence against women

One hundred and thirty-four hostages remain in captivity. This number includes the bodies of 33 soldiers and civilians. As far as Hamas is concerned, even dead bodies are a legitimate bargaining tool.

The same heads of state, the same humanitarian organizations, the same religious leaders and the same academic institutions continue pressuring Israel to provide even more humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Nobody wants innocent people to starve to death. But what do these hypocrites in positions of power and influence have to say about the illegal abduction of innocent hostages, including octogenarians, women, children and even dead bodies? Very little. What are they doing about it? To be precise: nothing.

Humanitarian values cut both ways. I’m sure true liberals will concur.

Embarrassed by UNRWA’s complicity in the October 7 massacre, UNRWA’s donor countries put their contributions on hold pending further investigation. Asmund Aukrust, a Norwegian politician, immediately retaliated by nominating UNRWA for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The New Arab, a London-based news outlet owned by a Qatari company, is supporting this absurd attempt to sanitize UNRWA. In their promotion piece, they justify this initiative by praising UNRWA for their “crucial humanitarian support in one of today’s most devastating humanitarian contexts.” Yet another attempt to rewrite history and legitimize the continued funding of terror.

Incongruous and Ig’noble. While over a dozen countries, including major donors such as the United States, Germany, Britain and Sweden, have suspended funding to UNRWA over accusations of employees involved in the October 7 atrocities, Norwegian politician, Asmund Aukrust, has nominated the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Can any self-respecting human being rationalize awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to an organization complicit in the October 7 massacre? It’s an affront to mankind and an insult to human intelligence.

UNRWA’s very existence perpetuates the conflict. The idea of rewarding UNRWA and its incompetent Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, is outrageous.

Last week I referred to the racist statement made by a South African member of parliament who said:

“If the city of Cape Town is handed over to the Zionists, there will be a bloodbath. We will not allow you to make it a Jewish state.”

I received a comment telling me not to confuse anti-Zionism with antisemitism.

Imagine the outcry if an Israeli politician said, “if the city of Jerusalem is handed over to the Jihadis, there will be a bloodbath. We will not allow you to make it an Islamic state”. This politician would be accused of being Islamophobic and ostracized by his colleagues. 

My condolences to those mourning their nearest and dearest. My wishes to the injured for a complete and speedy recovery. May God protect our brave soldiers. May the hostages soon be reunited with their families. May you all be blessed with good health to see smiles on the faces of your loved ones for many years to come.

Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom and better times ahead.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Harris Zvi Green.



About the writer:

Harris Zvi Green was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Aged 77, he made Aliyah 53 years ago. An accountant by profession, he served as the Chief Financial Officer for a number of Israel based hi-tech companies. He is married to Phyllis. They have 3 married children ,13 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Harris Zvi Green is a founder member of Truth be Told, an organization engaged in public diplomacy on behalf of Israel.






While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

IS SOUTH AFRICA ABANDONING HER JEWS?

Failure to recognise that Zionism and Judaism are as intricately linked as Islam is with the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

By Ben Levitas

In South Africa today it is anathema to hold sentiments sympathetic to Zionism or supportive of Israel. Use by government officials of pejorative adjectives like “Apartheid”, “Racist”, “Colonialist”, “Genocidal” have been normalized when referring to the State of Israel. The pernicious foundations for this odious attitude started with the inauguration of the ANC’s accession to power. Twenty-five years ago, Dr Neo Mnumzana, representing South Africa at the United Nations, said;

“Jews in South Africa come in many different political colours. There are those who belong to the Zionist movement and represent the same reality which is concretised in the state of Israel, and we disapprove of those members of the Jewish community who have these Zionist affiliations.”

Troubling Times. Writer on South African Jewish history, South African politics and the history of antisemitism, UCT Emeritus Professor, Milton Shain laments that “What was once considered unacceptable is now acceptable.”

Since then, the rhetoric has increased in tone and frequency. According to Professor Milton Shain, a leading scholar on anti-Semitism:

 “What was once considered unacceptable is now acceptable.”

Jewish schools have been criticized and targeted for closure because they are deemed to promote Zionist values. These threats against Jewish schools and institutions came close to realization when ISIS members Brandon-Lee Thulsie and his twin brother Tony-Lee, planned to blow them up. 

Terror Thulsie Twins.  Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie – both linked to Islamic State (ISIS) – were convicted in 2022 for plotting to blow up the US Embassy and various Jewish institutions in South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images/Papi Morake)

Some examples of similar threats made by leaders of PAGAD (People against Gangsterism and Drugs) during a so-called “peace march” in November 2023 were as follows:

  • “The Zionists in this country mustn’t think they can walk freely in this country”
  • “When we are going to unleash the Hezbollah, the party of Allah, they must run and they must hide under every stone they can find. The Koran is our constitution, jihad is our means”

Pagad leader Abdul Salaam Ebrahim then roused the crowd, saying it was time to “decentralise” the war and “get involved”.“We must go to their businesses. We must make sure that we target them the way they have killed our people. It doesn’t make sense for someone to leave this country and do his service in Zionist occupied Palestine and then we allow him to come back. We must make sure that we do the same things they are doing to us. If we are serious, then we must fight however we find them. We must boycott them, we must go to their homes, to their schools. We need to be serious if we say we’ll give our lives, our blood, and our souls. We must ask ourselves, are we ready to do it?”

Galvanizing Hatred. Pagad leader Abdul Salaam Ebrahim said in 2023 that by “putting pressure on the satanic Zionist regime” we would help Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, the people of Yemen and Lebanon.

MENACING MOUTHS

This descent into what was unacceptable language has also come from ANC Ministers and leaders, such as Fatima Hajaig who in her role as Deputy Foreign Minister referred to “Jewish money power” – a typical anti-Semitic trope. Tony Ehrenreich, leader of COSATU (a member of the tri-partite alliance) referred to Jews as owning most of the property in Cape Town, while also threatening Jewish owned businesses and encouraging Jews with Zionist leanings to leave South Africa. 

Sound Familiar? Top South African trade-unionist and senior ANC politician, Tony Ehrenreich, has called on Jewish leaders supporting Zionism to leave the country and threatened Jewish-owned businesses.

In 2022 Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng uttered a very benign remark in which he said that South Africa was “depriving itself” of an opportunity to be a “game changer” in the Israel/Palestine conflict due to its pro-Palestinian stance. An outcry of anger aimed at the Chief Justice ensued. He was severely criticized and censured and ordered to apologize for misconduct for “criticizing and proposing changes to the official policy of the South African government towards Israel.” The vehemence of the reaction made it impossible for him to return to his post and led to his early retirement.

In contrast there was a well-worn path of other Justices, such as Judge Seraj Desai, unapologetically aligning themselves with a pro-Palestinian viewpoint. When the SAZF (South African Zionist Federation) tried to hold Judge Desai to account, he not only refused to apologise, but doubled down on his pro-Palestinian sentiments.

MATCHING McCarthyism

The scaremongering of the governing ANC party aimed at undermining the very existence of Israel is reminiscent of the spreading of fear during the notorious McCarthy era in the US, a woeful period in American history of witch-hunting resulting in political repression. The targets then were Communists, the targets of the ANC are Zionists, but make no mistake the targets now are Jews! Still fresh in our minds is the recent stripping of David Teeger of the captaincy of the Under 19 Cricket team for expressing his admiration at a private event for Israeli soldiers in the recent Gaza war. The CSA (Cricket South Africa) statement – “Cricket South Africa has decided that David should be relieved of his captaincy for the (World cup) tournament” – went on to justify its stance that: 

“This is in the best interests of all the players…..and David himself”. 

The weak-kneed collapse by CSA to threats of the BDS movement indicate a lack of backbone to stand up to antisemitic intimidation.

In the view of law professor Ziyad Motala, anyone with Zionist sympathies should be disqualified from occupying any position representing the state. According to him:

 “Teeger’s speech was not mere offensive speech. Instead, it was speech in support of Zionism, a political ideology of racism.” 

“OUT!” for being a Zionist. In today’s South Africa, David Teeger as a Jew was good enough to be selected captain of the South African Under-19 cricket team but as a Zionist he wasn’t.

He used the same rationale to disqualify David Unterhalter from being considered for appointment to the Constitutional Court or the Supreme Court of Appeal. This was a subtler manifestation of antisemitism when the JSC (Judicial Service Commission) repeatedly rejected Unterhalter as a candidate for one of four vacant positions, despite him being eminently qualified and endorsed by Lawson Naidoo, Executive Secretary of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC).

He was questioned – more akin to ‘interrogation’ – for his past membership of the SAJBOD (South African Jewish Board of Deputies), which was founded in 1912 to represent and protecting Jewish interests and with a particular focus today in combatting the growing menace of anti-Semitism. In contrast to the SAZF (South African Zionist Federation), the SAJBOD representing Jews of all persuasions, does not have any specific Zionist role. The EFF party leader Julius Malema, who sits on the selection board of the JSC has opposed Unterhalter’s selection based on his vehemently anti-Israel bias and has threatened to support and supply Hamas with weapons. He has also threatened to not only shut down Jewish businesses but all businesses that deal or import any goods from Israel.

Inciting to Kill. EFF leader Julius Malema vows to fund Hamas if his party wins the 2024 elections saying, “When the EFF takes over next year it is going to arm Hamas and make sure they have the necessary equipment to fight for their freedom.” (Photo: Image: EFF Twitter)

Leading government’s charge against the Jewish state is its foreign minister, Naledi Pandor. She has gone beyond threats to cut off all business and diplomatic links with Israel or companies dealing with Israel. She has now championed herself as of the leaders of the international campaign against Israel by taking Israel to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, falsely accusing it of committing genocide against Palestinians but really aiming at delegitimizing Israel and preventing it from defending itself from terrorist attacks. She has cut all diplomatic links with Israel and taken the vitriol against Israel to another level. All visits to Israel and any contacts with Israeli leaders by any civil servant have effectively been banned. The ANC imposed on its members and on the Civil Service a hermitically sealed echo-chamber of anti-Israel views that all must conform with.

Recently in February, 2024 Member of Parliament, Ahmed Manzoor Shaik Emam of the National Freedom Party said in Parliament:

“But let me give a loud and clear message to the Democratic Alliance: If you think that the people of this country are going to allow you to take this beautiful country, the city of Cape Town of ours, and hand it over to the Zionists, the city of Cape Town will be a bloodbath, I can assure you [of] that.”

Continuing:

“We will not allow you to take this and sell it, sell your principles, your ethics, and values, like you have just pawned the land in the Western Cape to the United States and others. We will not allow you to make this a Jewish state!” 

Threatening a Blood Bath. In South Africa’s parliament, Ahmed Manzoor Shaik Eman accused rival ‘Democratic Alliance’ party of handing Cape Town to “Zionists” and threated there would “be a blood bath”. The fiery parliamentarian bellowed: “We will not allow you to make this a Jewish state.”

SOUNDS OF SILENCE

The ANC government has been completely silent about all these hateful and hurtful threats. It is in denial that antisemitism exists. The Minster of Justice asserts that antisemitism “doesn’t exist at all.”

It is time to state unequivocally that these incendiary and inflammatory attacks on Zionism, go beyond the pale and are hurtful to Jews and make the continuation of Jewish life in South Africa untenable. It is also time to state unequivocally that Zionism and Judaism are as intricately linked as Islam is with the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Jews believe that “out of Zion come the law of the Torah”. Zion is mentioned on 2,000-year-old coins found recently in archaeological digs in the City of David. Jews pray in the “Amidah” – the silent prayer, facing Jerusalem for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the return of “the Davidic” throne in Jerusalem. Zion is the hill in Jerusalem where the grave of King David is believed to be located, making it and Jerusalem synonymous. 

It is time to call the witch-hunt in South Africa against Zionism what it is really is – a witch-hunt against Jews and the continuity of a sustainable Jewish presence in South Africa.



About the writer:

A former Chairperson of the Cape Branch of the South African Zionist Federation, Ben Levitas includes among his alma maters, the University of the Witwatersrand, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Pretoria and the London School of Economics.






While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO)