“An Endangered Species”

With the passage of time, Southern African volunteers who fought in Israel’s 1948 War of independence are passing away, and with them, a living link to the genesis of modern Israel

By David E. Kaplan

Israel’s 1948 War of Independence , despite all the odds was won decisively.

So how come we are still fighting it?

Mainly because of the nature of what is “decisive”. The current theatre of battle is not “On the Ground”, “in the Air” and “at Sea” but “in the court’ of world opinion”. Today’s “Battleplan” involves documenting and securing the truth, so that the history of the War of Independence is not subverted by revisionists and purveyors of falsehood as is wont by BDS in South Africa that ‘attacks’ Israel not over its dispute over territory but its very existence. It opens the file not of 1967, when Israel conquered the West Bank in a defensive war, but the “1948 file” that transforms the Israel-Palestine debate from a negotiation over territory, into an argument about the conflict’s older and deeper roots – the establishment of a Jewish state.

Who has been spearheading the campaign of recording the role of volunteers who came to fight in Israel’s war of birth in 1948 is former South African, Smoky Simon, Chairman of World Machal, today 98 years old. (The word MACHAL is an acronym for the Hebrew, Mitnadvei Chutz L’Aretz, meaning “Volunteers from Overseas.”)

Once a fighter plane navigator, Smoky is still ‘navigating’; this time securing a flight path towards educating the young and the old, Israelis and foreigners on the existential contributions to the 1948 war by the 4500 volunteers from abroad – over 800 of them Southern Africans – who put their futures on hold, and risked their lives to fight for a nation in the making.

Sir Winston Churchill’s apt depiction after the Battle or Britain that “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” could equally apply to the debt the State of Israel owes to these volunteers.

They left jobs, interrupted their studies, and some even postponed weddings, while others brought their weddings forward to come on ‘honeymoon’ to fight in Israel’s War of Independence as did Smoky and his wife, Myra, who was the first meteorological instructor in the Israeli Air Force. “Many of her graduates became squadron and base commanders,” reveals Smoky proudly.

Literally rescheduling their lives, they dropped everything to come and fight for the fledgling Jewish state. In cockpits and on board ships, in tanks and armored vehicles, treating the wounded in hospitals and on the front lines, these young idealistic men and woman – Jews and non-Jews – helped change the tide in Israel’s War of Independence and forged the birth of a nation.

One in this illustrious “band of brothers” who participated in the most exciting adventure for a Jew in 2000 years was another former South African from Johannesburg, Joe Leibowitz, who passed away in January 2019 in Hod Hasharon in central Israel. It is important with the passing of these Machalniks to record and relate the service they performed.

Joe was born in Lithuania “where a Jew knew what anti-Semitism was” and came to South Africa at the age on nine. Then, three years after WWII and the prospect of a Jewish state, “I was torn to pieces inside. I had a strong feeling that we had a moral pact with the slaughtered Six Million of Nazi Europe. This was the first chance to fight back against a world that hadn’t cared.”

image005 (17) — **War of Independence.** ‘Mahalniks’ of the 72nd Battalion including many Southern Africans opposite the Syrian lines at Mishmar Hayarden in 1948.

He reveals in writings recorded in Henry Katzew’s “South Africa’s 800 – The Story of SA Volunteers In Israel’s War of Birth” that his thoughts at the time were “mixed up with other things.” He felt he was “in rebellion against the old supine ways. Our rabbis used to snatch us indoors when we threw stones at Gentiles throwing stones at us. The rabbis broke our spirit before we could develop it. Turning the other cheek was no answer.”

Then when Philip Zuckerman of the South African Zionist Federation approached him to serve, 21 year-old Joe volunteered without hesitation. “The battle inside me was resolved. I could be helpful to my people.”

Machal2 — **Band Of Brothers**. Joe Leibowitz is seen here (left) in 2012 for a photoshoot of Southern African Mahaliniks at Kfar Saba police station having borrowed the rifles. The entire police force came out to observe and enjoy a history lesson. Back row: Joe Leibowitz (SA), Maurice Ostroff (SA), David “Migdal” Teperson (SA), Moshe Amiram (Argentina) Middle row: Monty Bixer (UK), Stanley Sober (USA), Avi Grant (UK), Hymie Josman (SA) Front row: Smoky Simon (SA), Stanley Medicks (UK), Hymie Goldblatt (SA)

The ‘Plane’ Truth

Arriving in pre-state Israel on the 10^th May 1948, this ex-SAAF air gunner WWII veteran with 102 sorties under his belt in North Africa and Italy, noted at Sde Dov airfield in Tel Aviv, that the strength of the nascent State’s “Air Force” comprised “two Rapides, a Fairchild and a Bonanza (ZS BWR).”

Hardly a force to hold back invading armies coming in from all directions!

With no option of being an air-gunner, Joe teamed up with South African pilot, Elliot Rosenberg, becoming a “bomb -chucker” of one of the Rapides, a fabric covered bi-plane. “Bomb-chuckers” as they were called, carried 25 and 50 pound bombs on their laps, and on reaching the enemy target, the safety pins were released and the bombs were manually dropped onto the target.

It was a nerve-wracking business – so much could go wrong!

image007 (2) — **Flying Scrap.** South African Borris Senior braving himself for the first test flight of a Spitfire put together with scrapped aircraft bits and pieces found on former RAF scrap heaps.

With the door of the plane removed, “there was always the possibility,” said Joe that “in leaning over while chucking out the bomb to slip, and follow the bomb.” The plane carried no parachutes and communication between the pilot and “chucker” was by torch with “a flash from the pilot, indicating “Over target” , and a flash from the “chucker” “All bombs unloaded.”

Despite the lack of sophistication of the nature of this war over the skies of Israel, there was some compensation for the airman recalled Joe: “We were so admired by the local Israelis that we were always treated to free meals in restaurants and free haircuts at the barber shop.”

Joe recalled the strains of those early days of the war. One morning the legendary Moshe Dayan came striding into Airforce O.C. Aharon Remez’s office demanding to know why the Air Force was “sitting on its arse.” He had reason to be angered; Israeli units were being hard pressed at several points by the invading Arab armies. However, the men on the ground had little understanding of the war in the air and “how the bombs thrown out could as easily fall among the Israeli men on the ground as among the enemy.”

image003 (21) — **Enemy At The Gates.** A very worried Aharon Remez, Chief of the IAF, Smoky Simon, Chief of Air Operations, Shlomo Lahat in charge of bomber operations (later mayor of Tel Aviv) and Chris in charge of maps.

Joe recorded an experience when the Israeli forces were pinned down along the “Burma Road” to Jerusalem and a Palmach unit was surrounded and radioed in for support. “We had to drop by parachute, two Piat guns and two bags of ammunition.” Complicating the mission, “we had no wind intelligence and no calculation of drift allowance and a real danger of the Piat and the ammo falling into enemy hands.”

With the door of the Rapide removed, there was only the metal handle on the side with the ammo bags tied to the handle until ready for the push. Joe used his feet against the banking of the plane. Then, “a mysterious thing” happened over at the 4^th attempt of the drop. The metal handle broke and Joe would have gone hurling into space with the bag had not the pilot, Elliot Rosenberg, at that precise moment tilted to port. “The mystery is that from the cockpit, Elliot could not see me and had no logical reason to tilt. Some mysterious instinct came into play that ensured that Joe’s passing was delayed by over seven decades – “How did Eliot know something was wrong, we spoke about it for years afterwards.”

image009 (6) — **Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines.** Prime Minister David Ben Gurion visits 101 ‘First Fighter’ Squadron. With sunglasses Modi Alon. Behind Alon’s left shoulder stands South African ace fighter pilot, Syd Cohen, who Israel’s future State President, Ezer Weizman said “taught me most of what I needed to know in a cockpit,” to the left, Gideon Lichtman and Maurice Mann, a Battle of Briton RAF pilot.. (Public Domain/Wikimedia Common)

Close shaves were Joe’s calling card, even when not in the air. On one occasion during a UN brokered truce, Joe had an unsettling encounter with Count Folke Bernadotte, the UN Security Council mediator, known to be most unsympathetic to the new State of Israel.

“We had just landed with supplies at Sdom in the Negev desert, and who surprisingly was there was Bernadette who came up to me and asked what supplies we had brought.” Only knowing a few Hebrew words, Joe said:

“Ani medaber rak ivrit” (I only speak Hebrew)

Bernadette tried German.

“Rak Ivrit,” Joe repeated.

This went on until Bernadotte was distracted, never discovering that among the crates of carrots were hand grenades, certainly a violation of the truce agreement, “but this was a fight for survival.”

In truth it was.

The Machalniks’ contribution represents one of the proudest chapters in modern Jewish history, when ordinary people – like Joe Leibowitz and the over 800 Southern African volunteers – behaved quite extraordinarily. As Israel’s first Prime Minister Ben-Gurion said:

“This was a war not won by heroes. It was won by ordinary men and women rising above themselves.”

Above and Beyond. Short clip of volunteer fighter pilots in Israel’s War of Independence.

The Call of the Wild

A Call to Doctors in Israel – are you ‘game’ to enjoy the best of South Africa’s superlative nature while volunteering your medical expertise?

By David E. Kaplan

They say, ‘South Africans may leave South Africa, but it never leaves them’. This was so for Neil Tabatznik originally from Johannesburg and today living in Toronto who has “returned” with a difference, offering doctors across the world an experience of a lifetime.

Welcome to Tshemba!

“Imagine a luxurious five-star lodge where you can braai (barbeque) under a star-filled sky and watch game having a drink while relaxing in the pool after your day at the hospital or a clinic,” said Alan Epstein of Tel Aviv and head of Tshemba PR in Israel.

image001 (28) — **New Horizons.** Unique volunteer programme for doctors combines hard work and luxury

You don’t have to imagine!

“Whether you are a GP, a gynecologist, pediatrician, cardiologist, endocrinologist, orthopod, optician or dentist – you name it – whether in practice or retired, you can take up this offer of a lifetime of enjoying in luxury the incomparable beauty of the Limpopo region, what used to be known as the Eastern Transvaal, a stone throw from the Kruger National Park and close to Blyde River Canyon.”

For a minimum of two weeks or six months or more, this is available to doctors by volunteering their expertise at a nearby hospital or local clinics. “And of course, this includes doctors bringing their spouses or partners.”

It all began when Alan’s lifelong friend, Neil Tabatznik, on a trip some years ago to South Africa from Canada, visited a game lodge in the Hoedspruit area.

It introduced an awakening that transformed his life from successful businessman to inspired philanthropist and fulfilling the ancient aspiration in Judaism of Tikun Olam (“Correcting the world”).

image003 (17) — **Natural Contours.** The area close to Tshemba Lodge is replete with some of South Africa’s finest natural beauty.

Out On The Range

While sitting up front in a Range Rover and mesmerised by the beauty of the terrain and wildlife, Neil was also struck that beneath the veneer of this beauty there were also serious challenges in this exquisite region. As if reading his thoughts, the game ranger enquired whether Neil would consider building a school for young children.

“He explained the community had built a room and found a headmaster but was far from adequate,” reveals Neil.

Following the school being built and flourishing with young pupils, Neil felt the need to do more and sat down with the local tribal chief and asked:

“How else can I help?”

“We need drastically to improve our health services in the area,” replied the chief. “To say it’s inadequate would be an understatement and because we are far from the major urban areas, my people are suffering from being denied access to specialised medical treatment.”

Visiting a local dental clinic, the chief’s word struck home. “The clinic was a fine facility but there were no dentists!”

This was a microcosm of the problem – while there were sufficient structures there were too few qualified medical practitioners to staff them.

So the idea was conceived not to build unnecessary structures but to recruit qualified personnel.

What Neil witnessed in his extensive touring of the region “was so tragic”, the more so because much of the tragedy was preventable – “its man made and can be man corrected.”

Failing to provide access to adequate medical services “meant that people’s health was always at risk and getting sick or injured could so easily lead to tragic consequences – a result that would not happen in a city,” lamented Neil.

This he was determined to change!

And so, the Tshemba Foundation was established on the premise that if a patient could not get to a health service in a faraway urban area the health service will come to the patient.

Make Believe

Tshemba, which means “believe” in local parlance, recruits doctors and healthcare professionals from all across the world to provide lifesaving medical care to the local community and training to local healthcare providers. A key component of the volunteer experience “is to ensure skill transfer to these local medical providers to provide long-term sustainability,” says Neil. “In this way, every volunteer practitioner creates a lasting legacy – a legacy of saving lives.”

“There are so many South Africans in the medical field in Israel – many also that have retired – who I am sure would relish this opportunity of enriching South Africa and in the process, enrich themselves,” says Alan Epstein, who emigrated from South Africa to Israel in 1978 and who owns and operates Anglo-Saxon real estate in Savyon. Alan is the oldest franchise holder of the Israeli company that was established in 1964 by another South African, the late Dave Blumberg.

“South African doctors have made an enormous contribution to medicine in Israel and I feel many of them would enjoy giving back to South Africa while at the same time enjoying the experience with the 5-star luxury on offer.”

He invites all interested to be in touch with him.

Tshemba needs doctors, both general practitioners and specialists, as well as professionals with healthcare experience and expertise.

All medical volunteers must be fully licensed to practice in South Africa but those who are not, “we will do our best to obtain all necessary permits and licenses on your behalf,” explains Barbara McGorian, the CEO of Tshemba Foundation. “If we receive all the right documentation, the process usually takes only about three weeks.”

“Tshemba will place you where you are most needed,” says Barbara, “whether at the Tintswalo Hospital, a 20-minute drive away, or in one of the many clinics spread throughout the community.” Tintswalo is a 423-bedded acute hospital providing maternity, psychiatric, orthopedic, surgical and general medical care to the community. The hospital is also responsible for providing medical staff to several community clinics in the area.

image009 (4) — **Making A Difference.** Tintswalo Hospital where volunteers will work in nearby Acornhoek.

Tshemba also funded the Hlokomela Women’s Centre – a pioneering healthcare project which provides breast and cervical cancer screening as well as treatment to local farm workers and their families. It is the first of its kind in the region.

Leaving a Legacy

In order to maintain the appropriate level of care once the volunteer experience is over, it is imperative that skills and expertise are transferred to the local healthcare providers.

In pursuit of this aim, says Barbara, “Be prepared to teach and to train the local personnel you work with, encourage training, motivate them to actively continue their skill acquisitions and wherever possible, stay in touch with the doctors or nurses left behind after your departure.”

A visit to the Tshemba website, acquaints one with one of Muhammad Ali’s most famous quotes:

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room on earth.”

Well, for voluntary service at Tshemba, the “room” one receives is the ultimate in luxurious accommodation at a scenic hideaway surrounded by the lowveld bush filled with an array of game, bird species, fauna and flora.

image006 (11) — **Tshemba Lodge dining room**

The five-star lodge boasts nine stand-alone en-suite chalets that can accommodate up to 18 volunteers in total. Each chalet has a private deck with a breathtaking view of the bush, a tea and coffee nook and a small lounge area. All the rooms are self-catering, although there is also a communal area for dining and socializing featuring two comfortable lounge areas with a fireplace, a fully-equipped, state-of-the-art kitchen and scullery and a spacious dining room, a TV room and a gym.

image007 (4) — **The new face of volunteerism**

“Best of all,” says Epstein who was there recently with his wife, “you can relax outside by the wooden deck and infinity pool and enjoy the superb views of the Klein Drakensberg Mountains and a watering hole that draws the animals of Moditlo Private Game Reserve.”

image004 (22) — **Cool It.** Tshemba Lodge pool.

Also on offer are:

Self-drive game viewing in the Kruger National Park
Guided expeditions on private game reserves
Wildlife photography tours
The Moholoholo Animal Rehabilitation Centre
The Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre & Cheetah Project
The Khamai Reptile Park
Hiking, driving, boat or air Blyde Canyon tours
Golf
Mountain biking
Abseiling
White river rafting
Hot air ballooning
Handcraft curio shops
Spas
Scrumptious eateries

Best Of Both Worlds

“What motivates doctors to volunteer?” I ask.

“It’s an amalgam of love of medicine, a love of South Africa and the yearning to give back to society,” says the CEO.

image008 (10) — **Time For A ‘Jobbymoon’.** Doctors who volunteer for the Tshemba Foundation’s programme will treat patients at the Tintswalo Hospital and surrounding clinics

The general response from volunteers, many of whom choose to return, is “we get the best of both worlds. We are able to enjoy a beautiful game reserve while at the same time make a difference with our skills and expertise as doctors to a community in need.”

Says Dr. Kate Meyer from the UK, “I loved every moment of it. It was a privilege to have participated in the project, which I think is an incredible gift to the community.”

Volunteers are essentially providing ‘first world’ care to a ‘third world’ area.

“It was a wonderful experience both socially and professionally,” expressed Dr. Paul Deveux from South Africa who worked at the hospital and was also thankful for his hours at the Hlokomela Women’s Centre, “which is an extremely well organized.” Praising the local staff, “I felt I made my best contribution there because I was able to see psychiatric patients with longstanding anxiety disorders, some which could be managed and others who needed further intense assessments.”

For nurse Maureen Dunnett, specialising in Midwifery who traveled with the hardworking Hlokomela Clinic staff to farms and other clinics said, “Every day was a different experience for me. The time spent around HIV-testing and treating was illuminating.”

image005 (15) — **In The Blood.** Since she can remember volunteer Sister Maureen Dunnett wanted to care for people in need.

“I would not change it for anything and would definitely come back,” said Dr. Tienie Theunissen, also from within South Africa.

“All the volunteers find it rewarding,” says Barbara. “We recently had a German couple; she was a gynecologist and he a banker. So while she worked at the hospital, he volunteered teaching math at a local school and found the experience as rewarding as his wife.”

The hospital can deliver anywhere between 13 to 20 babies a day; we brought in thirteen babies on Christmas day.”

image010 (9) — **Dedicated to Promoting Women’s Health.** The Tshemba Foundation’s Sonja Botha attends to a patient at the Hlokomela Women’s Clinic.

Going on ‘Jobbymoon’

Located in what many would describe as one of the most beautiful areas in South Africa, it’s understandable how the sobriquet “JOBBYMOON” has caught on.

If newlyweds go on honeymoons and parents-to-be take babymoons -– so why not a ‘Jobbymoon’ for couples desiring that totally out-of-the-ordinary working holiday in the most idyllic location.

The Tshemba lodge is located midway between the world-famous Kruger National Park and the world’s largest green canyon, the Blyde River Canyon. “Thus, if you or your partner want to go exploring during your downtime, we assure you you’ll find something spectacular to do,” says Barbara. The ‘jobbymooners’ are free to explore Hoedspruit and surroundings, to re-energise before returning home “with a fresh mindset, ready to tackle new challenges, focused and refreshed.”

Says Dr. Hennie Nortje a Diabetologist, “Although the staff is completely overwhelmed by the amount of work, they are hungry for knowledge and incredibly friendly. Even the patients are humble, friendly and unbelievably grateful. The whole experience left me in awe. I’m excited to see how the new diabetic educators are doing and my wife enjoyed teaching at the preschool at Hlokomela.”

image013 (2) — **Jobbymooners.** Diabetologist, Dr. Hennie Nortje and wife who volunteered at the preschool at Hlokomela.”

Dentist, Maria Pestana felt blessed by the Tshemba experience. “When I saw an article on this unique project, I knew Tshemba might offer a very different experience – to help people in rural areas while at the same time enjoying the bush. It’s a balance between the beauty of nature and the reality of life.”

image014 (4) — **Time Out.** It was a privilege says dentist Dr. Maria Pestana, “to help people in rural areas and enjoy a little bit of the bush. It’s a balance between the beauty of nature and the reality of life.”

For former South Africans now living in Australia, Gerrit Burger, a physician volunteered and his wife Diana, a General Practitioner, felt” humbled by the sense that we received so much more blessing from this experience than those we sought to help.”

Gerrit feels convinced that “Tintswalo hospital and district can be developed into a model of healthcare with far-reaching effects, well beyond South Africa itself. Without fear of exaggeration, we see a time when Tshemba and Tintswalo will be ‘ideas’ rather than ‘names’.”

“Amazing things” are happening every day at Tshemba.

Tshemba’s Project Specialist, Lexi Cohen says: “I interact with most of the volunteers and each one has found the experience to be rewarding and very fulfilling whether in patient care, skills transfer or general contact with staff.”

Should you wish to volunteer and be part of this “amazing” project, contact either Barbara at barbara@tshembafoundation.org or in Israel, Alan Epstein at alanmichael.epstein@gmail.com or 052-3990090 or visit www.tshembafoundation.org.

South Africa Misbehaves; Israel Behaves

While in December 2018, South Africa’s ANC government welcomed to Cape Town a Hamas delegation from Gaza committed to Israel’s destruction, a renovated community centre was being opened in Johannesburg. This community centre is sponsored by Israel.

This same Hamas who only weeks before fired some 500 missiles at Israel’s civilian population,in comparison to Israel – who opts for Construction rather than Hamas-style Destruction.“

By David E. Kaplan

While the news focused on Cape Town where a Hamas delegation in Parliament, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that South Africa “will work towards the full boycott of ALL Israeli products and the support of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS) against Israel; and will ensure that ANC leaders and government officials do not visit Israel,” there was another event playing that was not making news.

A renovated community centre sponsored by the Israeli Embassy in South Africa, was unveiled in Soweto in early December 2018, despite pressure from the BDS movement to scrap the project.

The opening of the new community centre proceeded despite the tensions between the two countries. Last May, South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel, who has since returned and in June, the mayor of Johannesburg suspended Mpho Phalatse, a council member in charge of health after she made a public declaration that the city was a “friend” of Israel.

This trajectory of antisemitism was further evidenced when during November 2018:

– Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar called in the presence of ANC leaders in Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben Island for a violent Jihad against Israel “to regain the land inch by inch”.

– the Johannesburg City Council voted to rename a major street in the city after Palestinian terrorist and hijacker Leila Khaled.

– following BDS pressure, Stellenbosch University disinvited to a conference, seven professors from three universities in Israel.

Despite all this, and throughout the year, Israel’s ambassador to Pretoria, Lior Keinan, has been promoting social projects involving the local population across the country. The unveiling of the community centre in a distressed neighbourhood in Soweto, follows a spate of projects by the Israeli embassy in the fields from agriculture, women’s empowerment to advancing gay rights. The Community Centre is just the latest, and proudly displays a plaque noting the contribution of the Israeli embassy. The unveiling took place in the presence of Ambassador Keinan and Israeli, Danny Adeno Abebe, who initiated the project.

image004 (16) — **Constructive Engagement.** Israeli-sponsored community centre opens in South Africa. Israeli Ambassador to South Africa, Lior Keinan (centre)

From Dreamer to Doer

An Ethiopian who immigrated to Israel with his family as a young child, Abebe, is presently the shaliach (emissary from Israel) to the Jewish Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror, that was founded in South Africa in 1930 by Norman Lurie of Johannesburg. Lurie was more than a dreamer; he was a doer and so is this young emissary from Israel.

Inculcated with the values of Tikun Olam (“Correcting the world”) Abede initiated a programme called “Your Neighbors,” where through Habonim, they organized enriching monthly encounters between Jewish children in Johannesburg and children in the distressed area of Kliptown in Soweto. The activities at these meetings, ranged from doing homework together to the more social activities like dancing.

“However, “the community centre where we were meeting, lacked a roof and became difficult to conduct activities during rainy days,” said Abede. The makeshift roof became moldy, and “the musical equipment was destroyed by the water.”

Abebe invited Lior Keinan, Israel’s ambassador to South Africa, to visit the neighbourhood and meet with the local leadership, who requested help in repairing the roof.

No sooner had Keinan agreed to assist on behalf of the State of Israel, predictably the local BDS activists responded by putting pressure on the local leadership to halt the renovation plans.

image005 (10) — **Man of Africa.** Apart from serving as an Education Adviser to the Habonim Dror Youth Movement, Danny Adeno Abede acts as well as a consultant to professional staff and related Jewish and Israel organisations, representing WZO in Johannesburg. Follow Danny and his family’s journey, as they integrate themselves into the Jewish Community in South Africa.

True Colours

Rather than show concern for a community in need, in true BDS fashion, its leaders decried the community centre project as “a public relations stunt financed by the apartheid state in the Middle East.”

The residents of Soweto saw through the BDS façade of underlying hypocrisy and false pretense and accepted the Israeli aid since the project was designed to benefit the local population.

Abebe says, “the community centre plays an integral part in the lives of more than 400 children living in Soweto, where they can now spend their time doing homework without the dangers of getting drenched by rain.”

Abede who is presently at the annual Habonim summer camp in Onrus in the Western Cape, says “There is something about being an Israeli emissary that reinforces my profound love for my country. And the distance from family that my work demands, makes me long for it even more.”

image003 (3) — **Sign Of The Time.** The plaque at the newly renovated Community Centre in Soweto.

Abede is no less a man of Africa than those he brings Habonim to engage with. He has the depth of understanding prejudice and deprivation from personal experience.

Arriving in Israel in 1984 as part of Operation Moses when Israel began a seven-week clandestine mission to bring more than 8000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel, Abeda’s saga is no less compelling than the biblical saga that transpired over 3000 years earlier.

Referencing the story of Passover when the Jews fled the slavery of Egypt and undertook the long and arduous journey to ‘The Promised Land’, he says “We understand the meaning of freedom, liberty and a long journey undertaken through the desert. Our family experienced the uncertainty throughout the journey, as well as the sense of helplessness, much like the wandering Jews must have experienced with Moses as they walked through the desert without truly knowing their destination or having hope.
When we read the Haggadah (text recited at the Seder on the first two nights of the Jewish Passover), we feel we are part of that same journey, part of the people who reluctantly followed Moses.
We, too, walked in the desert dressed in minimal clothing, thirsty for water and hungry for food. We too walked endlessly without knowing where our escape route from Ethiopia would lead us. Like those Children of Israel, we were refugees. We too, shed tears while burying our dead where there was no cemetery. We too, laid our dead to rest at the side of the path and continued our seemingly endless journey with the vague hope of reaching the land of Israel.”

operation Moses1 — **Operation Moses.** Boarding the plane after weeks in the desert, on the way to the promised land, 1984.

Abede says “it is hard to shake off the comparison between our exhausting journey and that of the Children of Israel. We had the same purpose – getting to the land of Israel.
I still remember my father’s dark gaze and my mother falling ill in the desert. I remember my sick younger brother in the refugee camp in Sudan. I remember myself with a runny nose and a bleak look of hopelessness.”

He recalls, “the dead having been buried among the great stones, near a tree trunk or behind a small grove because they were Jews.”
Among them was his aunt, his father’s sister, so when “when we sit each year at the Passover table and tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt and of G-d’s miracle with the Children of Israel, I praise G-d the miracle in bringing us from Ethiopia to Israel.”

Love Thy Neighbour

Abede’s “Your Neighbour/Makwelwane” project was launched early in 2018 when the members from the youth movements of Habonim and Bnei Akiva as well as teachers and pupils from Johannesburg’s King David Schools engage with the youth in Kliptown, Soweto. Says Abede, “The goal is to enrich the education of pupils in Kliptown one Sunday every month. The Jewish youth will tutor them in maths, science, English and other skills needed to pass matric exams. In return, the Kliptown youth will teach their Jewish counterparts Zulu, tribal dance and their local culture.”

The idea behind the initiative is “to activate the idea of ‘Love thy Neighbour’ by closing the gap between cultures and sharing skills,” says Abede.

From the Community Centre in Kliptown, Soweto the message is to engage and prosper.

This message this writer heard from Ambassador Keinan when together with Akiva Tor, Head of the Bureau for World Jewish Affairs at an event on the 5th November 2018 at Café Riteve hosted by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), United Jewish Fund and the SAZF (South African Zionist Federation).

Ambassador Keinan revealed that despite the efforts of BDS, progress is being made in so many areas not receiving the media attention it deserves and that the potential remains for Israel to assist and enrich South Africa in so many areas from hi-tech, agriculture, water management, cyber technology and health.

He reiterated much of what he had expressed in September to the SA Jewish Report that Israel’s relationships with countries in the Middle East have greatly improved, enjoying good relationships with the other countries in BRICS, like Russia, China, India, even Brazil. “We also have much improved friendships on this continent, and we are opening more embassies in Africa and African embassies in Israel. We have a record number of African leaders coming to visit Israel, so why should South Africa stand alone? There is no logic to this.”

From his experience of BDS, Keinan said the organisation has nailed its colours to the mast. “The fact that it stands with Hezbollah flags outside Israeli embassy events says everything. Hezbollah has nothing to do with Palestinians, and everything to do with Iran and the destruction of Israel. Whatever BDS says, this makes it clear it wants to see the total destruction of our country.”

The meaning of ‘Habonim’ in Hebrew is “the builders”. Projects and initiatives that bring people together in enriching engagement is about building not like BDS which is about destroying.

Moving away from ‘destructive’ to ‘constructive’ messages, the Community Centre in Soweto supported by the Israeli Embassy and the Jewish youth movements in South Africa stands as a beacon of hope and promise.

image010 (3) — **Sending Message Of Love.** Danny Abede with his kids wearing Habomim uniform shirts in Khayelitsha

Feature picture credit: businesstech.co.za

Reconciling Reconciliation

Boycotts That Deserve To Backfire

Pressure from supporters of a boycott against Israel led organizers of an academic conference in December 2018 on “Recognition, Reparation, Reconciliation: The Light and Shadow of Historical Trauma” at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University to disinvite seven professors from three universities in Israel. One of the participants was a Palestinian, Mohammed Dajani, who founded ‘Wasatia’ which aims to bring both Israeli and Palestinian public opinion closer “to having more faith in negotiations and dialogue with each realising that the cake needs to be shared not trampled on.”

In an exclusive article for Lay Of The Land (LOTL), Prof. Mohammed Dajani explains his position why it was so important for him and the six Israelis to participate and how wrong the South African organisations were to oppose their participation.

By Prof. Mohammed Dajani

South Africa has long been a global symbol of the possibility of emerging from a turbulent and conflict ridden past to a hopeful future built on the spirit of reconciliation between its peoples.

It has been the hope of many, including Palestinians and Israelis, to replicate the successful transition towards peace and democracy that South Africa did.

South Africa has always had the potential to play a meaningful role as a negotiator between Israelis and Palestinians. The iconic former President and anti-Apartheid activist, Nelson Mandela, was living proof that reconciliation between historical enemies was possible.

South Africa is a country that I was excited to visit in 2016 to promote peace. Peace is the solution that both Palestinians and Israelis yearn for but there are elements that will do anything to ensure that the normalization of ties between our two peoples never happens. It is not just the fundamentalist elements within both Israeli and Palestinian society that would rather peace not happen, but in the Rainbow nation as well.

The BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) movement, has found fertile ground in South Africa and is extremely vocal in their support in the breaking down of any constructive and productive dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. In fact, one could go as far as to deem them anti-normalisation and anti-peace.

Peace will be built from the ground up and through Palestinians and Israelis engaging with each other. This is how we recover from historical traumas.

The reluctance of BDS and their allies to support peaceful endeavours was evident recently when I along with an Israeli colleague, was invited to participate in a conference titled Recognition, Reparation, Reconciliation: The Light and Shadow of Historical Trauma at the University of Stellenbosch. South Africa is always a favoured stop on my lecture circuit because of the historical symbolism of reconciliation and I thought that this conference was a fitting place for my message of peace.

My Israeli colleague and I were asked “not to participate” and were told that it was “a political matter of not allowing the normalisation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by means of discussions about reconciliation, empathy and forgiveness while Israel continues to attack Gaza and place it under siege, occupy the West Bank, kill and torture Palestinian activists, and deny human rights to people who have been dispossessed of their land”.

There was not attempt to hear the reality of the situation from people who live in the region or give my Israeli colleague and I an attempt to bring context and fact to discussion. This has also robbed participants of the opportunity to ask important questions and engage in meaningful dialogue and does not have the interests of the Palestinian people at heart.

I have endured my fair share of criticism as an academic but never have I had my credibility or identity as a Palestinian doubted before. To accuse me of not being a “genuine Palestinian” because I seek peace and engage with Israelis or Jewish communities around the world is extraordinarily myopic and one can see how preposterous it is for an organization that says it is concerned with human rights to be so set against dialogue and reconciliation.

The irony of not being allowed to speak at a conference which puts this discussion at the forefront of its agenda is such a lost opportunity to promote healing and understanding. It is also counter-productive to academia to not encourage diversity of opinions. It would appear that any contrary opinion to that expressed above is not welcome.

This is deeply troubling for a country that once prided itself in setting the benchmark for discourse.

If there is to be any solution and if South Africa intends to play a meaning ful role, then all voices need to be present at the table. This would not only be in the best interests of Israelis and Palestinians but also academia – after all, this is where future peace makers are shaped.

Dajani2 — **Prof. Mohammed Dajani.** (Credit: Natan Dvir)

Professor Mohammed S. Dajani, an adjunct fellow at The Washington Institute, founded the Wasatia movement of moderate Islam and previously worked as a professor of political science at al-Quds University in Jerusalem.

A Week of Infamy

DARK DAY for South Africa as it rolls out RED CARPET for Hamas Murderers

By David E. Kaplan

What a difference a weekend makes!

On the Friday, the 30^th November, a delegation of Hamas members of the Palestinian Legislative Council met and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the ANC caucus in Parliament, while on the Monday, a Hamas-controlled military court sentences six Palestinians to death for allegedly collaborating with Israel.

All that remains to be decided for the “hapless six” is whether they will be executed by hanging or firing squad!

**Parliament or Prison.** Hamas parliamentary delegation meeting with heads of ANC bloc in SA parliament in Cape Town.

South Africans should know all about Hamas’ atrocious record when it comes to the rule of law as they may recall their compatriot, the South African jurist, Navi Pillay who during her tenure as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014, appealed to Hamas “to halt all executions because they are imposed without fair trial” and “must follow international human rights law when seeking to impose the death penalty.” She expressed concerns about allegations of “ill-treatment and torture during interrogations” of people who were sentenced to death.

The South African jurist’s appeal fell on deaf ears as Hamas’ sole aim is to bring down the state of Israel and will kill all who stand in its way. Now South Africa is complicit in murder.

Those who support murderers are guilty as accessories!

The same HAMAS with whom they were proudly signing a MOU that states South Africa “will work towards the full boycott of ALL Israeli products and the support of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS) against Israel; and will ensure that ANC leaders and government officials do not visit Israel,” only weeks earlier fired nearly 500 missiles into Israel in under 24 hours – one of which blew up a bus.

These missiles were fired not at military but civilian targets; one a direct hit on a home in Beersheba in which a mother and her three children had evacuated moments before to the home’s bomb shelter. Had they not, they would have been killed as many more innocents will likely be killed because of South Africa recklessly and shamefully providing blanket ‘legitimacy’ to terrorism and murder.

With South Africa having one of the highest incidences of rape in the world, its mollycoddling of Hamas is kin to supporting the rapist and punishing the victim!

How else do you explain the ANC’s deathly silence to Hamas’ deadly behavior, but plenty to say when it comes to Israel, as evident at its December 2017 Congress, when rather focusing on its country’s enormous challenges – called for a highly publicised downgrade of the South African embassy in Tel Aviv. This resolution too was included in the MOU signed by the ANC’s Chief Whip in Parliament, Jackson Mthembu, and Hamas’ cofounder Mahmoud Al-Zahar which promises that “the ANC Parliamentary Caucus will use the oversight powers of South Africa’s parliament to ensure that resolution to downgrade the South African embassy in Tel Aviv to a liaison office, is implemented by the South African government.”

Shaming Mandela

While on their one week visit to South Africa where they also met with the SACP (South African Communist Party), COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions), and the MRN (Media Review Network), these Hamas murderers committed the ultimate desecration when they were escorted by their ANC hosts to one of South Africa’s most iconic sites for commemorating the Apartheid era – the prison cell on Robben Island where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison.

How contrived to choreograph to a global audience of linking prisoners in Israeli jails for crimes of murder and attempted murder to one of the 20^th century’s greatest icons, Nelson Mandela.

How foolish and debasing of the Mandela legacy for the ANC to be part of this diabolical charade!

South Africans of any moral standing should cringe at the desecration of hearing Hamas’ al-Zahar standing inside Mandela’s cell, saying of his fellow murders in Israeli jails:

“Allah willing, you will get out of your prisons and rule the country, just like Mandela got out of prison and ruled this country.”

How much more frightening can it get when he declared that that this was his message “to every mujahid who wages jihad for the sake of his land and his country.”

image003 (7) — **A Call To Arms.** Hamas cofounder Mahmoud Al-Zahaar calls for Jihad from Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben Island.

While Mandela supported a Palestinian state, he did so with the proviso that it was to be alongside a secure Jewish state. Hamas on the other hand, believes in destroying the Jewish state. It is about time South Africans and notably the ANC face the facts and read what Hamas leaders themselves say:

Ismail Haniyah and Khaled Meshaal, both of whom have in the past been welcomed in South Africa, have stated repeatedly that “Palestine – from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea, from its north to its south – is our land, our right, and our homeland. There will be no relinquishing or forsaking even an inch or small part of it,” and that “we shall not relinquish the Islamic waqf on the land of Palestine, and Jerusalem shall not be divided into Western and Eastern Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a single united [city], and Palestine stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, and from Naqoura [Rosh Ha-Nikra] to Umm Al-Rashrash [Eilat] in the south.”
And the very man with whom they signed the MOU, Mahmoud al-Zahar stated that any talk of the 1967 lines is “just a phase until Hamas has a chance to regain the land…even if we [Hamas] have to do so inch by inch.”
Ominous Signs. Khaled Meshal stands during the singing of the National Anthem at a rally in his honor on October 21, 2015.

This is the same man who from Mandela’s cell has called for a violent Jihad “to regain the land inch by inch”.

This is the same week that the Johannesburg municipality has recommended renaming one of the city’s prominent roads, Sandton Drive, after the Palestinian airplane hijacker Leila Khaled sending shivers to South Africa’s Jewish community.

This will surely go down in South African history for Jews, as ‘A Week of Infamy’.

Feature picture credit: Afro-Palestine Newswire Service

‘Knee Jerk Reaction’

The ‘taking a knee’ by two students at Herzlia Middle School Cape Town during the singing of “Hatikvah” at a Grade 9 graduation ceremony has sparked controversy not only among the local Jewish community, but all over the country, even making the papers abroad.

Imitating African-American football players who protested against police brutality during US football matches, the two students explained their ‘copycat’ was to publicly profile Israel’s alleged human rights violations against the Palestinians.

What is at the core of this issue – Freedom of expression, failure of Zionist education at Jewish Day Schools, genuine concern for the Palestinians, disrespect to the State of Israel and the Jewish People, an urge for publicity? A storm has risen and is unlikely to abate anytime soon as the community grapples with the issues.

Offering a portal to people closely connected to the issue and the school to express their positions, LOTL hereunder publishes two articles, one by a former student at Herzlia School, Jonathan Zausmer, who today lives in Kochav Yair in Israel, and Dovi Goldberg, a 17-year-old student at a Jewish Day School in Johannesburg.

Perspectives from a 17 year old

By Dovi Goldberg

Intro:

The events following the controversial “taking of the knee” incident at Herzlia Middle School in Cape Town, has spurred a flurry of press coverage, including a discussion on Johannesburg-based radio station, 702.

I finished my exam last Thursday and got into my mother’s car. She was listening to the Eusebius Mckaiser show on 702, a Johannesburg-based radio station. The segment on the show was about “focusing on whether schools are the appropriate place for political discussion”. This intrigued me as they were speaking about the two pupils from Herzlia Middle School in Cape Town who had taken a knee during Hatikvah as solidarity with the Palestinian people and a protest against the Israeli government.

When I was in the car, Eusebius brought Josh Broomberg on the radio to speak. Josh Broomberg is a former vice head-boy of a Jewish day school in Johannesburg. Broomberg has encountered a similar reaction to these two boys as he once wore a kaffiyeh to an international debating competition. There was mass outcry from the Jewish community. For me personally, I agree with neither Broomberg nor the two Herzlia boys.

Broomberg said a couple of times on air that he was going to be very careful of what he says but ultimately Mckaiser and Broomberg share the same pride in the braveness of these two boys.

I tried calling into the show over twenty times to express my opinion on the matter -the opinion of a Jew who is a proud Zionist and knows what Hatikvah truly means.

This is what I would have said if 702 and Eusebius Mkaiser would have answered my call.

Hi Eusebius,

I am a 17 year old pupil at a Jewish day school in Johannesburg.

I am proud Zionist and a proud Jew, I am also a person who believes in the freedom of speech and of expression, but there is also a time and a place for that.

I understand that these pupils took a knee during ‘Hatikvah’ the national anthem of Israel. They took a knee to protest the Israeli government as they say they cannot support it morally. But I don’t think these boys fully understand what Hatikvah is about because taking a knee during Hatikvah is not only disrespecting Israel, it is also disrespectful to the six million Jews that perished during the Holocaust and to the Jews who had never given up their hope of eventually returning to Zion.

Hatikvah which in Hebrew means ‘the Hope’ was not written specifically as a national anthem.

The poem which was originally written by Naftali Herz Imber in 1877 portrays the two thousand year old hope of the Jews returning to their ancestral homeland, Israel.

It was adopted as the National anthem of the Zionist movement at the first Zionist conference in 1897

In 1944, 4 years before the establishment of the state of Israel, Czech Jews sung this song while they were beaten and marched into the gas chambers in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Disrespecting Hatikvah is disrespecting these people who died with the hope of Jews still having a chance to visit the holy land.

During liberation, the Jews of Bergen Belsen and Dachau concentration camps sang this song as they marched towards freedom. These Jews had lost everything, family, valuables and all necessities for daily life -but the one thing these people did not lose is their hope to return to Zion.

“As long as in the heart, within,

A Jewish soul still yearns,

And onward, towards the ends of the east,

an eye still gazes toward Zion”

These are the words of the opening verse of Hatikvah. A verse so powerful it sends shivers down my spine.

So I will reiterate my opinion – the freedom of speech and freedom of expression is definitely important, but as long as there is a Jewish soul, the heart will always yearn for Zion.

Be critical of Israel if you want to be, but do not ever disrespect Hatikvah.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kneecapped

By Jonathan Zausmer

A flurry of reactions has followed the uproar over two students from Herzlia Middle School in Cape Town, South Africa, who decided to “take a knee” as an act of protest during the singing of Hatikva, the Israel national anthem.

Establishment South African Jewish leadership was horrified. Condemnation has echoed throughout the S.A. Jewish community and abroad. South African Jewry was kneecapped and is crying out in pain. I will not condemn these students as some writers have hysterically done in these pages, calling them “tots” or “pawns” or “poster boys”. Let us be clear, their act was no frivolous attempt at destruction. Protesting in this way takes courage, conviction and involves consequences of which they clearly were aware. Yet within their protest, I detect confusion.

It is that confusion we need to examine.

In brief, we are talking about something called disruption. Establishments and institutions loathe it, because the comfort zone of same-same work, same-same thinking, same-same paradigms are thrown out of balance. One needs to gasp for air, rationalize your position, understand the fast-changing world, initiate, and create a culture of change and renewal.

Let me state, that as a graduate of Herzlia School, I feel the pain, the embarrassment and the immense challenges now confronting the management and staff of this prestigious institution. I am grateful for the education I received there and deeply respect the growth and development of a unique educational process that has taken place over the years. Within the constraints of a conservative Jewish South Africa, the leadership of this school now faces a challenge. By embracing that challenge, they now have an opportunity to open up some issues that go further afield than this specific incident.

In order to see the big picture, we need to take a step back and take an overview of something that has brought home some hard truths that have been conveniently ignored by the institutions of Diaspora Jewry and now is no better time to address them. And we need to address them because the very nature of Judaism and Jewish identity has shifted during the post WWII era from isolated and vulnerable small religious communities abroad, to large secular Jewish communities that are made up of worldly, high-achievement, sophisticated people who identify with Israel and see Israel as the heart and vibrant center of modern Judaism. The values that they carry with them from generations of learning and teaching are now challenged by an Israel that, while financially vibrant, is facing challenges of discrimination within it, gross violation of human rights, uncontrolled rampant colonialist ultra-nationalism bolstered by government policy, heading to a very possible scenario of a Jewish minority ruling over a Arab Muslim majority within one state.

At the core of this disruption, unease, ethical tension and conflict of identity – at the very core, is the Netanyahu government in its various forms. At the outset of his term as Prime Minister, Netanyahu affirmed the two-state solution, albeit with many provisos, caveats and cautions. But he affirmed the concept. Yet he and his government have done everything in their power to unhinge and impede such a policy. Rampant Israeli settlement in the very area destined for Palestine is proof. Scorn for U.S. agents of peace who have encouraged this policy since advocated by President Bush back in 2003 is proof. The government of Israel laughs and scorns U.S. peace initiators from Bush, Obama, Kerry, Trump, to Jared Kushner. Vast chunks of the Israeli budget, of U.S. grants, of military spending go into owning occupied territory by means of settlement and disowning the now millions of Palestinians who live there. West Bank and Gaza GDP per capita runs at approximately USD 3,500. Israeli GDP per capita runs at approximately USD 40,000.

Establishment Jewish communities around the world, especially in environments that host ugly anti-Semitic sentiments within it, such as in South Africa, have lapsed into the mode of blindly following Israel and its government whatever the circumstances. The “insurance policy” concept of a safe space for Jews in the world rises above all ethical, legal, moral, complex matters. On the shameful acts of corruption, abuse of power and national domination of another people, there is an eerie silence. This is a consequence of being humbled by the fact that those who do not face the gun, as we do here, should remain silent. To this I say no. It is incumbent, indeed the duty of Jews worldwide to speak up, whether in New York, Paris or Cape Town, South Africa.

First appeared in ‘Times of Israel’.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Originally from South Africa, Jonathan made aliya in the seventies, and lived and worked on a kibbutz for several years. He has a graduate degree in business from Boston University and is a managing partner of an Israeli based business. He was a co-founder of the Forum Tzora peace action group and participates in the Geneva Initiative workshops. He is the author of the book “Valley of Heaven and Earth”.

Feature picture bookmark the permalink

Like us? Now on Facebook !!

Like us? You can now follow us on Facebook.

Lay of the Land now has its own facebook page and you can share our articles and comment easily here:

https://www.facebook.com/LotLSi te/?epa=SEARCH_B0X

Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, But Hateful Words Can Kill You.’ – Hate speech in South Africa

By Wendy Kahn National Director, SAJBD

On 27 October, Robert Bowers entered the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, with his AR-15 rifle and proceeded to gun down more than a dozen Jews at their Sabbath prayers. Eleven people died. Shortly before this, Bowers had posted the following comment on social media, ““HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people,” he wrote, “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.” The reference was to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society’s, a Jewish-headed refugee resettlement agency.

There are innumerable cyber trolls who use social media platforms to propagate antisemitic hatred. What made Bowers different was that rather than continuing to denounce Jews for this supposed ‘evil’, he decided to do something about it. Moreover, he made his intentions clear: He was ‘going in’. This was blatant incitement to violence.

Earlier this year, I shared a panel with several visiting experts from the US at a conference on religious freedom, hosted by the American Consulate. At the end of my presentation, I was asked what defined incitement to violence. The Americans explained that in order for them to act on a threat, it had to be imminent and direct and they included an onerous list of conditions for what would constitute incitement. Tragically, no one recognised that Robert Bower’s threat was real and that it would result in 11 dead bodies on the synagogue floor following his announcement that he was there ‘to kill Jews’.

Woe to us all in South Africa if we similarly ignore such warnings. And yet, there seems to be a sense of lethargy in our country when it comes to responding decisively to threats of violence against individuals in our society.

In 2014 Tony Ehrenreich, ANC Cape Town City Councillor and Chairperson of COSATU in the Western Cape, posted an explicitly threatening comment about the SA Jewish Board of Deputies and other “Zionist supporters”, inter alia declaring that the time had come “to say very clearly that if a woman or child is killed in Gaza, then the Jewish Board of Deputies, who are complicit, will feel the wrath of the People of SA with the age old biblical teaching of an eye for an eye”. There was nothing ambiguous about this threat. He made this inflammatory statement it at an extremely volatile time when there were heightened tensions over the emotive issue of the Gaza conflict. South Africa was awash with acts of antisemitic abuse and intimidation, whether against Jewish individual or against Jewish institutions. It was in such a fraught and volatile context that a government leader incited tit-for-tat vigilante violence against the representative body of SA Jewry. It took the Human Rights Commission four years to make a determination of Hate Speech against Ehrenriech.

As we learned with Bowers this week, one can never know what the intention behind the threat is.

We also need to recognise that whether or not Ehrenreich himself intended to act on his words, a pronouncement of this nature, particularly by someone in his position, could easily have inspired others to take him at his words. People holding public office are positioned to influence mind-sets, for good and for bad, and any incitement to cause harm on their part has the potential to trigger action, with potentially devastating consequences.

Tony Ehrenreich is just one of the many individuals, several of whom like himself held public office, who have made threatening and demeaning comments about South African Jewry. A casual overview of what is being said about Jews in the social media will soon reveal how regularly antisemitic tropes are surfacing. Many people, it would appear, do not see anything wrong in alleging that Jews exploit and cheat the rest of the population through their clandestine control of the economy, media etc, that responsibility for wars, disease, depressions and other global disasters should be laid at their door.

What is of even greater concern is that casual calls for Jews to be expelled from the country, or even massacred outright, are becoming more and more frequent. For example, in response to an EWN article on the Pittsburgh atrocity in which I was quoted, a comment was posted on twitter noting: ‘I think we must kill jews in sa…’ (sic).

By demonising individuals or a minority group in society, it has the effect of dehumanising them. This coupled with blatant calls for violence as advocated by Tony Ehrenreich (as well as by fellow Cosatu representative Bongani Masuku, who likewise was found guilty of inciting hatred and harm against the Jewish community) is dangerous and irresponsible.

Jews know only too well that the Holocaust did not start with gas chambers and mass firing squads, but with words. We are thus acutely aware of the danger of threats and the possible outcomes of incitement to violence. For that reason, our community will not stand silently by when a Bongani Masuku threatens our Jewish university students, nor will we look the other way when a Tony Ehrenreich threatens us with `Eye for an Eye’ revenge attacks.

If there is one lesson we should heed from this horrific massacre in Pittsburgh, it is that words should not be dismissed and taken lightly. As Genocide Watch’s Dr Gregory Stanton said, “Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, But Hateful Words Can Kill You.’

Wendy Kahn is National Director of the SAJBD, a position she has held for 12 years. Prior to this she was an elected leader of the Board and it’s Vice Gauteng Chair.

Her career started at Eskom where she worked with middle management leadership development after which she was a founder and Executive Director of the He’atid Leadership Programme for 14 years taking South African leaders to Israel on various programmes to learn from its many models of development.

Her work at the SAJBD is around protecting our community’s civil liberties, protecting the community against antisemitism, representing the community to and building relations with the broader South African society.

Muddling ‘Mandla’

Importing Conflict, Creating Dissent

By Rolene Marks

Fewer names inspire as much respect, recognition and awe as the moniker, ‘Mandela’.

The Mandela family name is iconic. In the annals of history, the name Mandela will be synonymous with human rights, endurance, fortitude and reconciliation. Brand Mandela is universal and inclusive, conciliatory and noble. Nelson Mandela remains one of the world’s greatest human rights advocates and South Africa’s most beloved son.

His grandson, Mandla, is quite different to his legendary grandfather.

image005 (6) — **Was the grandfather disappointed already with his grandson?**

A polarizing figure in South Africa, Mandla Mandela is no stranger to controversy and is proof that there is such a thing as bad press.

Grandson Mandela is a frequent flier in the news headlines.

He has been the subject of much derision from his family for his moving his late grandfather’s remains from their peaceful resting place without consulting the family. The family laid criminal charges of tampering with a grave and South African High Court Judge, Judge Lusindiso Phakade, ruled in favour of the complainants and ordered Mandela to exhume and rebury the body.

Criminal allegations were again levelled at the younger Mandela when he was charged with pointing a firearm and assaulting, a man. He was found guilty of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Mandela’s private life could also rival a soap opera. Tales of annulment and affairs, blazing arguments and paternity suits abound and after converting to Islam, Mandela married his fourth wife.

image001 (10) — **Who’s Next?** The Four Wives Of Mandla Mandela.

Soap opera shenanigans aside, where Mandela does create concern is his penchant for importing conflict into South Africa.

Mandla Mandela is an extremely divisive figure in South Africa. While his grandfather was a symbol of peace and reconciliation, the younger Mandela has aligned himself with a movement that is at once, anti-dialogue and normalization, anti-peace and flagrantly anti-Semitic – BDS. In short, Mandla Mandela has become a poster child for this movement that advocates terrorism and states the end of the Jewish state as its goal. This is, of course, wrapped up in the seductive language of concern for human rights.

BDS are well aware of the power of “Brand Mandela” and trot him out in order to gain legitimacy. Mandla Mandela is happy to be gaining headlines for something other than his unsavory exploits. And so, it is a match made in heaven.

Nelson Mandela’s position on the Middle East is well documented.

In the spirit of engagement, he spoke to Arafat and while supporting the national aspirations of Palestinians stating that “we cannot be free until the Palestinians are free”, he astutely added that he could not conceive of Israel withdrawing if Arab states did not recognize Israel within secure borders.

This has not yet happened!

By comparison, Mandla Mandela is not carrying on the family tradition, choosing instead to endorse slap-happy would-be terrorist teenagers like Ahed Tamimi who endorse violence. “Whether it is stabbings or suicide bombings or throwing stones, everyone must do his part and we must unite in order for our message to be heard that we want to liberate Palestine,” said Tamimi on a Facebook live transmission filmed by her mother.

Instead of condemning these calls for violence and murder, Mandla Mandela intends to award her for her “bravery, resistance and being a symbol of hope for millions.”

Purveyor of Lies

Mandela has drunk the BDS Kool-aid and has accused the State of Israel of practicing “the worst version of Apartheid”. He has drawn these conclusions without any engagement with the Jewish state. But he knows where his bread is buttered – and statements like these are useful when it comes to shoring up Muslim votes in areas where South Africa’s ruling ANC party may not enjoy much support.

Instead of standing for justice, he is fanning the flames of hatred and divisiveness in a country where race relations are growing increasingly tense and anti-Semitism is rising. Unlike his grandfather who advocated dialogue, understanding the other side, and who very importantly recognized that Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people.

Mandla Mandela steadily advocates for breaking off bilateral ties between Israel and South Africa and backs this up with vicious accusations like the one below:

“Freedom loving people all over the world and activists in the International Solidarity Movement that stood by us in our darkest days of the anti-apartheid struggle are looking to South Africa for leadership in the call to isolate Apartheid Israel for its crimes against humanity and continued pogrom of Palestinians, many of whom have been shot, maimed or killed indiscriminately. They don’t spare the elderly, women or young children.”

***Devious & Deceitful.*** He that should know better, Mandla defiles the Mandela surname when he falsely declares Israel “to be the worst apartheid regime.”

By inciting this kind of hatred and importing conflict into South Africa, Mandla Mandela has effectively removed the African state’s ability to try and broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians and is sowing dangerous division at a time when the country desperately needs unity. The elder statesman Mandela would be horrified.

What’s With Wakanda & Zion?

By Benji Shulman

On 1^st May 2018 the citizens of Addis Ababa received an unusual visitor. Israeli president Reuven Rivlin touched down in Ethiopia becoming the first occupant of his office ever to make an official visit to the country. In his wake came a bevy of business people, NGO’s, government officials, and even Ethiopian-Israeli popstar Estrada. The event was just the latest in several Africa-Israel related initiatives over the last few years, including three trips to the continent by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. President Rivlin joked that he was “returning the visit of Queen Sheba to King Solomon” and much like the original biblical visit, key items on the agenda included trade, culture and security.

President Reuven Rivlin at the “Impact for Good” conference in Ethiopia — **President Reuven Rivlin** at the “Impact for Good” conference in Ethiopia (Copyright: GPO/Mark Neiman)

Some pundits have tended to view this diplomatic engagement as something new or unusual. However, relations between Zion and ‘Wakanda’ actually have a considerable pedigree and also extends to the African American community. As the process evolves it is worth knowing some of the history.

Although Africa- Israel relations go back to the bible, the story really picks up around the late 1890’s. At the time, both Africans and Jews were the wretched peoples of the earth, victims of anti-Semitism, slavery, colonialism, racism and dispersion. It is therefore unsurprising that solutions in the form of Zionism and African Nationalism evolved simultaneously. The founder of Zionism, journalist Theodor Herzl, wrote in his seminal book, Altneuland (1902), “Once I have witnessed the redemption of the Jews, my people, I wish to also assist in the redemption of the Africans”. In African intellectual circles, the idea of a national Jewish liberation was a popular one. For instance, the founder of Pan-Africanism Marcus Garvey, referenced the Jewish national experience when he asserted that “many white men have tried to uplift them, but the only way is for the Negroes to have a nation of their own is like the Jews, that will command the respect of the nations of the world with its achievements.”

Model for Africa

Thus, the idea of Jews having their own state was viewed with favour by early Pan-Africanists. Garvey championed what was known as “Black Zionism” and Liberian diplomat/journalist Edmon Wilmot Blyden referred to “that marvelous movement called Zionism” as a model for African emancipation.

The impact of this sentiment would find its way into the civil rights movement in America. Hence the words of Martin Luther King Jr: “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews You’re talking anti-Semitism”. The real impact of these ideas, however, were in Africa, where newly independent African states were being created in the 1960’s. History and ideology combined, becoming a compelling driver for co-operation and understanding between the two groups. Kwame Nkrumah President of Ghana expressed it best in 1961, when he said:

“We understand one another, Jews and Negroes. We were both oppressed for a long time and now we both have our own independent states.”

image003 (2) — ***Time for Ties.*** Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman (r) listens to a group of local farmers in Nairobi on September 6, 2009. Lieberman and a large business and military delegation began a five-nation Africa tour on September 2, 2009 stopping in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria.

It was more than just commonalities between national ideologies, however, that drove the early Africa-Israel relationship. At the beginning of the 1950s, the new-born Jewish state found itself with few friends. The soon-to-be independent African states provided Israel with an opportunity to shore up its diplomatic defenses. Israel made an attractive diplomatic partner in Africa. As such, a small country, Israel, was in no position to be an agent of neo-colonialism. In fact, having recently overthrown the British, Israel was a good example of a successful liberation struggle.

Moreover, African state builders appreciated the Zionist institutions that had brought about the creation of the country, and they sought to adapt them for their own projects. The Pan-Africanist journalist George Padmore, for instance, believed that Africa’s development could be fostered using organised infusions of funding from the African-American Diaspora, along the same lines as the United Israel Appeal In the defense sphere, early Zionist military formations were the inspiration for the concept and structure of Umkhonto we Sizw (MK), the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC).

image002 (5) — **Israel’s Helping Hand.** Israeli drip irrigation educational programme in South Africa. (Photo – Israeli MFA)

In planning MK, Nelson Mandela leaned on the experience of anti-apartheid activist Arthur Goldreich who had fought as a member of the Palmach, the elite military wing of the Haganah in Israel’s War of Independence. Goldreich, who escaped from a South African prison at the time of Mandela’s arrest, and settled in Israel, had drafted the military code for Umkhonto we Sizw. After he went underground in 1960, Mandela also credits “The Revolt” by Menachem Begin as being among the books he used in planning the ANC’s guerilla campaign against the Apartheid government.

When ANC leader Walter Sisulu visited Israel on his five-nation tour, he flew on Israel’s national carrier El Al. It was the only the airline in the world that would take the black South African passenger, since the Apartheid government had denied him a passport. Israel also contributed to building the defense infrastructure in many other African countries, especially training their military and police. The first pilots of the Kenyan and Tanzanian Air Forces were all trained by Israel; and it was Israel that built Ghana’s first naval academy.

Finally, African states and Israel shared many of the same developmental challenges. President Julius Nyerere observed in 1957 that, “Israel is a small country… but it can offer a lot to a country like mine. We can learn a great deal because the problems of Tanganika are similar to Israels.” This resulted in a vast array of joint projects across the continent including construction, agriculture, aquaculture, health care, hydrology, youth movements, regional planning, engineering, community services and many others. John Tettegah, Secretary General of Ghana’s Trade Union movement, said his visit to Israel had “given me more in eight days than I could obtain from a British university in two years”. Some of the more interesting projects included giving assistance in building the parliament in Sierra Leone and the creation of Ghana’s Black Star line shipping company.

Health and Wealth of a Nation

To ensure the ongoing success of these initiatives, many Israelis came to live in Africa to assist with programmes, particularly in health care. Through these engagements, a specialist eye clinic was established in Sierra Leone and social work training provided in Machakos, Kenya. Many African citizens, in turn, went to Israel to study at its tertiary institutions, including the Weitzman Institute, the Hebrew University, and the Mount Carmel Centre which was dedicated to training women in the developing world.

Societal cohesion was also on the agenda. Kenya’s President Jomo Kenyatta argued that, “You have built a nation with Jews coming from all corners of the world; we want to build a unified Kenya of a multitude of tribes joined together through Harambee (working together)”. By 1965, most major Africa leaders had visited Israel, coming from the Central African Republic, Chad, Dahomey (Benin), the Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Madagascar, Uganda, Mali and Upper Volta (Burkina Faso). Israel’s friends included President William Tubman’s, Liberia (who had voted for the establishment of the state in 1947 at the UN) and Emperor Haile Selassie’s Ethiopia.

image007 (1) — ***Forging Ties.*** Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. The Israeli and Kenyan leaders signed a joint statement that will foster cooperation on water and agriculture.

By 1973, Israel had established relations with 32 African states. Many opened embassies in Israel of which ten were based in Jerusalem, well before America had the idea. Included on this list were those of the Ivory Coast and Kenya. Israel also gained observer status on the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). It was the golden age of ‘Wakanda & Zion’.

(Wakanda is a fictional country located in Sub-Saharan Africa created by Marvel Comics and home to the superhero Black Panther.)

Not everyone, however, was delighted by the increased Africa-Israel co-operation. The power of the Arab states in international diplomacy was growing, and their official policy position on Israel was annihilation. Watching the growing African-Israel relationship with concern, they did what they could to impede it. Championed by Egypt, they attempted to ferment anti-Zionist rhetoric onto the agenda of multi-lateral bodies such as the OAU.

These were backed-up by punitive economic actions. The first serious attacks in these forums were taken in the early 1960s but were strongly rebuffed by the African states. As Julius Nyerere, expressed, “We are not going to let our friends determine who our enemies are.” Besides the risk of losing their friendship with Israel, African leaders were apprehensive about Arab inference in their domestic affairs, and they had bitter memories of the sub-Saharan slave trade.

Agricultural training in Cameroon — ***Coming To Cameroon.*** Israel agricultural training in Cameroon.

Recalling the Slave Trade

At one point during a UN debate, a Saudi Arabian delegate accused the Ivory Coast of “selling out” to Israel, to which the Ivorian delegate responded, “The representative of Saudi Arabia may be used to buying Negroes, but he can never buy us.” So, despite Arab pressure, African delegations helped put Israeli representatives on boards of the World Health Organisation and UNICEF. In return Israel was a regular backer of anti-Apartheid resolutions at the UN, eventually having the most votes against Apartheid of any western nation.

Notwithstanding this success, however, all was not a bed of roses in the Israel-Africa relationship, and by the late 1960s, the relationship became strained. Much of this had to do with the familiar problems that bedeviled the field of international aid, including the lack of large-scale capital and effective technical transfer, solutions for long term sustainability and some focus shift by Israel to other continents such as South America. This was added to a relentless Arab propaganda machine urging all countries to end ties with Israel. The situation began to take its toll and in the wake of the Six Day War, four countries cut ties.

Pouring Oil on Troubled Waters

The real change, however, started in October 1973 when Arab nations, led by Egypt, launched a surprise attack on Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur. Although the attack would eventually fail, it introduced a new powerful weapon into the world of diplomacy: the global oil boycott.

The Arab states threatened any country which had relations with Israel with an oil embargo. They also promised aid to those African countries that broke ties with Israel. The strategy sent the oil price rocketing, leading to a global economic crisis, but proving strategically successful.

The combination of economic coercion and continuous propaganda added to the already strained Israel-Africa relationship. This was too much for African states to bear and they began abandoning Israel en masse. President Senghor of Senegal stated the situation plainly: “The Arabs have the numbers, space and oil. In the third world, they outweigh Israel.” By the end of 1973, Israel found itself with only four official friends in Africa. The golden age of ‘Wakanda & Zion’ was over.

image004 (12) — **Turning A New Leaf.** Growing lettuce in Senegal using Israeli drip-irrigation (Photo: MASHAV)

This situation remained as such until 1978 and the signing of the world’s first Arab-Israeli peace with Egypt. Although it took time, Africa-Israel relations began to slowly be restored. Israel now has as many as forty diplomatic relationships in Africa with growing security, development and trade ties. Israel is looking for friends in Africa and observer status at the OAU while the continent is looking to take advantage of Israeli technology in development and security. There remain threats to the relationship with countries like South Africa and Morocco in the vanguard against Israeli interests on the continent.

Despite this, a new chapter in the saga of ‘Wakanda & Zion’ is evolving, and if all goes well, perhaps we may be on our way to a new Golden Age.

Israeli aid to Cameroon — **Seeing Eye To Eye.** In 2012, the Israeli Embassy initiated a project involving free cataract operations for dozens of Cameroonian patients in Bamenda, as a result of which – their eyesight was restored. Likewise, plastic treatments were offered to patients who had suffered from disfiguring facial burns. The project involved eye specialists from the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem, a donation of medical equipment from “Eye From Zion” NGO and support from the MFA’s MASHAV division.

Benji Shulman, Executive Director South Africa Israel Forum, is from Johannesburg, South Africa. He has a master’s degree in Geography and has worked in a range of fields in the Jewish community including education, advocacy, environment and outreach. He loves radio and has a hosted numerous shows on 101.9 ChaiFm in the last decade.

Category: Israel- South Africa relations

“An Endangered Species”

Like this:

The Call of the Wild

Like this:

South Africa Misbehaves; Israel Behaves

Like this:

Reconciling Reconciliation

Like this:

A Week of Infamy

Like this:

‘Knee Jerk Reaction’

Like this:

Like us? Now on Facebook !!

Like this:

Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, But Hateful Words Can Kill You.’ – Hate speech in South Africa

Like this:

Muddling ‘Mandla’

Like this:

What’s With Wakanda & Zion?

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: