Category: Israel- South Africa relations

ZAPIRO = FAR,FAR BELOW ZERO!

Consistent in his skewed prejudice against Israel, coupled with concealing facts and distorting the truth, South African Jewish cartoonist stokes the fires of antisemitism and endangers the Jewish community.

By Stephen Schulman

The Cape Town Jewish community is presently in an unenviable position: under siege with many of its members fearing for their own and their family’s safety and even their future in this so called “rainbow nation”.

Why in such a “happy land” finally freed from the shackles of Apartheid should such a situation exist? Simply because the ANC that has been ruling South Africa for the last thirty-one years, through widespread corruption, an institutionalized kleptocracy and the appointing of its party hacks (who also mostly happen to be clueless nincompoops) to official positions, has managed to ruin and reduce it to the status of  third world country. The government has also zealously devoted itself to the cultivation of ties to countries with odious human rights records. At the present, South Africa and Iran are snug in each other’s arms, locked in a passionate embrace with Pretoria assiduously disseminating that regime’s genocidal and virulently antisemitic vitriol. Cape Town is extremely fertile ground as it also has a large Muslim population that over the years has become deeply radicalized and increasingly militant, supporting Hamas and Hezbollah. Its clerics draw from the well-known pigswill bucket of anti-Semitic tropes, preach jihad, view the terrorists as freedom fighters, whitewash their atrocities and call for the destruction of Israel.

The combination of these two contributing factors has made the Jewish community come under assault; for Jews and Zionists are seen as one of the same. Jewish schools and institutions have naturally come under attack. There have been continuous demonstrations and mass protests, often violent, in areas that have a large Jewish community with the suburb of Sea Point now becoming the epicenter. Only recently, not content with demonstrations, a large motorcade with horns blaring, Palestinian flags waving and megaphones broadcasting slogans drove through the suburb. Unsurprisingly, all protests about this disturbance of the peace were brushed off by the municipal authorities for after all, when so many people are unemployed, live in squalor without basic services and suffer from a horrendous crime rate, there is nothing like the distraction of a well funded and organized demonstration against a common enemy i.e. the Jewish State to take their minds off their miserable plight.

Shapiro, a most gifted caricaturist, is well aware of the power of his cartoons in shaping public opinion Consumed and contorted by an obsessive and visceral hatred of Israel, devoid of any moral proportion with a tunnel vision that sees Trump and Netanyahu as the sole enemies of civilization – he is nothing less a groveling Iranian proxy eerily echoing the message of his evil masters that see the USA and Israel as the “Great Satan” and the “Little Satan”.

The caricature of the 24th June, “Theatre of War” is just one more example of his warped mentality. The message is crude and clear: Israel is the instigator of a war with Iran but suffers far less damage. Trump enters to help his old friend. However, the genuine causus belli is an act, a divisionary ploy to distract the world from Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. Moreover, in case you missed it, Shapiro feels the need to remind us that Trump is a “sulky egomaniac”

On the very same day, to drive his twisted message home, Shapiro eagerly churned out a second cartoon with the inspiration lifted straight from the 1964 film “Dr Strangelove“. In it, the grotesquely demonical Netanyahu, intent on needless destruction, is sitting astride a bomb while pulling Trump along like a dumb ox. Once again ad nauseam the State of Israel is the root of all evil. With such an impressive portfolio of distorted caricatures that would do a totalitarian regime journal proud, our Jonathan’s work could easily find a place at a Tehran gallery’s current exhibition of antisemitic cartoons and land a job at the North Korean and Iranian press offices.

A reasonably informed person would be aware of Iran as the leading state sponsor of global terrorism as well as being a genocidal state seeking Israel’s destruction. This person would also be aware of its contravention of limits imposed on its uranium enrichment and Israel’s defensive pre-emptive strike that concentrated on Iran’s military- nuclear complex. He/she would also learn from the media that Iran purposely sent missiles against population concentrations in the Israeli cities causing much devastation and rendering thousands of people homeless. Iran has also destroyed a large hospital serving the Jewish and a large Muslim community and ruined invaluable medical research laboratories in the famed Weizman Institute thereby destroying priceless research. It also used cluster bombs, outlawed in over one hundred countries, when targeting civilian centres.

True to form, Shapiro consistent in his hatred, concealing facts and distorting the truth, not only creates a willfully misleading picture. He – once more – not only deeply offends his home town’s proudly Zionist affiliated community but increases its fears and insecurity as he diligently stokes the fires of antisemitism and feeds the flames of racial hatred.

Donald Trump, our Jonathan’s other fixation and object of his venom is constantly and luridly depicted as a fully uniformed, jackbooted Nazi SA storm trooper complete with his swastika armband. The US president may be many things, but a Nazi he is not. His pride in his three Jewish grandchildren and his rallying to Israel’s side are hardly the actions of a subscriber to that abhorrent ideology. Shapiro in his typically shameless insensitivity, indiscriminately and arbitrarily abuses the term “Nazi” to describe anyone whose ideas do not dovetail with his own definition of political correctness. He has lifted the word out of its true context, distorted and debased it: a defilement of the memory of the martyrs of the Holocaust and an affront to the survivors – a number of whom reside in Cape Town.

A visit to Shapiro’s official site is both instructive and illuminating. A perusal of a lengthy list of his caricatures reveals a natural ongoing concern with SA’s problems, his chronic fixation with the USA and Israel – but next to nothing else (in well over two hundred and fifty of his caricatures, one relates to Bashar Assad and two to Putin). The “Why I am still fighting monsters everywhere!” fearless dragon slayer mounted  on his high horse, preening himself on his ethics is simply incapable of or unwilling to seek out other “monsters” in this world. Hollow words from a little hollow straw man.

Jonathan Shapiro sees himself as an African and identifies with the struggle of its oppressed peoples, yet here he suffers from bad case of moral myopia and conveniently turns his head to look the other way. The continent is currently roiled by many wars and sufferings. There are the massacres and the genocide in Sudan perpetrated by the Janjaweed militia with the consequent mass starvation and devastation whose dimensions dwarf all other conflicts. In Nigeria, the Fulani tribesmen have destroyed many Christian villages and churches, murdering thousands, raping and abducting young girls. In some African states such as Mauritania, slavery is still actively practiced with millions still in bondage. And further afield, what about the atrocities committed by Al Qaeda and ISIS? Where is his voice? The silence of our shining knight with his self touted conscience is deafening. The reason is crystal clear: the perpetrators are Moslem and Jonathan, knows full well on which side his bread is buttered. Why cause offence, possibly be called Islamophobic and suffer the backlash? Why lose the support of your public when it is far more pragmatic to flush your so–called ideals down the bowl where they will spill out to further pollute the Cape beaches. Our man has to make a living by selling his books, penning caricatures for the newspapers, and peddling his cutesy statuettes of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu (the unsigned ones are now on sale for a bargain half price!) Much better to turn a blind eye!

The jewel in the crown of Shapiro’s website is a filmed interview conducted by a most affable and accommodating young man who from his name appears to be Muslim. Ensconced in his comfortable Camps Bay home, sitting next to his drawing board with anti-Netanyahu caricatures prominently displayed, the self promoting, fawning, and sycophantic Shapiro, falls all over himself in his feverish eagerness to extol his moral virtues and display his political correctness. And lest we forget, the video opens with the camera focusing on two especially chosen exceptionally lurid and denigrating caricatures of – yes, you guessed it! – Netanyahu.

I must confess that after a few minutes of watching this cloying performance, I was overcome by nausea and had to stop. Those gifted with strong stomachs and endowed with infinite patience are welcome to try to watch a tedious and repetitive twenty-six minutes until the end.

In Jewish history there are many recorded instances of aberrant members who have forsaken, turned against and harmed their people. However, Jonathan Shapiro in sinking so low has created a new category: that of a self serving hypocrite who through his actions knowingly harms the community but has no qualms about exploiting its services for his own needs. Such an abhorrent individual, devoid of conscience, scruples and common decency is beneath contempt. 



Cartoonist Zapiro: Why I am still fighting monsters everywhere | The InnerView




About the writer:

Stephen Schulman is a graduate of the South African Jewish socialist youth movement Habonim, who immigrated to Israel in 1969 and retired in 2012 after over 40 years of English teaching. He was for many years a senior examiner for the English matriculation and co-authored two English textbooks for the upper grades in high school. Now happily retired, he spends his time between his family, his hobbies and reading to try to catch up on his ignorance.






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).

ZAPIRO = ZERO

Ink dripping with blood, South African Jewish cartoonist endangers his people.

By Stephen Schulman

Like so many others, I am familiar with the work of the South African cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro better known as Zapiro. Shapiro, the source of many biting caricatures has been gifted with exceptional artistic talent but most sadly, very little else.

Shapiro positions himself as the great and fearless crusader wielding his mighty pen “fighting monsters” whilst carrying the banner of an unbiased moral authority that clearly differentiates wrong from right in exposing the injustices in our world. Unfortunately, his hatred of the State of Israel runs so deep that all of his cartoons of our country overflow with such venomous bilge that all pretence of his vaunted morality is jettisoned.

In Iran, a theocratic, despotic and repressive government boasts an atrocious human rights record of incarcerating, torturing, murdering and publicly executing its critics; in the first four months of 2025 alone, there have been at least 343 recorded exe­cu­tions. It has also long trumpeted its declared aim – with all means at its disposal – of obliterating the Jewish state. The IAEA has revealed that this regime while employing its well-honed strategy of prevarication, threats, obfuscation, subterfuge and outright lying has blatantly contravened all imposed limits and manufactured large amounts of highly enriched fissionable uranium suitable for the construction of an atomic bomb. How did our Shapiro react to this scenario of a Holocaust denying genocidal rogue state acquiring the means of mass destruction? His cartoon of the 12th June speaks for itself:

If you are looking for any condemnation or even hint of Iran’s actions, you will be sorely disappointed for once again Shapiro’s old flogging horse Netanyahu reappears, now depicted as a sinister war monger with a mushroom cloud spouting from his head. To our Jonathan it matters not one whit that Iran’s actions have been condemned by the European community and many Western countries. For, as usual, as portrayed in his regular vilifying and demonizing cartoons, Netanyahu i.e. Israel i.e. the Jews are the root of all conflicts and injustices in the Middle East.

Why his silence on Iran’s crimes and transgression? The answer lies with SA’s ruling African National Congress party’s accumulation of huge debts that were suddenly paid off by a mysterious but well known benefactor: Iran. Shapiro is not only a highly moral but also a most pragmatic individual and knows full well that any attempt to criticize his government’s close ally and party bankroller would have officialdom fall on him like a ton of bricks. How true for him is the old adage: “A dog barks for his masters.” After all, a man has to put food on the table for all those hungry mouths and nobody likes to be unceremoniously hoofed out of lucrative newspaper jobs and see his dedicated buying public boycotting his books. So accordingly, principles must be swept under the carpet and a politically correct silence must be maintained.

On the 13th June, only one day after the publication of this scurrilous cartoon, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s military-nuclear complex – a war for its survival that has been condoned by the enlightened international community. While Israel has confined its targets to Iran’s military and nuclear installations, Iran, unsurprisingly, has had no compunction about sending its UAV’s and missiles into a hospital and heavily concentrated urban areas.

The war is still ongoing and Shapiro’s pen will be busy drawing for his select audience. If anyone wonders about the content of his forthcoming cartoons, a glance at a few of his notorious past endeavors should leave no doubt. The cartoon of the 8th October 2024 is so disgusting in its distortion of truth and warped narrative that it is simply beneath contempt. Other repulsive cartoons portray Israel’s P.M sitting in a bath of Arab blood and as the charioteer behind the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

But what about Shapiro’s pursuing of some genuine “monsters” in this world such as the repressive North Korean regime and China’s persecution of the Falun Gong sect and the cultural genocide of the Tibetans and the Uyghur? Neither a squeak nor a plaintive bleat emanates from our crusading knight, for after all, China is a valued trading partner and investor in SA’s crumbling economy and it wouldn’t do to ruffle their feathers.

On October 7th 2023, a Hamas terrorist army invaded Israel in an orgy of rape, sodomy, plundering and destruction, sadistically murdering twelve hundred people – the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Two hundred and fifty innocent people – from little children to infirm octogenarians were forcibly abducted into Gaza and held in unspeakable conditions, suffering sexual abuse, torturing and beatings while being systematically starved and dehydrated. Many of them were murdered in captivity including a young mother together with her toddler and his small brother. Fifty hostages still remain and of those twenty are reputed to be still alive. Would this not arouse outrage in the heart of any decent, thinking person? Jonathan Shapiro, true to form in his callousness and selective morality, turns a blind eye to the suffering of his fellow Jews in Israel and never a hint of the tragedy or condemnation of its perpetrators has ever appeared in his work.

Revolting Reality. More revolting than Zapiro’s false caricatures is the true picture of Iran such as seeing a 75% increase in executions during first four months of 2025 over 2024 with at least 343 according to Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO).

Nevertheless, to Shapiro living in Cape Town, Jewish lives do matter. They do indeed matter very much to him when they are in close proximity and when they can serve him or be exploited for his personal needs. He besmirches Israel at every opportunity, yet had no problem in sending his children for a good education to Herzlia, the Jewish day school. He also sent them to a Zionist Jewish youth movement’s summer camps knowing that they would be well looked after and he would have peace of mind. He also had no qualms about applying for a place for his aged mother in the Jewish home for the aged in Cape Town.

Jonathan Shapiro is nothing more than a self serving hypocrite, a pitiable individual hiding behind the façade of a crusader with a high moral stance but who applies his principles only when they serve his needs. The stench of a putrid morality has long clung to this despicable personage.



About the writer:

Stephen Schulman is a graduate of the South African Jewish socialist youth movement Habonim, who immigrated to Israel in 1969 and retired in 2012 after over 40 years of English teaching. He was for many years a senior examiner for the English matriculation and co-authored two English textbooks for the upper grades in high school. Now happily retired, he spends his time between his family, his hobbies and reading to try to catch up on his ignorance.







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).

SOUTH AFRICA SHOULD TREAD VERY CAREFULLY WHEN IT COMES TO JIHADIST TERRORISM

Why should a minority foreign import be allowed to determine the future of the majority?

By Kenneth Moeng Mokgatlhe

I was taken aback by the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) when it accepted the application of the Shariah-based political party called the Islamic State of Africa (ISA). This application was forwarded by a man who is not new to controversy. Farhad Hoomer was arrested in 2018 after he was accused of being involved in the deadly attack at the Imam Hussain Mosque in Verulam,  a town 24 kilometres north of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, however, his charges were later withdrawn.

The name Islamic State of Africa raises a serious concern as it suggests that Hoomer may be associated with Islamic State (ISIS or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations (UN) and many countries around the world, including Muslim countries.

Hoodlum Hoomer. Farhad Hoomer and four others were arrested at a warehouse in Mayville, Durban in June 2021 where police seized more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition, handguns, an AK-47, a bolt action rifle with a scope and a cellphone jammer. Charges were later dropped against Hoomer and his co-accused. (Photos: SAPS)

This terrorist organisation needs no introduction in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as it continues to cause chaos in Mozambique where South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has been involved to stop the Jihadi terrorism unleashed by a group known as Islamic State of Mozambique (ISM).

The accusations by some Western politicians that Africa  – to some extent – is an enabler of growing terrorism on the continent could be true. Countries such as Sudan and Chad have allowed the Islamic organisations to operate in their countries, at times offering their countries as covers for wanted terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden.

The ideology and political aims of South Africa’s new party, ISA, does not in any way align with the country’s constitution. Just as the founder, Hooker, has said, its constitution makes it very clear that it will implement Shariah law – a legal and moral framework within Islam derived from the Quran and Islamic tradition. The chaotic scenes deriving from the Middle East and Asia are entirely caused by the proponents of this belief, who are convinced that the whole world should be forced, through violence, to follow Islam. 

Farhad has visions of getting far ahead. Durban businessperson Farhad Hoomer – accused by the US of leading an “Isis cell” – denies being a terrorist but says his goal is the establishment of an Islamic caliphate and he is willing to take up arms to achieve his goals. He sees democracy as a form of “evil, tyranny and enslavement”. 
 

What Hoomer should understand is that South Africa is and will forever remain a secular state, which has a greater respect for all religions and has always allowed everyone to practice their religion. Section 15 of the South African Constitution guarantees to all the “freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, and opinion.” With South Africa being a predominantly Christian country – a legacy due to its colonial past – it is not nor will ever be a religious state. From this vantage point, it does not make sense that a minority Islamic sect could be allowed to determine the future of the majority. 

Spearheading Sharia. Farhad Hoomer who wants his new political party, the Islamic State of Africa (ISA), to be part of South Africa’s political landscape said in an interview with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime “Will I fight for Sharia? I would say yes.”
 

The concern here is not whether this Sharia-based party’s application to the Electoral Commission would be approved or that Hoomer may not even get a parliamentary seat, but about the principle. The IEC was not supposed to even entertain the application of Farhad Hooler which would be a green light to import violence to South Africa. Just on our doorsteps in Mozambique, our brothers and sisters are terrorised by similar Islamic groups. 

South Africa is also harbouring immigrants and refugees who are running away from the Middle East and African countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Nigeria, and many others.

Potential Import. In South Africa’s northern neighbour Mozambique, residents near Macomia in Cabo Delgado province, gather after their village was attacked in 2024 by the Islamic State group. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

According to the Middle East Africa Research Institute (MEARI), South Africa has been and remains a source of funding for many terror activities across the African continent. There are Islamic State-loyal cells inside our country who are acting as middlemen by consolidating all the funds from all related terror organisations to generate income. MEARI further observes that Somalia and South Africa are financial hubs of all Islamic State cells or provinces as they are called, the money is then pooled inside South Africa and laundered across East Africa through an intricate network that finances the Islamic State’s activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, and Mozambique.

Frying Pan into the Fire. Fleeing civil wars, these refugees from Somalia, the DRC and Burundi camp outside the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) offices in Cape Town, South Africa in 2019 fearing for their lives due to local xenophobia. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp)

Recent terrorist encounters in Djibouti and Mozambique should sound alarm bells for South Africa to neither associate nor tolerate any Islamic State related organisations to operate on its soil. To do so will only create a conducive environment for radical Islamic terrorism to thrive in a country that has absorbed so many illegal migrants from across the African continent.

On a matter of principle, South Africa’s Electoral Commission should not have entertained the application of ISA whose party platform is both foreign to South Africa’s political, cultural and social ethos and most certainly at odds with the country’s internationally acclaimed liberal constitution.

As much as we respect religious nations, we are not a religious state and do not wish to become one.

Islamic State of Africa eyes 2026 LGE: Farhad Hoomer
https://www.youtube.com/embed/yIKTYw_WyCE





About the writer:

Kenneth Moeng Mokgatlhe is a political writer and researcher based at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 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).

SOUTH AFRICA’S CONDUCT IN COURT – SECRECY AND SHENANIGANS

ICJ finds serious procedural violations in South Africa’s submission against Israel that should be acting with integrity and transparency not procedural violations, hearsay ‘evidence’ and secrecy.

By Craig Snoyman

(*First appeared under different title in the SAJR)

Last week, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a curious decision – one that the South African legacy media has largely ignored. Instead of holding Israel to filing its answer to South Africa’s case by the original deadline of 28 July 2025, the court granted a massive extension, to 28 January 2026.

On the face of it, this does not appear to be significant. But looking beneath the surface, there are serious implications for South Africa.

Funding the initial application: Why don’t we know where the money came from?

After South Africa instituted its application against Israel, alleging that it was committing genocide, speculation swirled about who was funding the case. After a lengthy silence, the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, stated in Parliament in December 2024 that South Africa was allocating a further R95 million to pursue the costs of the memorial (the founding case) at the ICJ. What remains unstated, and which the legacy media no longer questions, is who financed the initial application for preventative measures, which is distinguishable from the memorial. Credible sources such as the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy suggested that this funding came from Iran, and possibly Qatar as well. While the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said that the government had paid for it, Godongwana was more circumspect, dealing only with the memorial. The problem with this is that two years down the line there are still no financial records showing that any South African ministry either paid for, or budgeted for, the initial application.

Colourful Charade. South African lawyer Adila Hassim (left), South Africa’s justice minister Ronald Lamola (centre) and ambassador to the Netherlands Vusimuzi Madonsela at the International Court of Justice on Thursday. (Photo: EPA-EFE/Remko de Waal)

Professor John Dugard, the de facto leader of the South African legal team, refused to give a straight answer, merely stating that:

 “…allegations of covert funding are politically charged but legally irrelevant. The ICJ assesses cases on merits, not on financial origins.”

The suspicion that the government is either concealing information from its voting public or misrepresenting the position remains.

While doubts persist about the government and the initial funding, there was never a question about the capability of the South African legal team. This was the “A Team” – South Africa’s best silks and highly qualified and experienced international jurists. But with last week’s ICJ order this, too, needs to be looked at more closely.

The memorial submission: A legal battle shrouded in secrecy

The first substantive step in the case to prove that Israel has violated the Genocide Convention was the submission of a memorial detailing the genocide allegations. This memorial came at the hefty price of tens of millions of rand, and a substantial amount of it was used for investigation and legal fees. South Africa’s memorial amounted to a monumental 750 pages, accompanied by more than 4 000 pages of exhibits and annexes, setting out its evidence against Israel, including accusations of forced displacement, starvation, and mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza.

However, in keeping with ICJ protocol, memorials are not made public, and so South Africa’s memorial content remains locked away from public scrutiny. Israel was obligated to submit its counter-memorial (its defence) by 28 July 2025, approximately six months after the filing of the memorial. That deadline has now taken a dramatic turn.

A stunning ICJ ruling: SA exposed for serious procedural violations

The ICJ, after considering both South Africa’s and Israel’s submissions, ordered that Israel need only file its counter-memorial next year. This postponement to allow Israel to file its response (adding 9 months to the time given to respond), suggests that the ICJ found serious procedural violations in South Africa’s submission.

Vague at The Hague. Distracting attention away from its own abysmal record, (South Africa’s murder rate of 45 per 100,000 (2023/24) is the second highest for countries that publish crime data), it pursues Israel on unsubstantiated charges at The Hague. Seen here is a rather bored South African ambassador to the Netherlands Vusimuzi Madonsela checking his phone during a hearing at the ICJ in The Hague, Netherlands, January 12, 2024. (Patrick Post/AP)

Reliable leaks from “Western diplomats” have elaborated on the court’s order concerning the averment that “the counter-memorial had been significantly impeded because of a range of evidentiary issues that had arisen in connection with the memorial of the Republic of South Africa and in light of which the scope of the case remained unclear”. These leaks have now also been independently verified. In layman’s terms, South Africa is playing evidential hide-and-seek with Israel’s legal team. The diplomatic sources, and as verified by Israeli Professor Eugene Kontorovich and former Israeli Ambassador and an expert in international law, Alan Baker, state that South Africa submitted crucial evidence but concealed it from Israel, and it has submitted numerous unsubstantiated hearsay testimonies stemming from Hamas sources. South Africa’s response implicitly acknowledged that there was fire below the smoke responding that:

 “…the evidentiary issues raised concerned a limited number of documents and could in no way prejudice the respondent in the preparation of its case”.

For the “A Team” to pursue justice dishonestly would betray the very principle of justice itself and South Africa’s image as this benevolent pursuer of human rights. South Africa should be acting with integrity, transparency, and rigorous evidence – not through procedural violations, unreliable hearsay evidence, and secrecy. It should not be left to Israel to make sense of South Africa’s mess.

As any first-year law student would know, in these circumstances, this would be a violation of fundamental legal principles, coupled with an inability to prove that Israel has committed “genocide” as accepted by the Genocide Convention. My law professor once said my essays were neither quantitative nor qualitative. It seems the ICJ has viewed South Africa’s procedural irregularities in a similar vein. Its response has been to give South Africa a virtual harsh slap across the face.

Killing Kids. The massacre in Israel that began the hostilities is irrelevant to South Africa. This photo of children’s toys and personal items lying on the bloodstained floor of a child’s bedroom, following the murderous attack by Hamas gunmen in Kibbutz Beeri on October 7 would probably solicit a yawn from South Africa’s ‘illustrious’ legal team. (Photo: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

A fiasco at the ‘expense’ of South Africa

With a government refusing to clarify who financed the initial application, and the “A Team” seemingly committing basic legal errors, South Africa’s financial and legal missteps are costing the nation dearly. At a time when South Africa is feeling international political heat, legal egg on the face is not what is needed now. If the case for genocide lacks the legal foundation and it doesn’t have the evidence, then South Africa must stop throwing millions into a losing battle. Justice demands more than passion. It demands precision. And right now, South Africa may not be offering either.



About the writer:

Craig Snoyman is a practising advocate in South Africa.





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).

‘PICK n PAY’ PANICS

A modest Passover products display at a South African Pick n Pay leads to antisemitic rage and the Johannesburg supermarket’s surrender.

By Tim Flack

Let’s not sugar-coat this.

I’m not Jewish. Never claimed to be. But I’ll be damned if I stand by while open antisemitism gets paraded as activism in the middle of a grocery store. What happened at Pick n Pay Norwood on 11 April wasn’t protest. It was targeted harassment, and anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows it.

Propping up Jew-Hatred. When Pick n Pay took down its props indicating where the kosher-for-Pesach section was in the Norwood Mall before the festival, the Jewish community was shocked and angry, questioning how this could happen at a store with one of the biggest and most loyal kosher customer bases.

This wasn’t about foreign policy or the Gaza war. It wasn’t about challenging so-called Israeli aggression. It was about matzah and kosher grape juice. That’s it. A display of basic Passover products in the kosher section of a supermarket was turned into a battlefield by a group of attention-seekers who think yelling “genocide” into an iPhone makes them freedom fighters.

The kosher section featured traditional food items used during Passover, alongside symbols of Jewish identity, the colour blue, known as tekhelet, and the Star of David. That was enough to send the mob into a meltdown. Why? Because in their minds, even existing as a Jew is now a provocation.

Let’s set the record straight.

The Star of David is not a Zionist logo. It’s a Jewish symbol. Full stop. It predates the modern State of Israel by centuries. It’s etched into synagogues, stitched into prayer shawls, and engraved on gravestones around the world. Calling it controversial because it appeared next to matzah on a shelf is not political critique. Its antisemitism dressed up as moral outrage.

Uproar to Uprooting. Staging a protest inside the Norwood store on 11 April, the BDS Movement and its cohorts objected to the inclusion of what they called “Israeli imagery,” specifically a national flag and the Star of David, and demanded their removal resulting in the store removing the ‘offensive’ signs.

Pick n Pay stocks Halaal food (allowed under Islamic law) year-round. It runs specials during Ramadan. It marks Diwali – the Hindu ‘Festival of Lights’. It hangs tinsel and puts up Christmas trees in December. Nobody complains. Nobody stages a protest in the bakery aisle over hot cross buns. But when Jewish South Africans get a small, modest display for Passover, out come the hashtags and the rage. The double standard is blinding.

Norwood has a long-standing Jewish community. These products are local staples. It’s not some Zionist plot to destabilise South Africa. It’s people buying the food their families have eaten for millennia during one of the holiest times of the year.

And let’s not ignore the obvious. If this were any other religious group, the outrage would be instant. Imagine someone tearing down a Ramadan display and accusing Muslims of terrorism. They’d be charged with hate speech before they made it out the parking lot. But when it happens to Jews? It’s uploaded to Instagram with a filter and a “Free Palestine” slogan.

There is a clear line between political dissent and religious discrimination. That line was bulldozed at Pick n Pay Norwood. BDS and its affiliates don’t care about nuance, coexistence, or real solutions. They care about vilifying Jews under the false flag of human rights.

It’s time we called this what it is: an attack on Jewish life in South Africa.

What lies in ‘store’? The knee-jerk reaction of the Pick n Pay store taking down the Pesach décor apparently began when SA actor, writer, and radio and television personality, Eric Miyeni posted on social media that he would never shop at Pick n Pay again because of its Pesach display featuring Magen Davids and blue and white ribbons. Miyeni’s post went viral stirring an antisemitic rage against the “symbols of Judaism” but felt “vindicated” when the decorations were removed.

WHICH WAY PICK n PAY?

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies is right to demand an apology. Not because they want extra privileges, but because they want equal treatment. Jewish families should be able to shop in peace without being shouted at by strangers armed with smartphones and slogans.

Pick n Pay has a decision to make. Either it stands for all South Africans or it allows bigotry to masquerade as political activism. There is no middle ground here.

Apologise. Clarify your position. Reinforce that your stores are places of inclusion, not platforms for intimidation.

Because once you legitimise this kind of behaviour, it doesn’t stop with one community. Today it was the Jews. Tomorrow, it could be anyone.



About the writer:

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-32.png

Tim Flack is the CEO and Head of Comms and Public Relations and founder of Flack Partners PR, a boutique public relations firm in Cape Town, South Africa. Tim specialises in providing tailored communication strategies for businesses in the political, safety and security, and small business fields.






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)

AN UNEXPECTED FIFTH SON

A first encounter at a Passover seder left this Capetonian enriched by the experience.

By Tim Flack

This year, I found myself at a Passover Seder table for the first time in my life. I hadn’t planned on it. A kind friend asked if I had ever been to one – not being Jewish – and when I said no, she quietly arranged for me to attend the annual Seder at the Gardens Shul.

I knew that the Gardens Shul – also known as the Great Synagogue – had been established in 1841, making it the oldest Jewish congregation in South Africa.

The Garden Shul in Cape Town, South Africa with Table Mountain to the right.
 

I went alone, and to be honest, I was nervous. I had never been to a synagogue before. I went through the necessary security checks and felt completely out of place. I’m a big guy in a white kippah sruga (knitted yarmulke/skullcap) and a star of David on it, (I picked this kippah because I’m an unashamed Zionist, but that’s another story) with a yellow ribbon pinned to my shirt and a full Japanese tattoo sleeve. I knew I stood out.

I made my way up the stairs to the Seder Hall and sat at the first table I saw with open seats. There were two couples sitting there, around my age, and they welcomed me warmly. Just as I sat down, my blood sugar dropped sharply. I’m diabetic, so I explained what was happening. Someone quickly handed me grape juice and some water, and I managed to stabilize. That small act of kindness set the tone for the entire evening.

The Seder was led by Rabbi Osher, and I listened and took part in a tradition that has been observed for more than 3,000 years. I was quietly taking it all in and trying my best to follow, we had gotten to the 4 sons, someone leaned over during the reading and said something that stopped me in my tracks. They said, “You’re the Fifth Son.” I didn’t know what that meant entirely, I do now.

Inside the Gardens Shul, Cape Town.

If you know the Passover Haggadah, you’ll know it speaks of four sons. The wise, the wicked, the simple, and the one who does not know how to ask. But there is also a powerful teaching from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. He spoke of a Fifth Son, the one who is not at the table at all.

He may be disconnected, unaffiliated, uncertain if he belongs, or unaware there’s even a place for him. The Rebbe taught that it is not enough to engage with those already present. That there is a responsibility to reach out to those who are absent, to find the Fifth Son and bring him in, regardless of background or circumstance. It is an act of inclusion, of compassion, and of spiritual responsibility.

That night, I was that son. Not because I was missing, but because someone made sure I was invited. It truly was special.

Preparing the tables for a Passover seder at the Gardens Shul.

Rabbi Osher and his wife introduced themselves to me and were incredibly welcoming. So was everyone else I met. There was no suspicion. No hesitation. Just warmth and generosity. I came in quietly, and I left quietly, but I will never forget being welcomed into something so meaningful and sacred.

To the couples that allowed me to sit with them, thank you for making me feel like I belonged. To the Gardens Shul community, thank you for allowing me to be part of such an important tradition.

I may have slipped in and out of the room quietly. But I will always stand with the Jewish people. Your story, your values, and your courage have left a mark on me.

You have a friend in me. Always.



*Feature picture: The Garden Shul in Cape Town, South Africa with Table Mountain to the right.





About the writer:

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-32.png

Tim Flack is the CEO and Head of Comms and Public Relations and founder of Flack Partners PR, a boutique public relations firm in Cape Town, South Africa. Tim specialises in providing tailored communication strategies for businesses in the political, safety and security, and small business fields.






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)

SOUTH AFRICA TRYING TO MAKE IT A CRIME TO VISIT ISRAEL

The true crime would be the fragility of a democracy that fails to allow its people to make up their own mind.

By Kenneth Mokgatlhe wa Kgwadi

As a Black South African who has spent almost a year studying in Israel’s Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), I can surely decide for myself what is true and what is not. I know when a lie is being perpetuated to fulfil a political goal, especially in my home country of South Africa. It is for this reason that I applaud everyone who visits Israel to see for themselves what is happening.

Seeing is Believing. Seeing for themselves life in a country currently involved in a defensive war, are South African parliamentary members,  Ashley Sauls and Millicent Mathopa posing outside a building in Tel Aviv. They were part of a 9-member parliamentary fact-finding mission to Israel. (Photo: Facebook)

So why the big hullabaloo over a group of South African members of parliament that included members of the DA (Democratic Alliance) and the PA (Patriotic Alliance) both of whom are in the governing coalition with the ANC as well as the ACDP (African Christian Democratic Party), who visited Israel recently on a fact-finding mission? It is being portrayed in some quarters – notably the EFF(Economic Freedom Fighters) –  as nothing less than:

 “…a betrayal of South Africans and Palestinians.”

What nonsense.

The Israel-hate being fueled in South Africa is now so obsessive, with the EFF even demanding these well-meaning lawmakers,  who can be accused of nothing more than having enquiring independent minds, to have “their diplomatic privileges suspended pending investigation.”

Seeing Red. The EFF, founded and presently led by Julius Melema (above) is not backing down on their calls for an investigation into the recent fact-finding mission by Members of Parliament from the DA, Patriotic Alliance (PA), and African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) to Israel, describing it as “disgraceful and treasonous”.

What is unfolding in South Africa vis-à-vis the manipulation of attitudes towards Israel reminds me of the disturbing line of Joseph Goebbels that “Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident that they are acting on their free will.” It does not augur well that there are people who demand that others should be barred from taking trips to Israel for either fact-finding missions, leisure or business. The hatred  – and it is hatred – being orchestrated in South Africa against Israel or the Jewish people is undermining rational thought. Why vilify people who want to see with their own eyes the claims made against Israel by its enemies? Why should we expect people to believe stories they are told by those who have never been to the Middle East region and seen the situation for themselves? 

In any conflict situation, where propaganda is used as a tool to shape public perception of a dispute, it becomes important for lawmakers, researchers, journalists, academics, and other opinion makers to embark on fact-finding missions in order to objectively formulate their own opinions. There was no wrongdoing on the part of South Africa’s MPs who decided to visit Israel/Palestine to see and hear for themselves; to expose themselves to the reality – facts on the ground. Not only should we not vilify but we should encourage many others to follow this path of personal visits – to see and ask all the questions they want. Let them see for themselves whether there are other perspectives that are maybe contrary to the anti-Israel narrative aggressively projected by the ruling ANC party.

Not all Hostile. In contrast to the antagonistic position that the SA government has taken against Israel since the October 7 war began, a DiploAct delegation from South Africa of Christian, traditional, and political leaders (seen here at Ben Gurion Airport) visited Israel in 2024. Said visiting radio personality Bafana Modise: “We are horrified by the events of October 7,” and expressed disappointment in his government that had approached other conflicts “with reconciliation, but on this issue, they acted hostile.”

It’s no secret that we are living in an age of mis-and disinformation peddled to advance political causes. One of the mass media methodologies, referred to as “framing”, exposes how the media can shape how audiences understand and interpret events. We see this explicitly in the Israel-Palestine conflict whereby the international media takes sides and then escalates tensions by identifying the “victim” while isolating the “bad guy”.  Biased and imbalanced, the reportage and commentary, inflames and exacerbates tensions. This explains the hullabaloo created by Israel-bashers in South Africa over the recent visit to Israel of the South African MPs. These accusers are maliciously calling for the Honorable Members to be treated like criminals who they believe offended South Africa by visiting Israel. How is this even possible? 

It is important to remember that in South Africa’s last national election in 2024, the ANC for the first time lost its majority and that the current government is made up of more than 10 political parties with different policies as well as varying perspectives when it comes to the Israel-Palestine impasse. Unlike the ANC, these parties are not fixated on a one-sided antagonistic hate towards Israel, and we should allow, enable and encourage a diversity of ideas to thrive in adherence to the principals of our democracy. The ANC cannot and does not have powers to tell other parties what political beliefs to uphold – they are independent parties.

“Political earthquake” – IRR polling shows DA above ANC for the first time

It is time for fellow South Africans to realise that the ANC’s hostility towards Israel does not represent the majority of our people’s views. It remains government policy for only so long as the ANC remains in power, and that may well change heading into the next election cycle as indicated by latest polling. The shameful reaction in some quarters to the MP fact-finding mission to Israel, is contrary to the principles of a mature and secure democracy. Do not treat the people like empty vessels to be told what to think and believe. We are quite capable to arrive at our own judgements and the fact-finding mission to Israel was no more and no less than representatives of our leadership to be exposed to the complex political landscape of the Israel Palestine conflict.  Is South Africa’s democracy so fragile to understand this?

I hope not.



*Feature picture: Members of the multi-party South African delegation – including those sitting in the governing coalition – meet with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem while on a fact-finding mission to Israel. (Photo: South African Friends of Israel).







About the writer:

Kenneth Mokgatlhe wa Kgwadi is an independent writer, political analyst and researcher. He is doing his MA in African Studies at the Israeli-based Ben Gurion University of the Negev.








*Feature picture: Members of the multi-party South African delegation – including those sitting in the governing coalition – meet with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem while on a fact-finding mission to Israel. (Photo: South African Friends 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).

POOR DECISION-MAKING HARMS SOUTH AFRICA’S POOR

An obsession with undermining Israel is undermining the very wellbeing of South Africa’s people

By Kenneth Moeng Mokgatlhe

In a rapidly changing world, South Africa’s foreign policy has failed to prioritize its national interest. This is in contrast to most other countries, including such allies as China, Russia, and India, which use their foreign policies to serve their interests, not those of other countries.

The late US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, who is reputed to have largely shaped his country’s foreign policy, once said:

 “The test of policy is how it ends, not how it begins. Foreign policy is the art of establishing priorities. Demonisation is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one. The test is not absolute satisfaction but balanced dissatisfaction.”

Kissinger further argued that “a country that demands moral perfection in its foreign policy will achieve neither perfection nor security.”

It seems that it has not yet dawned on South Africa’s foreign affairs minister, Ronald Lamola, that the US has taken a hard stance against South Africa for its position on the Israel-Palestine question. It was a given that there would be  – with the new US administration – political, economic, and social implications for South Africa’s decision to launch a lawfare campaign against the State of Israel. It is, however, myopic on the ANC’s part to have expected to have it both ways, that is, to maintain their relationships with the East and the West while aggressively harassing Israel, which aligns with the latter. 

Aiming to Displease. President Ramaphosa’s policies against Israel (seen here with the iconic Palestinian keffiyeh) has according to the writer, mostly harmed South Africa. The latest Trump tariffs are the latest example.

There is no doubt that the South African government fails to see its poor people – those who are without water, housing, roads, food, and other vital facilities – when they decide on the direction of the country’s foreign policy. It is not Lamola, Cyril Ramaphosa, or other rich politicians from the ANC who are going to suffer the economic and political consequences of South Africa’s actions against the national interest of the US. Rather, it is South Africa’s poor who are already paying the price. For example, the withdrawal of various US funding programmes to South Africa has already started to impede HIV/TB research projects, which is expected to undo all the gains that have been made over the years.

At Loggerheads. Trump has also threatened to cut aid to South Africa in response to the country’s land expropriation policies, which Trump claims involve land confiscation.

In its bid to advance its foreign policy, the SA government failed to conduct a risk analysis of the implications its actions might have on NGOs that rely heavily on US funding. The withdrawal of this funding could ultimately lead to NGOs shutting down or downscaling, which in turn means putting more strain on the public sector as the many beneficiaries of these organisations could be left without essential services. It would also see an increase in unemployment rates. 

“Charity begins at home” should be a stance which guides our foreign policy. It is incomprehensible that South Africa would want to assume the position of being hailed as a saviour and hero within the international community while its people are at risk of dying of poverty, hunger and a lack of sufficient medications for those suffering from chronic conditions. 

Akin to the sentiments that Kissinger would later articulate, US president John F. Kennedy said,
“Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us”. What South Africa is currently doing – meddling – in the Middle East region can only worsen the state of the declining economy because of poor decision making. That powerful Arab countries in the Middle East and Africa have been careful about what they say and what they do should have signaled to South Africa not to have dragged Israel into the International Court of Justice (ICJ). So, while Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan endeavor to play an active role alongside the US to find a long-lasting solution to the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine, South Africa saw fit to play the spoiler.

Clearly, South Africa like Iran, is not interested in finding a solution to the Israel-Palestine impasse. Its ill-considered direction was so evident when it decided to terminate all diplomatic and political channels with Israel. South Africa now has access only to Hamas and Iran, which shows how they are not committed to bringing an end to this conflict. 

Trump’s Tariffs. A truck loaded with a container at a depo, in Johannesburg, South Africa may well be on the decrease as the new 30% tariffs set to be imposed on South Africa by the Trump administration  will threaten 35,000 jobs in the country’s citrus-growing sector and the economies of entire towns, said a farmers group earlier in the week. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

The ANC’s leadership has a lot to learn from Qatar, a small country in the Middle East region, on how they have come to be respected as peacemakers and good negotiators in the international arena. In 2020, Qatar was able to convince the US to withdraw from Afghanistan with the extremist Taliban group. Qatar negotiated the release of the Americans held in Iran, Afghanistan, and Venezuela. They also helped to bring Ukrainian children to their parents after they were taken to Russia.

Through agreement with the US, Qatar allowed Hamas to have offices in Doha, and they maintain a relationship and communication channels with the Israeli government that helps to bring these two warring parties to the table whenever there is a need. Alongside other players, Qatar helped broker a ceasefire and hostage deal in 2023 between Israel and Hamas. There was another ceasefire and hostage deal in 2025 in which Qatar was centrally involved. Qatar plays this essential role by not siding with anyone but rather striving towards peace and stability in the Middle East; the returns beneficial to all in the region.

Trump Punishes South Africa With 31% Tariff Placing R250 Billion Worth Of Exports In Jeopardy.

It doesn’t end there. Qatar facilitated the brokering of peace between Sudan and Chad and Eritrea and Djibouti and helped to reach a peace deal in Darfur in 2011. At present, it is mediating peace between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

If South Africa wants to gain an international reputation as peacemakers and negotiators, there are, therefore, valuable lessons to be learnt from Qatar.

The ICJ court case will not improve the lives of ordinary South Africans, whose plight has been so neglected over the 30-year rule of the ANC. It is not only a waste of time but also money, and is aimed at appeasing Iran, who is behind the ICJ case and is implacable enemy of Israel. As China, Russia and India are doing, the SA government needs to take an inward approach,  where we focus on improving the lives of our people and building our economy from what it is to what it should be.



About the writer:

Kenneth Moeng Mokgatlhe is a political writer and researcher based at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 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).

MEDIA MACHINATIONS

Hypocrisy and selective morality characterise South Africa’s foreign policy

By Allan Wolman

Politicsweb is a subscriber-supported online publication publishing news, commentary, analysis and key documentation related to the politics of South Africa. It is pretty widely read for its political and current event opinions submitted by contributors. It is also proving a malicious platform for attacking Israel!

A toxic anti-Israel advocacy organization and media platform called the Media Revue Network (MRN), closely aligned to BDS, receives a disproportionate amount of coverage on Politicsweb. Hardly a week goes by that virulently anti-Israel articles by Iqbal Jassat of the MRN do not appear in Polticsweb, naturally for the sole purpose of demonising Israel. While I’ve submitted numerous over the years pieces relating to Israel without ever being published, Politicsweb has no problem publishing articles by the anti-Jewish MRN, whose organization’s website states amongst its services:


– To monitor, analyse and evaluate the double standards in the mass media


– To express alternate perspectives and policy positions on local and international issues


Their website, makes mention of Kashmir, Myanmar (Rohingyas) and of course the Middle East but strangely little mention of the desperate plight of millions of the Uyghur Muslims living in Southern Xinjiang under the most repressive and religious persecution witnessed in modern times.

Praising Hamas. Iqbal Jassat, who defines Israel as an “apartheid settler colonial entity,” writes in the   South Africa’s Media Review Network, of which he is an Executive Member” that “Pro-Apartheid Israel lobbies ranging from the SA Zionist Federation to the SA Jewish Board, have hysterically been profiling Hamas as a “terror” group. A tactic doomed to fail.”

The Muslim Uyghur population in China has faced severe and systemic persecution, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Reports from human rights organizations and international observers highlight the existence of mass detention camps, often referred to as “re-education camps,” where Uyghurs are allegedly subjected to indoctrination, forced renunciation of their Islamic faith, psychological and physical abuse, and worse.

In addition, the Chinese government has implemented policies aimed at erasing Uyghur culture and identity, which include:

– demolition of mosques and Islamic cultural sites

– bans on traditional religious practices

– restrictions on the use of the Uyghur language

Human rights lawyer and former UN employee turned whistle-blower, Emma Reilly, exposed the UN’s troubling practice of providing China with the names of Uyghur dissidents and human rights activists. Reilly reported these serious concerns to (South African) Navi Pillay, the then United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who to her shame, failed to act on the complaints or investigate the potentially harmful practice. By ignoring these warnings, Pillay not only allowed the practice to continue but also contributed to the UN initiated witch hunt against Reilly. The UN has, not for the first time, undermined its credibility, revealing an unwillingness to challenge the obvious, and glaringly exposes its double standards and ‘moral authority’.

South Africa takes the ‘Low Road’. Focusing mostly on falsely accusing Israel of “genocide”, South Africa ignores actual crimes against humanity by its “all-round strategic cooperative partner” , China. Seen here are Uyghurs who only feel safe to protest when they have left China. (Photo: Mark Kerrison/Alamy Live News)

South Africa, which proudly boasts a foreign policy rooted in its post-apartheid identity of human rights, social justice, and multiculturalism, reveals a glaring hypocrisy in its selective approach to global injustices. While the ANC government vocally champions taking Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), it remains shamefully silent on China’s brutal genocide against the Uyghurs. This double standard is a stark betrayal of the principles South Africa claims to uphold, while choosing non-interference over condemning genocide and systemic oppression of China’s Muslim peoples. Such silence exposes South Africa’s foreign policy as more about political convenience and contrivance than genuine commitment to global justice and human rights.

SOUNDS OF SILENCE

In her former ministerial position as South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, publicly addressed numerous human rights issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (against Israel) and the Russia-Ukraine war (supportive of Russia). Yet, her conspicuous silence on the Uyghur crisis mirrors South Africa’s reluctance to confront China’s abuses, aligning instead with its non-interference policy. This selective activism underscores the ANC’s misguided world view.

Equally reprehensible is the absence of condemnation from voices like Iqbal Jassat and the MRN, whose mission is explicitly:

 “…to monitor, analyse, and evaluate double standards”.

Their silence in the face of China’s well-documented atrocities against Uyghurs is deafening and indefensible. But this organization’s world view is firmly in sync with the ANC government as it ignores the atrocities against the Uyghurs of Xinjiang.

The Chinese government is persecuting Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, China, on the basis of their religion and ethnicity. Between one and three million Uyghurs—of a population of 12 million—are currently in some form of detention, and those who are not still face rapidly tightening control restricting their ability to express their identity.


If they can’t blame Jews, why blame!

This behaviour begs the question:

Is it truly about Palestine and the Palestinian people? 
Both the ANC government and the MRN have glaringly turned a blind eye to:

– the plight of the Uyghurs

– the relentless and systematic oppression of Afghan women condemning half of Afghanistan’s population to lives of extreme deprivation, humiliation, and cruelty and

– the unspeakable horrors recently exposed under Bashar al-Assad’s brutal reign in Syria.

This is selective morality by South Africa. Is it any wonder that the new US administration has seen right through South Africa’s pretence as some ‘moral authority’, its political shenanigans and hypocrisy, and is taking a stand with President Trump – only weeks in office – announcing that it will cut all funding to South Africa while it launches an investigation into the country’s policies, describing it as “massive human rights violations.”

For South Africa that maliciously maligned the Jewish state of false charges of genocide, the chickens are coming home to roost.



About the writer:

Allan Wolman in 1967 joined 1200 young South Africans to volunteer to work on agricultural settlements in Israel during the Six Day War. After spending a year in Israel, he returned to South Africa where he met and married Jocelyn Lipschitz and would run  one of the oldest travel agencies in Johannesburg – Rosebank Travel. He would also literally ‘run’ three times in the “Comrades”, one of the most grueling marathons in the world as well as participate in the “Argus” (Cape Town’s famed international annual cycling race) an impressive eight times. Allan and Jocelyn immigrated to Israel in 2019.





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).

TANGLED WEB

Spiderlike, South Africa weaves alliances with rogue states and terror sponsors – where will it lead?

By Rolene Marks

There is something quite fascinating about spider webs. The intricate way that all the strands weave together and at the centre lurks a patient spider, luring its prey in before devouring it.

Watching South Africa’s machinations against Israel since 7 October, employing aggressive lawfare tactics against the Jewish state, one cannot help thinking about the tangled web of alliances the southern African country has built with rogue states and terror sponsors. The question that we should be asking is, does this campaign end with Israel – or is there a bigger strategy in place?

In the wake of the 7 October atrocities, the South African government made it evident whose side they were taking. Failing to condemn Hamas for the wholesale slaughter, mass rape, torture and mutilation of over 1200 and the kidnapping of over 250, there was the inference that Israel had brought it on themselves and solidarity expressed for the Palestinians.

Shortly after that, then Minister of International Relations, Naledi Pandor, departed for meetings in Tehran and spoke to then Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh on the phone. No readout of the conversation was forthcoming. In December of 2023, South Africa filed their case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide.

Questions arose about who was funding this. Likely candidates seemed to be Iran and Qatar. The two countries are believed to have funded the ANC in return for the case being funded by South African taxpayers from the coffers of the Ministry of Justice and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

In November, President Trump won a second term. The newly formed Trump administration has made their America first, pro-Israel stance firmly clear and if the President’s first term is any indication, Trump will not tolerate assaults on the USA – or its allies, however they manifest.

South Africa’s bizarre choice of Ebrahim Rasool as ambassador to the USA may speak of a disturbing new strategy. To disrupt from within. Rasool, who has served previously in this role, should be a cause of major concern for the Trump administration. Rasool has publicly aligned himself with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, both designated as terrorist organisations by many Western nations. He is also an enthusiastic proponent of taking Israel to both the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC).

South Africa’s Hamas-simping ANC created controversy last year when they proposed to rename an iconic Johannesburg road, Sandton Drive, after Palestinian terrorist, Leila Khaled. The US consulate is situated on this landmark road. Leila Khaled gained notoriety for the 1969 hijacking of TWA flight 840 and the 1970 attempt to hijack El Al flight 219. She was arrested but later released during a hostage exchange. In 2019, Rasool spoke at a fundraising dinner also attended by senior Hamas official Basem Naim and in 2024, Rasool met with Ibrahim El-Zayat, a figure associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, and facilitated meetings for him with business leaders and politicians to seek funding for the “Palestinian cause.”

It is not just in South Africa where the strange bedfellows of anti-Western dissent gather.

In sunny California, playground of the rich and woke, Thandile Sunduza serves as the South African Consul to California as well as Vice-President of the Los Angeles Consular Corps, the second largest consular corps in the world, thus an internationally prominent and politicized platform. The ambitious Thandile was recently photographed with members of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). It is reasonable to assume that JVP is neither Jewish – or a voice for peace! JVP is a shill for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Thandile Sunduza (right) and Estee Chandler from Los Angeles, a key JVP activist and organizer.

In a recent report on JVP published by NGO, Stand With Us, it was found that JVP:

* Partners with Samidoun, an organization sanctioned by the U.S. and Canada for funding terrorism. JVP has also campaigned in support of PFLP terrorists, hosted PFLP members at events, and partnered with groups that openly support PFLP and other terrorist organizations.

*  Promotes antisemitic rhetoric and campaigns, including conspiracy theories like “Deadly Exchange”, which falsely blames Israel and Jewish groups for police brutality in the U.S.

  * Supports extremism, amplifying voices and organizations that incite violence and reject Israel’s right to exist.

*    Has questionable funding sources and foreign connections with Lebanon and Iran, meriting further investigation.

* Weaponizes Jewish identity, attempting to shield extremists from criticism for hateful rhetoric and actions. Too often, this prevents the vast majority of the Jewish community from being taken seriously when speaking out about antisemitism.

JVP recently honoured Sunduza for South Africa’s legal campaign against Israel at the ICJ.

Sunduza has invited known terrorism supporters into her Consulate, allying herself, and effectively endorsing some of the most antisemitic voices in USA. Is the South African Consulate in Los Angeles a de-facto agency for Hamas? Should the US State Department allow Sunduza and Rasool to remain on US territory?

At the end of January, South Africa ramped up its lawfare against Israel, joining The Hague Group.

Thandile Sunduza invites a Pro-Palestinian contingent to her consular.

The Hague Group, comprised of nine countries alleging the Jewish state is illegally occupying Palestinian territory, committing war crimes in Gaza and not abiding by the rulings made by the international courts.

While keeping its plans vague, the collective promised to take “measures to end Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine and remove obstacles to the realisation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine.”

The group is formed of representatives from a laundry list of failed states that includes South Africa, Belize, Cuba, Namibia, Bolivia, Honduras, Senegal, Colombia and Malaysia.

On 2 February, President Trump announced that he would cut off all future funding for South Africa until it investigated how “certain classes of people” were being treated “very badly.” “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, without providing any evidence. “The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” The President also alluded to human rights violations committed in South Africa, a country accusing the US of “aiding and abetting Israeli genocide against the Palestinians.”

Looking from the outside, many may think the spider is setting the web to devour Israel but that is just the start. Is the spider using its proxies in the form of non-state actors and its allies to trap the bigger prey?

Countries like Iran, Russia and China seek to establish an alternative world order that disrupts from within. South Africa considers itself the moral conscience of the world for its role in taking Israel to the ICJ and has previously warned this endeavor will not stop with the Jewish state but will include Israel’s allies as well. South Africa is seeking to form a new anti-West world order. The question is:

 Will the US and other countries recognize that the spider has begun to weave its web in their territories?

Spiders are patient but they are also fallible. It is time to dismantle the webs.





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