With the company they keep, South Africa’s ANC leadership are conveniently confused who are the real killers!
By Lawrence Nowosenetz
To recoin an old cliché – if it walks like a terrorist, talks like a terrorist, quacks like a terrorist it probably is a terrorist. This homespun truism is not embraced by the Department of International Relations and Co-operation of South Africa (DIRCO). In an ‘un-momentary’ lapse of reason and disregard for international law, DIRCO has issued a statement on behalf of the government (28 September 2024) expressing:
“…its profound concern regarding the recent escalation of extrajudicial killings in the Middle East, most notably the tragic assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and other leaders in Lebanon.”
Beauty and the Beast. In sharp contrast to the beauty of the building housing South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO), the policies emanating therein are beastly in its support for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
The statement went on:
“The scale of injuries caused by these indiscriminate explosions is deeply troubling and warrants strong condemnation from the international community. Such attacks on civilians constitute a grave violation of international human rights and humanitarian law.”
Oh really?
The following incontrovertible data can be gleaned from the IDF website:
Over the past forty years, Hezbollah has been responsible for several large-scale terror attacks against Israeli and Western targets which include:
The 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, killing 241 US servicemen.
The 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires killing 29 and wounding 242
The 1994 bombing of the Buenos Aires Jewish cultural center, which killed 85 and injured over 300
Partners in Terror. Firemen and rescue workers walk through the debris after a terrorist attack on Israel’s embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 17, 1992 that killed 29 and wounded 242 . What South Africa ignores is that both its friends, Iran and Hezbollah, are held responsible of perpetrating the attack and also of orchestrating the 1994 suicide bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 and injured hundreds. (Photo: Don Rypka/AP)
Until 9/11, Hezbollah was responsible for more American deaths than any terror organization in the world. Hassan Nasrallah became Secretary General of Hezbollah in 1992.
Wearing the black turban of a sayyed, Nasrallah theatrically – often wagging his finger – used his addresses to rally Hezbollah’s base but also to deliver carefully calibrated threats, as he did so. The conflict with Israel largely defined his leadership but he morphed into an increasingly divisive figure in Lebanon and the wider Arab world as Hezbollah’s operations widened beyond, notably Syria where it fought in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the civil war. Is it any wonder that many Lebanese and Syrians celebrated the elimination of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Traditional Tirade. Wagging his finger while threatening Israel, Hassan Nasrallah speaks from an undisclosed location in Lebanon. (Photo taken from image on Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV on July 10, 2024)
Saudi influencer Abdullah Al-Shaikh wrote that the joy at the news was “indescribable.”
“He was a leader of violence, extremism, terrorism, and betrayal,” he said, expressing his hope that Nasrallah’s death would mean “stability and peace in the region.”
In 2005, Rafiq Hariri, the Prime Minister of Lebanon was assassinated by a huge bomb explosion as his motorcade drove near the St. George Hotel in Beirut. A further 23 people were killed in the explosion. While Nasrallah predictably denied any Hezbollah involvement in the assassination, a UN-backed tribunal indicted four members of the group.
Targeting Terrorists. The scene in the aftermath of the bombing of the U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983. Ibrahim Aqil, a Hezbollah commander, who was among those recently killed in an Israeli targeted airstrike was a principal member of a terrorist cell that carried this attack. (Photo: Jim Bourdier/AP)
With the egregious exception of South Africa, Hezbollah is recognized as a global terrorist organization by several countries, including Arab states and the major democracies. These include the United States, the Arab League, Canada, Argentina, Bahrain, Colombia, Germany, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Honduras, Israel, the Netherlands, Paraguay. While Israel does not accept there is a difference, the UK, Australia, the European Union and New Zealand recognize the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Like other terrorist organizations, beyond Iranian support, Hezbollah is deeply involved in funding from drug trafficking. The DEA first targeted Hezbollah with Operation Titan, intercepting multi-ton cocaine shipments.
It should be clearly understood that within the scope of international humanitarian law, terrorism and terrorist acts are prohibited under all circumstances, unconditionally and without exception. This is the stance of the International Committee for the Red Cross, no friend of Israel. The persons targeted by the Beirut bombing attacks and indeed the pager explosions were no civilians but identifiable Hezbollah operatives. Israel is at war with Hezbollah and such attacks are lawful under international law. Disguising combatants as civilians is a war crime called perfidy – a strategy much adopted by Hamas and Hezbollah. South Africa should carefully distinguish between targeted attacks on legitimate military targets and bona fide civilians. It would also bode well if DIRCO condemned the targeted rocket attack on the Golan Heights Druze town of Majdal Shams on 27 July 2024. A children’s playground was directly hit resulting in the death of 12 people, most of whom were children. This was the deadliest attack on civilians of Israel since the 7 October 2023 Hamas massacre.
With Iran directly supporting and suppling Iran-made weapons to Hezbollah, it was hardly surprising to learn that among those killed in Israel’s air strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, was Deputy Commander of Iran’s IRGC Quds Force, Abas Nilforoushan. These are the ‘inconvenient truths’ for DIRCO which completely rubbish its statement condemning civilian attacks.
Plotter of Evil. What was Iran’s Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, the Deputy Commander of Operations for the IRGC doing in Lebanon when he was killed alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Israeli airstrikes in Beirut? (Photo: (Elaheh Javan, Fars News Agency via AP)
DIRCO also self-righteously states that it stands in solidarity with the people of Lebanon. Which people of Lebanon? Hezbollah is an unlawful state within a state and most certainly does not represent the people or the government of Lebanon. Indeed, all across the Middle East there have been celebrations by Muslim Arabs at the demise of Nasrallah.
With South Africa on its pitiful roll in its ongoing contrived assault on international law against Israel, it is time to blow the whistle on this foul.
About the writer:
Now retired, Pretoria-born human rights and labour lawyer, Lawrence Nowosenetz practiced at the Pretoria and Johannesburg Bar. Recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, Nowosenetz completed an internship in the USA and served as a part-time Senior Commissioner at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) as well as a panellist at Tokiso Dispute Settlement – the largest private dispute resolution provider in South Africa. He has also served as an Acting Judge of the Hight Court, 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).
Many moons ago, in fact in 1963, I had the dubious honour of being called up for compulsory military service in the South African Defence Forces. Basic training took place in Potchefstroom, in a large camp, 1200 km away from my birthplace of Cape Town. Recruits came from all sectors of SA society: Afrikaners, English speakers and a few Jews. We were all shapes and sizes, straight-laced and oddball, roughnecks and cultured. Most I have forgotten, but one particular individual remains in my memory.
Frankie hailed from Durban. He was short, to put it mildly, not good looking and a singularly unpleasant character. He also had, as he deeply felt, the misfortune to having been born a Jew: a sad state of affairs to which he set about to actively correct. Frankie would take great pains in declaring to all and sundry that not only did he not identify with his religion but disassociated himself from its practice. On Friday nights when the Jewish soldiers were taken to the synagogue for the service and then often invited for supper at the homes of the congregants – a welcome short break from army drudgery – Frankie out of solidarity with, and trying to be ‘one of the guys’ would stay on the base. To the best of my recollection, even when Passover arrived, forfeiting more than a week’s holiday leave, he demonstratively remained there.
Did he succeed in being accepted as ‘one of them’? Did he manage to slough off his born identity and meld with the greater group? Did this concerted effort boost his popularity? Not really. His toadying and groveling were of no avail and his efforts to ingratiate himself with the non-Jewish majority earned him no respect and no exalted status. Frankie’s nickname was ‘Ikey’, the little Jew who was seen by all as a bit of a curiosity. He was a sad, pitiable individual.
Why write about such an insignificant person? Simply because today, with this avalanche of wide spread antisemitism engulfing all Jews irrespective of their views and affiliations, there are many little ‘Ikeys’ running around, hoping for acceptance, and seeking to prove to one and all that they, unlike their co-religionists: are progressive, liberal, anti-racist, enlightened anti-Zionists, endowed with an elevated moral status and heightened sensitivity.
The Jewish Council of Australia, (JCA) formed in February 2024 is an excellent example of this pathetic genre. It purports to represent a growing number of Jewry and bleats the old hackneyed tropes that:
“The aim of Zionism — as with other versions of settler colonialism in countries like Australia — is to replace the indigenous people on their land with settlers. A lot of early Zionist ideologues were very open about this fact; the point was to conquer the land. The early Zionist project culminated in the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their land during the Nakba”.
Rogue’s Gallery. Says Jewish Council of Australia (JCA) Executive Officer Dr Max Kaiser, an historian and lecturer at the University of Melbourne: “Israel is a rogue state”.
This pathetic and deeply flawed generalization, ignoring history, archeology and the Bible is a typical example of this stunted ideology blinding its believers to reality.
There has been a huge rise in antisemitism in Australia, but one of the esteemed cofounders of this organization in a prime example of warped logic and self-deception claims:
“The harassment of Jews has come from fervent supporters of the Israeli government among the Jewish community as well as from “more blatant and openly violent” neo-Nazis”
Shortly after October 7th, on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, there was a mass demonstration of Muslims in support of and in jubilation joyously celebrating the massacre with shouts of “Gas the Jews” and other virulently antisemitic slogans. Naturally, in their eyes, the Muslims who were there and the leftist students at the universities harassing and intimidating Jewish students were as pure as the driven snow. And lest we forget, all those Hamas and Hezbollah flags at the anti-Israel demonstrations. Who were their supporters that were waving them? Were they the “fervent supporters of the Israeli government among the Jewish community”?
The Writing is on the Wall. By aligning itself with anti-Zionists, the Jewish Council of Australia (JCA) helps sow the seeds of antisemitism in Australia, physically endangering the Jewish community. The JCA calls for Australia to cut all military ties and sanction Israel. Here we see the result – graffiti painted on a suburban wall in Melbourne that reads “KILL JEWS – JEW LIVES HERE” .
The organization’s mission statement that “We are committed to the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), calling out injustice, challenging assumptions and promoting debate” is an exercise in unashamed hypocrisy, blatant bias and pure pusillanimity. Hamas and Hezbollah are universally proscribed terror organizations whose covenant openly declares their aim of destroying the state of Israel. On October 7th 2023, Hamas invaded Israel indulging in acts of brutality and sadism that flew in the face of all civilized behaviour and shocked the world. Twelve hundred innocent people both Jews and Muslims of all ages and gender were murdered in an organized orgy of rape, sodomy, torture, maiming, burning alive and mass shootings. Two hundred and fifty more ranging from infants to infirm old people were kidnapped, held and are still being held in inhumane conditions. They have been starved, subjected to physical and psychological torture and many have been murdered.
What has been the reaction of the enlightened council’s founders to these atrocities? Not a bleat or a squeak in condemnation. The silence of the grave. Do Jewish lives not matter? Where is your much vaunted tikkun olam and calling out injustice? Where is your social conscience? Is it only limited to finding reasons to besmirch Israel? The world is rife with injustice and persecution. China persecutes the Uyghur people and is engaged in carrying out their cultural genocide. It persecutes the Falun Gong sect and engages in organ harvesting. It supports the evil regime of North Korea notorious for its human rights violations. Why your silence? But then, pragmatism dictates keeping your mouths shut. After all, Communist China is an important trading partner with big investments in Australia, most sensitive to any criticism and swift to react. We wouldn’t like to ruffle its feathers, would we? What about the millions of children starving in the Sudan? Hamas in clear contravention of norms has used and is using hospitals, schools and private homes as launch pads for attacks against Israel. Its warehouses are overflowing with food and medicines that were destined for and stolen from the civilian population, but never a word said, your only criticism has ever been against Israel. Your actions carry the strong stench of hypocrisy.
South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP) is an organization in a similar mould whose lengthy and wearying mission statement/catechism contains an odious concoction of all too well worn poisonous ideological tropes, distortions and deliberate lies that easily outdoes the Australian one. For all of us who do not have the fortitude to wade through this self righteous, verbose swamp, its content can be summed up in a few words: Israel, an apartheid state, is the pawn of Western imperialist, colonialist powers and Zionism is a corrosive force that corrupts and destroys. A few choice examples from the catechism: Zionism “is built on inequality, exclusion, settler-colonialism and violent ethnic cleansing and asserts an ethnic supremacy which is fundamentally racist.” It also demands that all Jews place the state of Israel at the centre of Jewish existence, distorting and destroying other cherished parts of Jewish identity.”
Israel is also quite obviously an apartheid state, for “it also discriminates against Mizrachi, Arab and African Jews. SAJFP rejects the unfounded assumption that all Jews are white or access white privilege.” – a statement so ridiculous and twisted that it is beneath all contempt.
A prime example of ideological contortionism: “Zionism is not Judaism and the effort to conflate the two is itself a form of antisemitism because it reduces a diverse and dynamic cultural and religious group to a nation state.”
While the organization states: “SAJFP takes an anti- violence position” they also: “support the rights of the Palestinians to resist their oppression” and since they view: “the occupation of Palestine as violence”, they consequently “support the rights of the Palestinians to rise up against these (and other forms) of violence.” It doesn’t require much effort to read between the lines and see why the SAJFP, true to form, has shockingly remained silent about and tacitly condoned the October 7th massacre.
Seeking Acceptance. Are these Jews in South Africa protesting for a “free Palestine” or Jews protesting to be free of the burden of being Jews?
Amongst other of their organized activities, on the 9th August, the SAJFP dutifully picketed the Cape Town Holocaust and Genocide Centre because they felt it did not relate to the “genocide” in Gaza where they likened the behaviour of the Israeli army to that of the Nazis. In keeping with their self righteousness, the members recited the Kaddish (mourner’s prayer) for the Gaza dead. The report on their site of this event ends with: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will soon be free.” – the well-known clarion call, genocidal in intent, for the destruction of the Jewish State.
South African Jewry is currently experiencing a growing tidal wave of institutionalized and violent antisemitism that does not distinguish between the ideologies of the members of the community. SAJFP carries on its banner that: “it is fundamentally opposed to antisemitism.” Has it ever raised its voice in protest? Does their site mention any activities against or any condemnation whatsoever of this despicable phenomenon? Of course not, but if you are looking for information about BDS, cutting all ties with, sanctioning Israel and its elimination, then you have come to the right place.
Jews for Jewish Destruction. Negating the thousands of years bond of Judaism to the state of Israel, these South Africa Jews support the BDS movement that promotes “cutting all ties with Israel…. sanctioning Israel and its elimination.”
The civilized world swiftly condemned the October 7th massacre and expressed its outrage and revulsion. Tragically, these two Jewish organizations, in their blind adherence to their distorted ideologies, have chosen to remain silent. They have a legitimate right to disagree with Zionism and to their opinions whatsoever. But, to willfully ignore the sadistic murder of twelve hundred of their fellow Jews, man, woman and child and the plight of another two hundred and fifty who were kidnapped and if still alive, are suffering in inhumane conditions simply because they are not on their side of the political spectrum is incomprehensible and unforgivable. It is the silence of assent. They have demonstrated an utter callousness and are devoid of one iota of compassion. They have negated their own Judaism and humanity.
Jewish history is tragically replete with so many instances of obsequious ‘little Ikeys‘bending over backwards to placate others and how they ended. Jewish humour reflects its history, the Jewish condition and its accumulated wisdom. It is mainly in a low key and very often is a ‘bittere gelegte‘ (Yiddish for bitter laughter) containing a poignant message that conveys unpleasant truths. There is a story of two Jews that walked into a bar. One was orthodox and a Zionist, the other was a confirmed atheist and fervent anti- Zionist and the bartender said:
“We don’t serve Jews here!”
Let all these misguided ideologues read and take heed.
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).
In the spotlight of the Olympics, South African leadership attacksIsrael rather than deal with problems at home
By Kenneth Moeng Mokgatlhe
I was astonished to see ANC’s Fikile Mbalula and the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture campaigning against Israel at the Paris 2024 Olympics. This happened just as the media broke an international headline that 95 Libyan nationals were discovered in an illegal, non-state military camp in Mpumalanga, posing a national security threat to the entire SADC region.
Masters and Ministries of Misfocus. South Africa’s leadership typically misdirects its focus away from pressing local issues with ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula (above) and the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture campaigning against Israel at 2024 Paris Olympics.
On Saturday morning, I woke up to the devastating news that eight innocent people were killed in a tavern in the Kanana township of the North West Province. Isn’t this supposed to be the government’s priority? It is increasingly evident that the current political leadership does not prioritize the security and safety of impoverished South Africans.
It needs to be emphasized that more than 84 people are killed daily in South Africa, a number that may have increased in 2024. Between January and December 2023, the SAPS reported 27,368 murders – an alarming figure that accounts solely for murder.
Who sent 95 Libyans to South Africa? 95 Libyan nationals linked to an illegal military training camp in Mpumalanga appeared in the White River Magistrates Court on 29 July 2024 on charges of violating the country’s immigration act. (Photo: Katlego Jiyane/Eyewitness News)
While there are white victims, the majority are black. The tragic reality is that black-on-black violence is prevalent, with murder hotspots identified in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces. Political leaders are aware of these dangers, which is why they employ private security for themselves and their properties, leaving the poor to fend for themselves.
Death by violence – the norm! A mourner holds a photo near the coffin of Luke Fleurs, South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs defender, at the funeral outside the New Apostolic Church in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, South Africa, April 20, 2024. (Photo: Esa Alexander/Reuters)
South Africans deserve diligent service and constant protection within their country. This has not been the case for many years. People live in fear within their communities, while we claim to address complex issues in Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Ukraine. We are failing to secure our borders, which have always been porous. Many undocumented migrants from other countries pose a national security threat to innocent people.
In fact, terrorism experts have previously warned that terror groups carrying out attacks in Africa are using South Africa as a financial (and training) base for their heinous activities, resulting in numerous deaths. The country is dotted with illegal, unregistered spaza stores (small shops operating from private home, selling food, drinks, cigarettes, etc. to local people, especially in a township) that do not comply with tax regulations, yet the government has ignored warnings that this money is being used to finance terrorism. Jihadist financing is flourishing in South Africa due to the complacency and greed of public servants and politicians.
Furthermore, our very own Department of Health has conceded in parliament that 15,000 children are diagnosed annually with severe acute malnutrition, with 1,000 dying directly from it. And this is happening in a resource-rich nation!!! Severe acute malnutrition is one of the three leading causes of child deaths accounting another 10,000 deaths a year.
Our political leadership must start treating its citizens as equal by prioritizing them and providing dignified public services. As the saying goes, charity begins at home. We cannot claim to fight for social justice globally while failing to protect our citizens from brutal killings that often do not get investigated, leaving victims without justice. We need to take ourselves seriously.
How does the Palestine-Israel matter become South Africa’s priority when we are the world’s most unequal country? Ten percent of the population which is white owns 80% of the country’s wealth but the political leadership is so obsessed with countries that are more than 6,000 miles away from them.
Hunger in South Africa. For the ANC’s top echelon of leadership, these South African children are less of a concern than the more international grabbing media attention of the Gazan Palestinians in order to falsely besmirch Israel.
South African politicians have convinced themselves that the Israel-Palestine conflict holds political significance and can garner electoral support. However, this has not proven true, as the ANC lost 17% of its national votes despite making considerable noise about the Middle East conflict.
The Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture should focus on domestic issues. Our youth are struggling with alcohol and drugs, yet the department is more concerned with Palestine. Why not collaborate with communities to rehabilitate lost youth and create arts and rehabilitation programs to reduce substance abuse? South Africans voted for representatives to deliver quality services, not to focus on distant conflicts. While our government criticizes Israel, there are lessons to be learned from Israel’s experience in handling terrorism and surviving amidst constant threats. We should also learn from other countries’ use of diplomacy to resolve issues and avoid unnecessary tensions.
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 outgoing foreign minister showed ZERO concern for Israelis that experienced a massacre and whose women were raped and abused by the very people Pandor embraces.
By Rolene Marks
Minister Pandor,
Please permit me a moment to write to you as a woman who grew up in South Africa during the darkest years of Apartheid through to the rebirth of the country onto a proud democracy. A democracy many of us as Jews and Zionist stood beside you and fought for because Apartheid was a violation of our tenets of respect for human rights. As you prepare to leave your office, with the impression that you have achieved much in your personal war with Israel that you extended to your Ministry, please note the following.
I am a proud Jewish, Zionist woman who has the privilege of living in Israel, a country whose Declaration of Independence is not dissimilar to the ANC’s Freedom Charter that declares the state “the beneficiary of all its inhabitants”. Inhabitants that include women. South Africa’s constitution enshrines the rights and protection of women.
I write this on 19 June, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. On 7 October, crimes of sexual violence were committed against Israeli women and girls. Former hostages have shared how sexual violence is still committed against some of the remaining hostages – including some of the males. Nowhere in recorded history can the deliberate and inhumane barbarism of 7 October be equaled, including the crimes against humanity of mass rape. The United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence concluded that there was “clear and convincing evidence of Hamas crimes of sexual violence”. In her remarks to the media while in Israel, a country you have not visited, the envoy spoke about how she and her team were unable to sleep after reviewing the evidence.
Rampant Rape. This is what Hamas did on October 7; this is what South Africa’s outgoing foreign minister Pandor conveniently ignores.
Minister Pandor, you have not only been silent about the rape of Israeli women but in the hours following the atrocities of 7 October, you intimated in a press release that Israel deserved what happened. “The new conflagration has arisen from the continued illegal occupation of Palestine land, continued settlement expansion, desecration of the Al Aqsa Mosque and Christian holy sites, and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people,” said the press release from your office. You followed that with a phone call to Ismail Haniyeh the political chief of Hamas expressing your solidarity and then visited Tehran soon after. Iran is the main sponsor of Hamas who committed these atrocities. You were photographed smiling alongside Iranian leaders who have repeatedly called for the annihilation of Israel, effectively a genocide.
South Africa’s foreign policy under your stewardship has taken a radical turn away from its purported human rights position to one of close collaboration with authoritarian regimes.
These are regimes where human rights are selectively practiced according to the whim and fancy of the individual ruling party, where certain groups and bodies are deemed less worthy of being treated humanely because of their beliefs or traditions or culture or any other decision.
Regrettably, South Africa falls directly into this category with regards to the unspeakable atrocities committed by terrorist group Hamas which, unprovoked, attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, committing the most savage and brutal atrocities against Israeli women and girls. This is in violation not only of your party, the African National Congress (ANC) Freedom Charter but South Africa’s noble Constitution.
Minister Pandor, you are not only a political leader, you are a woman. You have daughters. You are part of 50% of humanity and yet you are silent about the rape of Israeli women.
Is it because as Jewish women you do not see them as part of the 50%?
Are Jewish women not part of the sisterhood?
You held a top position in the South African government, yet you are so consumed with hatred for the nation that suffered the Holocaust and vowed “Never again!” that the words and sentiments of Nelson Mandela have had no effect on you.
Mandela was a man of dignity, of forgiveness, of extending human rights to all, yet you have taken upon yourself the mantle of hatred towards Israel and Jewish women.
Minister Pandor, South Africa is a country with among the highest rape statistics in the world. Rape is a scourge and weapon of war acted on across the African continent, and one notable voice has remained silent – yours. You have been silent about the atrocities committed against women in Sudan, Nigeria, Eritrea and other countries.
Rape was used as a weapon of war against Israeli women on 7 October. There has not been one word of concern or comfort for the Israeli – JEWISH – women who were so viciously and obscenely molested, violated, assaulted and debased. Not only was there not one word of comfort or even acknowledgement, you chose to put Israel on trial at the International Court of Justice on a bogus charge of genocide. There was only one party to this conflict guilty of genocide and that was Hamas, as evidenced in their repeated proclamations to do it again and again and again.
Selective Sight. Did Naledi Pandor even look at photos like these as Israeli women attempt to flee for their lives during the massacre of October 7, perpetrated by the mass murderers from Gaza that Pandor supports and embraces.
The Women’s Action Committee of South Africa, (WACSA) an independent and non-political group of concerned women of various ages, ethnicities, religions and backgrounds – has circulated a petition condemning rape as a weapon of war across the world.
Would you be prepared to sign it?
Would you use your position as someone who held position in the government to encourage women across the nation to sign it?
Would you have the courage and the responsibility to stand with women everywhere?
Or will you refrain because you believe Israeli/Jewish women fall into some hideous category?
Minister Pandor, on this day of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict will you count Israeli women among the family of nations and among the victims of rape as a weapon of war? If you truly believe that you are at the vanguard of global human rights and if you honour both the Freedom Charter of your political part and the Constitution of South Africa, you will do so.
To remain silent, is to be complicit.
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).
If you can vote in Ramallah but not in Tel-Aviv, is South Africa ‘stage-managing’ who it wants to vote and not vote?
By Kenneth Mokgatlhe
I am a South African adult male pursuing postgraduate studies at Israel’s Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). I am writing this letter to request you open our mission in Tel Aviv, to allow me and other South Africans to exercise our constitutional right to vote in national elections.
I was told by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officials that they won’t be conducting elections in Israel, because the government will not be opening the diplomatic mission during elections. In essence, the IEC is ready and prepared to conduct elections whenever the South African government can show political willingness to do so. These officials advised me to go to cast my vote in Ramallah, in the Palestinian territories. Due to logistical difficulties, I am unable to go to Ramallah. I am based in the far South of Israel, in a city called Beer-Sheva. It could be easier
Your actions are extreme and affect South Africans. I do not know how depriving me of my constitutional right will further isolate or punish Israel, as is your intention, nor is it clear to me why stopping us South Africans from voting will help resolve the issue between Israel and Hamas. It is plainly undemocratic to exclude people like us (South Africans residing in Israel) from participating in the democratic process.
As a true Democrat, I understand that elections are a cornerstone of every functioning democracy where both the poor and rich are given the power to decide their fate. I know that there is apathy in our country especially amongst young people like myself, however, I and many other South Africans continue to believe that elections are a viable way to hold people like you accountable, at least once in a blue moon.
I find it difficult to be convinced that the mission is closed due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. If the closure was a consequence of the war, then all missions from both sides would have been shut down temporarily until further notice. In the last elections in 2019, only 5 people voted from Ramallah. There are more South Africans in Israel than in Ramallah, so why not allocate some resources to Tel Aviv for a single day to allow us to vote?
Minister, as a staunch supporter of Hamas and hater of Israel, I know that you believe that that those who will be voting from Ramallah will choose the ANC. Conversely, I am sure that you are aware that many of us in Israel are ready to vote against the ANC. Your decision is therefore not premised on a moral or ethical basis. This is a purely electoral strategy to see the ANC maintain its support through morally corrupt ways.
It is possible, Minister Pandor, to love and support Palestine without necessarily hating Israel and its people. As a leader, you have to find the most possible and effective ways to resolve conflicts and seek cooperation. I hope that you use the same energy to help the Nigerians, Sudanese, and Mozambicans who are under attack by the Islam radicals targeting and killing hundreds of black Africans.
All our ancestors fought for the right to vote. Our forefathers died for us to have a voice. It cannot be true that you single-handedly take away the only right that the vulnerable like me can use against the powerful like you. You are suppressing the views of those you do not like. You should learn to be tolerant of dissenting views. Minister, I am not asking you to support Israel, I know you cannot do that, but I am pleading with you to consider your fellow South Africans who, like myself, are currently in Israel pursuing various goals.
About the writer:
Kenneth Mokgatlhe is pursuing a Master of Arts in African Studies, African Sustainable Communities program, at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. He is a political writer, analyst, and researcher.
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).
Obsessed with trying to undermine Israel at every opportunity, South Africa ignores genuine genocides closer to home.
By Allan Wolman
South Africa recently hosted the inaugural “Global Anti-Apartheid Conference for Palestine” (10th – 12th May) held in Johannesburg, featuring some ‘illustrious’ international speakers renowned for their impartiality, such as Declan Kearney, the chairman of Sinn Féin, Mustafa Barghouti, head of the Palestinian National Initiative, and what would such a conference be without Ronnie Kasrils, the former South African minister of intelligence and longtime champion of BDS who celebrated Hamas’ massacre of innocent civilians on 7 October?
Dressed to Impress. Indifferent to the massacre of Jews, the holding of Israeli hostages and future threats to Israel, South Africa’s foreign minister Naledi Pandor dons a Palestinian keffiyeh to deliver the opening address at the inaugural Global anti-Apartheid Conference on Palestine at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, 10 May 2024.
What was the most heinous slaughtering of Jews since the Holocaust was for ANC’s Kasrils a “damned good”, saying:
“They swept on them, and they killed them, and damned good! I was so pleased.”
In her opening remarks, South Africa’s foreign minister Naledi Pandor, sporting her distinctive keffiyeh draped over her shoulders, said: “The situation in Palestine should be prioritized by the ICC in order to deliver justice to the victims of these grave crimes,” regurgitating those familiar themes of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide while asserting South Africa’s commitment to righteousness and moral leadership, suggesting a global standard they aim to set.
Conference of the Connivers. Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council Mustafa Barghouti (left) greets former South African President Thabo Mbeki (right) with Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa Naledi Pandor (centre) at the inaugural Global anti-Apartheid Conference on Palestine at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, 10 May 2024.
The conference wrapped up with a resolution urging South African Muslim voters to support the ruling party in the upcoming elections, under the theme of unity behind the ANC. The ruling party expressed gratitude, viewing the endorsement as a testament to their shared values and commitment to their world view.
Like many other countries, South Africa has a defence industry producing and exporting arms and military equipment, governed by regulations and export controls. The South African National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) – was created to ensure that weapons sales align with the country’s constitutional values of respect, human rights and democracy.
The Daily Maverick (14 August 2023) published a report about South African arms exports to Saudi Arabia and UAE, both at war with Yemen, topping an astonishing R9.2bn. According to Open Secrets, (a non-profit organisation which exposes & builds accountability for economic crimes), South Africa has previously supplied arms to countries such as Rwanda, Syria, Zimbabwe, Turkey and Libya.
Selective Sight. South Africa has only eyes for Palestinians a continent away, while closer to home counties are ablaze like here in the Sudan in aftermath of an RSF attack in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, on 1 September 2023. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
Arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE have sparked controversy, raising ethical concerns when a 2019 court ruling deemed the exports unconstitutional and unlawful, shedding light on fears of South Africa violating of international law.
The war in Yemen has claimed the lives of over 85,000 children and more than 130,000 civilians. After nine years, Yemen faces severe food insecurity, a cholera epidemic, and a collapsing healthcare system, with millions displaced and suffering from malnutrition and disease. The UNHCR identifies Yemen as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with 21 million people urgently needing humanitarian aid and at risk of widespread famine.
At the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and neighbouring countries (Paris, 15 April 2024), participants called
on the warring parties to put an end to the hostilities, comply with international humanitarian law and guarantee full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to the whole Sudanese territory.
The conflict in Sudan is rooted in tensions between Arab herders and non-Arab farmers over land and its resources resulting in over 2 million refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries. Sudan itself is home to the largest number of internally displaced persons globally, with 9 million affected by the conflict. More than half of Sudan’s population, totalling over 27 million people, are in need of humanitarian aid, and facing acute food shortages.
Continent in Conflict. While South Africa is ready to host Sudanese leaders and only three months after President Ramaphosa visits Sudan are seen here the wounded people at Bashayer hospital in northern Khartoum, 20 June 2023. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
France, Germany, and the EU condemned the violence, including ethnic attacks, indiscriminate bombings, and gender-based violence, particularly against children. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, described the situation as the worst child displacement crisis globally, while the EU’s Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell, highlighted that the war in Sudan has triggered the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis this year. The head of the UNHCR for the region reported shocking accounts of widespread rape and sexual violence.
There is a fear that was expressed in a press release that the Sudan does not join another “forgotten crisis”.
In an op-ed in the NYT (21 March 2024), the civil war between Ethiopia and Tigray was described as one of the deadliest conflicts of this century with an estimated death toll of over half a million people and the region now facing widespread famine. The report goes on to say that over 100,000 women are believed to have been the victims of conflict-related sexual violence. Ethiopia and South Africa established a Strategic Partnership on February 15, 2024, aimed at political cooperation, economic relations, and deepen bilateral ties.
It’s intriguing to consider South Africa’s foreign engagements amidst arms sales to the Yemen war, President Ramaphosa hosting Sudanese paramilitary leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti in Pretoria, and recent visits to Rwanda and South Sudan, and a strategic partnership with Ethiopia.
South Africa’s obsessive foreign focus on prosecuting – or more persecuting – Israel at The Hague appears to overshadow the tragedy and conflicts closer to home.
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 five years ago.
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).
If you can vote in Ramallah and not Tel Aviv, is the ruling ANC manipulating who of its nationals abroad can vote?
By Kenneth Moeng Mokgatlhe
It is so disappointing to me that I won’t be able to execute my national duty to vote for my desired government on 29 May. For the first time since I was eligible to vote in the 2009 general elections, the ANC government will make it impossible for South African citizens in Israel to cast their vote to bring about much-needed change in government. I was told a week ago by Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officials that I should go to other missions outside Israel to vote, such as Ramallah, Aman or Cairo. Really? That is effectively telling me:
“You can’t vote!”
The illogical decision to shut down South Africa’s embassy in Tel Aviv is starting to impact negatively on South African citizens studying or working in or touring Israel. I could not reach out to anyone at the IEC when the online registration was giving me problems. Although I am pleased that I finally did manage to register to vote, it worries me that without an embassy, South Africans in Israel might be prevented from taking part in the upcoming elections.
Selective Voters. South Africans queuing up at Trafalgar Square to vote in South Africa’s 2014 election, a right now being denied to prospective voters in Israel.
The IEC and the SA government are duty-bound to ensure that all South African citizens in the diaspora can participate in the upcoming extraordinary elections, which will mark the 30th anniversary of the first historic and inclusive elections in 1994 when a charismatic statesman, Nelson Mandela, led the ANC to its outright victory. I am writing this column from Israel where I’ll be based even during these important elections where I want to help escort the ANC out of our Union Building. Just as people lined up in the long queues to vote for the ANC in 1994, while in Israel I want to do the opposite by adding my name to those voting to uproot the ineptitudes and delinquents from public office.
Following a resolution taken by the ANC at its elective conference in 2017, the SA government decided to downgrade its embassy in Tel Aviv. They have since moved from a downgrade to an entire shutdown of the office. Paradoxically, while the embassy is closed, there remain some cultural and economic ties between the two countries.
Closed for Business. “It’s outrageous that South African citizens arrived at the South African embassy in Ramat Gan to find a notice stuck on the door saying, ‘This office will be closed until further notice’,” says South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) National Director Wendy Kahn.
I am a student at one of the universities in Israel where I was awarded a prestigious scholarship. This scholarship makes it possible to send between $200 to $250 to my family back in South Africa. Do we know the importance of remittances? For those who do not have an idea, remittances (money earned from foreign countries and sent to another country) are essential for every economy as it is a critical source of external finance for South Africa. This money plays a meaningful role in combating hunger and poverty, especially in African countries. I am an active economic player, not a burden like many who are dependent on the state for their daily survival.
Most African embassies are operating their embassies to help their citizens on issues that may arise while in Israel. As my country decided to pack their bags and leave us in the cold, it gets lonely when my colleagues from other African countries visit their embassies in Tel Aviv when mine is not there. What I normally do is just join them and learn about the cultural, social and political aspects of other countries because I cannot simply keep on complaining about the ANC’s hostility against Israel.
We are South Africans who went to various countries to look for greener pastures while retaining our full South African citizenship. It was through all the concerted efforts of our forefathers that we achieved suffrage. A right to vote is a pre-requisite of any democracy; we have a right to have a say on who should preside over our polity. It is therefore the responsibility of our government to work together with the IEC to ensure that we become part of the decision-making process.
The Bold and the Beautiful. Back in 2021, Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane, who defied the South African government that pressured her to boycott the contest because it was being held in Israel, told The Jerusalem Post that “If I had not come to Israel to compete in the Miss Universe pageant, I think I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.”
The ANC’s dislike of Israel has led the government to take the most moronic decisions in the past, such as attacking South African artists like Black Coffee (Nkosinathi Maphumulo) who had been booked to play in Israel, while ‘ordering’ Miss SA, Lalela Mswane not to participate in the Beauty Pageant held in Israel in 2021. Orlando Pirates was told it could not play with an Israel-based soccer team last year. David Teeger recently lost his captaincy in the South African Cricket Under 19 side for expressing, as a loyal Jew, his support for Israel.
Defying the Dopes. Despite pressure from BDS South Africa, Orlando Pirates – seen here celebrating winning the 2023 Nedbank Cup – refused in 2023 to heed calls to refrain from playing a friendly game against Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv. (Photo: Sydney Mahlangu, BackpagePix)
It is important to stress the importance of voting to all South Africans in the country and all those in the diaspora as it remains our only tool to affect positive change. We have to come to understand that there is no politician or political party that wields power as of right; it is we, the voters, who decide to whom to give this power. We have to elect competent, ethical, and incorruptible political leadership into public office. For all South Africans in the diaspora, especially in conflict-ridden areas like Israel, Sudan, and Ukraine, it should be made possible for everyone to participate in this upcoming historic election. There is a need for all citizens to participate in spearheading political change in our country.
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).
The ICJ’s decision on ‘South Africa v Israel’ clarified
By Emeritus Professor Raymond Wacks
Should Israel from Philistian yoke deliver; Ask for this great Deliverer now, and find him Eyeless in Gaza at the Mill with slaves, Himself in bonds under Philistian yoke …
John Milton, Samson Agonistes
Three months have elapsed since South Africa, donning the mantle of conscientious accuser, applied to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the Genocide Convention to secure a ceasefire as a ‘provisional measure of protection’. On 26 January, the Court ordered Israel to observe a number of requirements to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, including the killing of Palestinians, causing serious bodily or mental harm to civilians, and ending the imposition of measures intended to prevent births. Israel was also directed to take immediate steps to permit the provision of humanitarian assistance to residents in Gaza. It was given a month to report on the steps it has taken to comply with this instruction. On 6 March, South Africa filed its third request for provisional measures.
Israel responded with a comprehensive repudiation of South Africa’s allegations which, it claimed, constituted ‘a familiar pattern of misrepresenting the reality; falsely attributing that purported reality to Israeli wrongdoing; and libellously assigning to Israel a malign intent that is simply not there.’ This new application to supplement or modify the provisional measures of 26 January, it averred, ‘hinges on a misrepresentation of reality and a sensationalist and obsessive attempt to accuse Israel of the most egregious crimes regardless of the law or the facts.’
Campus Chaos. The writer’s assertion that at most the ICJ judgment has achieved is to “inflame passions” and amplify “the level of antipathy” is all too evident at protests across US colleges such as here at City University of New York (CUNY) , where New York filmmaker Ami Horowitz was beaten, headbutted and punched by an angry mob of anti-Israel protesters on the uptown campus .
This conflict stubbornly admits of no middle ground. It continues to ignite a polarising ideological feud between forces, often malevolent, which hinders rational debate. The ICJ judgment has merely inflamed passions and amplified the level of rancour and antipathy. There seems little room for a detached assessment of the crisis, or a path towards a scrupulous deliberation on the facts. Demonstrations in cities and on university campuses in many countries vilify Israel as a genocidal apartheid state that pursues a colonial policy of persecution against Palestinians whose ‘freedom fighters’ are merely expressing their right of self-determination after 76 years of oppression.
At Columbia University, for example, demonstrators chanted:
We say justice, you say ‘how?’ Burn Tel Aviv to the ground, Ya Hamas, we love you, We support your rockets too!
In my earlier piece published here soon after the Court’s decision, I suggested that it would be ingenuous to imagine that an age-old flashpoint would be susceptible to simple solutions, especially following the barbarism and depravity of 7 October -murder, rape, torture, abduction, arson, and pillaging – and amid the apocalyptic scenes of medieval privation and devastation in Gaza. I also contended that the ruling may have been misconstrued. It now appears that this may indeed have been the case.
Menacing Mob. Though he never said a word about Israel nor identified himself as Jewish, filmmaker Horowitz at City University of New York (CUNY) was repeatedly told to “Get the f–k out of here.” His only ‘crime’ for this mob, which included an Iman, was that he had been waving an American flag!
In an interview on the BBC on 26 April, former President of the Court, Justice Joan Donoghue – who delivered the majority judgment – stated that what it actually decided was that ‘the Palestinians had a plausible right to be protected from genocide’ and that ‘South Africa had a right to present that in the court.’
The Court, she explained, ‘did not decide, and this is something where I’m correcting something that’s often said in the media. It did not decide that the claim of genocide was plausible …Theshorthand that often appears, which is that there’s a plausible case of genocide, isn’t what the court decided.’
In other words, the countless media reports hailing South Africa’s ‘victory’ against Israel, and the jubilation, especially in that country, may have been somewhat misplaced and premature. Her message might be understood as ‘curb your enthusiasm!’
Nothing I have since read dislodges my earlier misgivings about the manner in which the case was presented and conducted. First, the Court ought to have considered whether the Genocide Convention is, in fact, the appropriate legal basis for the litigation. As both the ad hoc Israeli judge, Aharon Barak, and Justice Julia Sebutinde of Uganda (recently elected Vice-President of the Court) point out in their dissenting judgments, the framework of international humanitarian law (IHL) affords a more congenial legal foundation upon which the application should have been mounted. In the words of Justice Sebutinde:
What distinguishes the crime of genocide from other grave violations of international human rights law is the existence of the ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such’. Accordingly, the acts complained of by South Africa … can only be capable of falling within the scope of the said Convention if a genocidal intent is present, otherwise such acts simply constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law and not genocide as such.
Goodbye Columbia. If South Africa’s application to the ICJ against Israel hoped to end violence, it has fueled it. Seen here are Hamas supporters at Columbia University, New York calling to “Burn Tel Aviv to the ground” while yelling at Jewish students to “Go back to Europe!”
IHL provides that harm to innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure should not be excessive as compared with the anticipated military advantage. The loss of innocent lives is not unlawful providing it complies with the rules and principles of this law. Similarly, the German judge, Georg Nolte, though he concurred with the majority, did not consider the test of genocide as having been met:
I am not persuaded that South Africa has plausibly shown that the military operation undertaken by Israel, as such, is being pursued with genocidal intent. The evidence provided by South Africa regarding the Israeli military operation differs fundamentally from that contained in the reports by the United Nations fact-finding mission on Myanmar’s so-called ‘clearance operation’ in 2016 and 2017 which led the Court to adopt its Order of 23 January 2020 in The Gambia v Myanmar.
It may be that the question of intent was not fully canvassed because, as Justice Donoghue has now made clear, the Court was considering only the extent to which there was a plausible risk that the Palestinians might suffer irreparable harm, or, whether their right to protection against such harm was plausible.
The Court uncritically concurred with the applicant’s assertion that various bellicose statements, uttered in the aftermath of the gruesome 7 October attacks, demonstrate the requisite intention by Israel to commit genocide. But is it unreasonable that, following the homicidal onslaught, which left at least 1,200 dead, many wounded, and some 250 taken hostage, certain Israeli political and military leaders would recklessly unleash clamorous calls to arms, promising vengeance and retaliation for the unspeakable suffering visited upon so many innocent citizens and foreigners?
To treat these spontaneous remarks – made in the heat of a national tragedy – as evidence of a state’s intention to commit genocide seems highly tendentious, particularly as they included comments uttered by individuals with no direct role in Israel’s military decision-making on the ground. They were, in any event, directed at the terrorists, not at the Palestinians or Gazans in general.
The decision, it seems to me, myopically minimised the defence pleaded by Israel. It is astonishing that the judges fail to acknowledge the critical fact that Israel is fighting an enemy that is demonstrably committed to the Jewish state’s annihilation. The 2017 revised (more ‘moderate’) Hamas Charter is explicit in its ambition to continue its resistance until Israel is obliterated:
Palestine symbolizes the resistance that shall continue until liberation is accomplished, until the return is fulfilled and until a fully sovereign state is established with Jerusalem as its capital … [Palestine] was seized by a racist, anti-human and colonial Zionist project …
This pronouncement requires little clarification.
Fourthly, the judges appeared to neglect the stark reality that Israel’s callous adversary conceals its fighters, weapons, and hostages in a vast subterranean city, and operates amongst civilians in schools, mosques, and hospitals. Imposing a ceasefire, as requested by South Africa, would, as many have pointed out, permit Hamas to regroup. Moreover, as Justice Sebutinde crucially recognises in her carefully reasoned dissent:
[The litigation] is complicated by the fact that in the context of an ongoing war with Hamas, which is not a party to these proceedings, it would be unrealistic to put limitations upon one of the belligerent parties but not the other. Israel would justifiably assert its right to defend itself from Hamas, which would most probably aggravate the situation in Gaza … It is difficult to envisage how one of the belligerent parties can be expected to unilaterally ‘prevent the destruction of evidence’ while leaving the other one free to carry on unabated.’
Are the protesting students politically literate ? This is what was unleashed on Israel on October 7, following Hamas’ charter whose introduction reads: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it”. (Photo: Mahmud Hams / AFP / Getty)
It is, fifthly, troubling that while the court explicitly abjures any finding of facts, it readily cites a plethora of evidence from various agencies of the United Nations whose neutrality is, at the very least, questionable. They include the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Human Rights Council, and the Commissioner-General of (the recently discredited) UNRWA.
Finally, the judges fail to enquire whether South Africa’s application might be tainted by its cordiality towards Hamas. The country’s current government seems eager to be considered the conscience of the world. Its uncritical embrace of Hamas condemns it to ignominy from which it may never recover. A mere ten days after 7 October, South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, held a telephone call with the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, to express the country’s ‘solidarity and support’ for the Palestinian people. This was followed by a delegation of three Hamas officials to Pretoria. She also visited Iran on 22 October 2023.
This affability with the Islamic Republic could, as Justice Sebutinde justly remarked, actually be put to constructive use:
It was brought to the attention of the Court that South Africa, and in particular certain organs of government, have enjoyed and continue to enjoy a cordial relationship with the leadership of Hamas. If that is the case, then one would encourage South Africa as a party to these proceedings and to the Genocide Convention, to use whatever influence they might wield, to try and persuade Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release the remaining hostages, as a good will gesture.
One shrinks from questioning the bona fides of the applicant’s case. But while it vehemently castigates Israel, its legal representatives barely mention the evil of Hamas and other Iranian proxies. Is it possible that the ANC’s longing to burnish its radical pro-Palestinian (and even pro-Iranian) credentials, blinds it to the suffering of the victims of these crimes? I sincerely hope I am wrong, and that its ostensible moral turpitude is imaginary – even if some have detected a whiff of antisemitism in the applicant’s case. Again, I want to be mistaken. It would be a bitter irony; many South African Jews were in the vanguard of the struggle against the injustice of apartheid. They were tortured, imprisoned, and vilified by the apartheid state. In his autobiography, Mandela reflects:
I have found [South African] Jews to be more broad-minded than most whites on issues of race and politics, perhaps because they themselves have historically been victims of prejudice.
He might have added that several had relatives who were victims of a genuine genocide at the hands of the Nazis.
*
It is likely to be years before the Court delivers its judgment on the merits. Defining genocide is not straightforward; it requires a specific intent to annihilate a group of people. The final ruling may provide guidance on its construction, and distinguish the crime of genocide from other violations of international law, including war crimes over which the ICJ has no jurisdiction.
It is by no means certain that the Court’s readiness to accede to South Africa’s application for provisional measures will translate into a finding against Israel whenever the day of judgment dawns. One hopes that by then the war will have concluded, and that some sort of peace will have been secured.
About the writer:
Raymond Wacks, Emeritus Professor of Law and Legal Theory, is the author of seventeen books, editor of ten, and numerous articles. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. They include Personal Information: Privacy and the Law; Privacy and Media Freedom; Privacy: A Very Short Introduction; Law: A Very Short Introduction; and Justice: A Beginner’s Guide. Among his most recent publications are Protecting Personal Information: The Right to Privacy Reconsidered; COVID-19 and Public Policy in the Digital Age; and National Security in the New World Order: Government and the Technology of Information (with Andrea Monti). The sixth edition of his Understanding Jurisprudence: An Introduction to Legal Theory appeared in 2021, as did The Rule of Law Under Fire? His latest book, Animal Lives Matter: The Continuing Quest for Justice, was published in February.
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).
The highly publicised Teeger affair exposes a “cover up” in South African cricket of political persecution with a chilling effect on the freedom of expression of South African Jewry.
By Craig Snoyman
CricketSA and the Gauteng Central Lions have chosen to cover up their malfeasance in the Teeger matter. They have chosen to sweep under the carpet issues of corporate governance, fraudulent misrepresentations and violations of media contracts which employees and South African cricketers have breached.
David Teeger was charged with bringing cricket into disrepute by making a statement in favour of the Israeli army at a private function. He was not under contract at the time. Five complaints were lodged with the Gauteng Central Lions and from the Lions’ initial position that it would send out letters to the complainants acknowledging their concerns, the matter escalated. Soon CricketSA were drawn into the matter and the same five complaints that had been sent to the Lions now formed the basis for a charge brought against Teeger by CricketSA.
Foul Play. Brandishing signs declaring “He’s My Captain”, protestors outside the HQ of Cricket South Africa declare support for South African Jewish cricketer David Teeger amid ongoing antisemitism scandal. (Photo: Ilan Ossendryver)
Of the complaints lodged, there was one that emanated from Lenasia Cricket Club. Another came from “Diadora”, a sponsor of Lions cricket. There is a very clear link between these two complainants. The Chairman of the Lenasia Cricket Club is one Azar Saloojee and the person lodging the complaint on behalf of Diadora is also Azar Saloojee – the same person. The complaint of Diadora South Africa stated that they:
“will not tolerate Mr Teeger playing in any tournament sponsored by Diadora”.
Responding to the warranted allegation of discrimination, Diadora’s Head Office in Italy were quick to reply that:
– Diadora had no directors in South Africa
– it disassociates itself from the statement made by Saloojee
– Saloojee was not authorized to make such a statement.
Saloojee had made the statement in his personal capacity but as the Chairman of Lenasia Cricket Club and subject to the jurisdiction and sanction of CricketSA, he had abused his authority by falsely misrepresenting facts to Gauteng Lions and CricketSA, even going as far as threatening/ extorting CricketSA.
From the Gauteng Central Lions level, the matter was elevated to CricketSA level, using the same complaints lodged with Gauteng Lions. There is nothing in the constitution of either the Gauteng Lions or CricketSA (the South African Cricket Board) which provides for a matter which has been launched at a franchise level to be dealt with at a national level. The acknowledgement of complaint letter was discarded and Teeger was charged at a national level.
Taking on Teeger. Pushing to have Teeger removed from captaining South Africa’s Under-19 cricket squad, Dr. Mohammed Moosajee, President of the Gauteng Lions Cricket Board detailed in his affidavit a compilation of complaints against the Jewish captain that included demands from pro-Palestinian groups.
New complainant statements used in the charge against Teeger were those of Mohammed Moosajee, the President of the Gauteng Lions, Jonathan Leaf-Wright, the CEO of the Gauteng Lions, and that of Pholetsi Moketi, the CEO of Cricket South Africa. For these members to have provided statements, they needed to have received the prior approval of their respective boards. While acknowledging that he did not have permission of the Lions, Moosajee – although somewhat irregular – submitted an affidavit in his personal capacity. Both Moosajee and Moketi – who had charged Teeger for the statement he made in support of Israeli soldiers – failed to recognise the irony in submitting their views of the history of “the occupation of Palestine” and a condemnation of the Israeli Defence Force. But, as no Board approvals were given, all of these statements were unauthorised and irregular. There is no provision for executives to express their personal political opinions or to submit their own voluntary statements in disciplinary charges.
From Batting to Battling as a Jew. Despite David Teeger been exonerated by an independent inquiry for his pro-Israeli army comments made at a private gathering, this did not stop the antisemitic onslaught in South Africa to having him removed from the position of captain for “security” concerns. (Photo: Stock Cricket Image: Pixaba)
Further overt politics was brought into ‘play’ by the PSA (trade union for public sector workers in South Africa) which went into detail about the “genocidal war against the Palestinians”. In all, each of the complainants was given the right to express their opinions freely – some virulently political – against the statement uttered by Teeger
Nonetheless, Teeger was charged with unbecoming conduct and statements detrimental to the game of cricket in violation of the Lions and CricketSA codes of conduct. Teeger was not subject to any social media contract which prevented him from making a statement to the media. His statement was not even made to the media but was made at an awards ceremony at a private function. Employees and cricketers on contract are however prevented from making public statements without the approval of the relevant cricket authority. Hashim Amla, an employee of the Gauteng Lions, as well as contracted SA cricketers Kagiso Rabada and Tabriz Shamsi have all expressed their opinion of the Israel-Hamas war on social media. Each expressed an opinion in favour of the Palestinians. Each has a social media contract preventing them from expressing these opinions publicly.
However, no action has been taken against them!
In an endeavour to have CricketSA explain its position concerning the above issues and take the necessary corrective measures or to explain why these were not necessary, legal correspondence was entered into. First, there was correspondence with CricketSA and Gauteng Lions and thereafter with their legal representatives.
After initial stonewalling by CricketSA, and non-substantive correspondence by their legal representatives, a response was finally received, stating:
“There is no legal obligation on our client to either provide the information that your client seeks or to take any of the measures demanded.”
So CricketSA, the custodian of cricket in South Africa which has undertaken to promote, advance, and administer the game of cricket in South Africa and adhere to the general principles contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa saw fit to charge Teeger because he expressed his constitutional right to freedom of expression. It sees no reason to explain why it is not adhering to general principles of fairness and good labour practices – at least, certainly not to a mere stakeholder member of the public.
The same CricketSA, which swore to respect and recognise the penalties laid down by members of Cricket South Africa, sees no reason to take measures where numerous clearly identifiable offences arising out of the Teeger matter which are chargeable in terms of CricketSA’s rules and regulations and probably even in terms of South Africa’s criminal law.
Pitch Im’perfect. Failing to see the true state of South Africa’s proverbial cricket pitch, Lawson Naidoo, the chair of CricketSA’s board, responds to accusations of antisemitism that they are “not deserving of a response”.
While Lawson Naidoo, the chair of CricketSA’s board, may say that accusations of antisemitism are “not deserving of a response” let’s see how he responds to accusations of malfeasance and double standards now that the matter has gone public.
Double standards where Jews are involved usually suggest antisemitism.
About the writer:
Craig Snoymanis 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).
Justifying and whitewashing October 7 serves the interests of those responsible for the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Does the world care?
By Harris Zvi Green
March 15, 2024
My dearest friends,
The international community has clearly had enough of Israel. As I wrote in my last letter, the Free World and its freedoms are in decay. Its heads of state and humanitarian organizations, its religious leaders and academic institutions have proved, for the umpteenth time, they don’t have the will or the ability to fight, outlaw or even recognize terror, especially when it’s targeted against Israel.
On October 7, invading Hamas forces perpetrated a genocide against Israel. Around 1,200 people, including women and children, were brutally murdered. An additional 250 Israelis were abducted to Gaza. After 164 days, 134 of them remain in hostage. They haven’t been visited by representatives of any humanitarian organization. Since October 7, more than 9,000 missiles have been randomly fired from Gaza into population centers in Israel. As a result of this violence, around 100,000 people have, for the past 5 months, been displaced from their homes along Israel’s southern border.
Forgotten Footage. Haunting images of Israeli civilians burned alive in their car by Hamas terrorists, is the imagery the world is purposely forgetting. (Photo: South First Responders)
Clearly, this violence must be countered. Failure to do so will further embolden Hamas. The Hamas violence on Israel’s southern border has already emboldened Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border and the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. It’s even emboldened South Africa to weaponize international law to demonize Israel and delegitimize her right to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people.
Sadly, the UN Security Council is engaged in a systematic process of denial. The Security Council is doing its utmost to distance itself from the report prepared by its envoy on sex crimes committed during conflict. The Russian representative discounted the report claiming it was based on partial information.
Truth is Irrelevant. Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Maria Zabolotskaya (above), attempts to cast doubt against overwhelming evidence in the Security Council on a UN report confirming sexual violence committed by Hamas-led terrorists on Israelis on and after October 7.(Screen capture)
The Security Council continues to ignore the plight of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. It ignores the indiscriminate firing of missiles at population centers in Israel. It ignores the use of hospitals, schools, mosques and its own buildings as part of the Hamas terror machine against Israel. It ignores the cynical use of Gaza’s civilian population as human shields to protect the Hamas military infrastructure.
Following World War II, the Allies convened a joint tribunal in Nuremberg to establish evidence of the war crimes committed and to bring the perpetrators to justice. Why aren’t they doing so this time around?
The world accuses Israel of over-reacting. I ask myself whether this is reasonable.
Over the years, Israel has done her utmost to avoid charges of over-reacting. Since 2005, Hamas has fired more than 20,000 missiles and mortars at Israel. Imagine the astronomical number of Israeli casualties that would been recorded without Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system. Imagine the air strikes and the artillery required to eliminate this threat. Imagine the even more astronomical number of Palestinian casualties that would have been recorded in the process.
Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system is more worthy of the Nobel Peace prize than are politicians or those heading any of its humanitarian organizations.
How does the world expect Israel to defend herself? Effectively, the world is seeking to neutralize Israel’s right to self-defense. How should Israel demilitarize Gaza? How should Israel secure release of the hostages? How should Israel ensure that the events of October 7 don’t repeat themselves?
Without providing effective and realistic solutions to these questions, the accusations made against Israel are ludicrous to the extreme. Ceasefires won’t achieve any of these fundamental requirements.
The world is stuck with one Holocaust Memorial Day. It shouldn’t be looking for a second one.
Israel conducted major air strikes and ground attacks against military targets in the Gaza Strip. These attacks caused enormous damage and many casualties including women and children serving as human shields for the Hamas leadership. But Israel also put her own soldiers at enormous risk in her attempts to limit the unnecessary loss of civilian life in Gaza. Has any other country in military history gone to such lengths to limit the loss of enemy life? If so, please name them.
To date, more than 12,000 Hamas militants have been killed. Many others have been apprehended. By international standards, the collateral damage has been negligible. The numbers of non-combatants relative to combatants killed in Afghanistan, Iraq and Ukraine were much greater. Given the extensive use by Hamas of women and children as human shields, this is an even more remarkable achievement.
The discourse surrounding the conflict has become toxic. Protest events around the world calling for the release of the hostages are dispersed by unruly mobs. Law enforcement to protect the right to demonstrate is either ridiculously inadequate or non-existent. Pictures of the hostages are ripped to shreds within minutes of their being posted. That’s what become of our world. No wonder Michelle Obama, Julia Roberts and others who seek popularity audiences, are so quiet on the subject.
As Leonard Cohen wrote:
“First we take Manhattan then we take Berlin”
Cohen described this as a terrorist song. Terrorism, he said, is something that has no alibis or compromises. Judging by what’s becoming increasingly acceptable on the streets of Manhattan and Berlin, both cities have fallen to the whims of terrorism.
Crazy Court. Instead of the leaders of Gaza being charged for the genocide of Israelis having orchestrated a well-planned massacre, Israel finds itself so falsely charged at The Hague thanks to South Africa weaponizing international law. Seen here are South Africa’s Justice Minister Ronald Lamola (left) and its Ambassador to the Netherlands Vusimuzi Madonsela. (Photo: Remko de Waal/AFP/Getty Images)
Justifying and whitewashing the events of October 7 are an essential part of the strategy. It serves the interests of the perpetrators and the international community.
My condolences to those mourning their nearest and dearest. My wishes to the injured for a complete and speedy recovery. May God protect our brave soldiers. May the hostages soon be reunited with their families. May you all be blessed with good health to see smiles on the faces of your loved ones for many years to come.
Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom and better times ahead.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Harris Zvi Green
About the writer:
Harris Zvi Green was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Aged 77, he made Aliyah 53 years ago. An accountant by profession, he served as the Chief Financial Officer for a number of Israel based hi-tech companies. He is married to Phyllis. They have 3 married children ,13 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Harris Zvi Green is a founder member of Truth be Told, an organization engaged in public diplomacy on behalf of Israel.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
