SA
Abramjee’s tweet about abducted Israeli boys
This is an open letter to Yusuf Abramjee of Talk Radio 702. I was, until today, a loyal listener of the station.
CARLA TENZER
(Abramjee tweeted on the kidnapping of three Jewish boys in Israel: “Three Israeli teenagers abducted. 150 Palestinians arrested. What does it tell you?”)
Reading your tweet about Israel’s reaction to the kidnapping of three innocent Israeli boys, has left me feeling sad and concerned. I feel it is a comment made without proper consideration of the impact that those words can have.
Israel is doing everything it can to save three lives – something we should admire and praise. (But) instead of praising, this response, it was criticised. I think, if you knew a little more about the country, your reaction may be different.
Israel is a true democracy unlike most of the countries in the Middle East. As a South African, I am sure you can appreciate how much of a treasure a democracy is. In Israel, Arab citizens serve as members of Parliament, serve in senior positions in the Israeli Defence Forces, study at top universities, receive the best medical treatment, and contribute to the arts as one would expect of citizens in any country.
If you have doubts about this, I implore you to please research the situation – the results will surprise you.
Lastly, I want to ask you to consider the long history of anti-Semitism that the Jewish nation has faced and continues to face. A tweet like yours unfortunately ignites anti-Semitic sentiment.
Anti-Semitism, like all forms of discrimination, spreads easily, and especially so when people who hold influential positions in our country, like yourself, make remarks such as the one in your tweet.
I feel that your tweet cheapens not only Israel as a state, and the Jewish nation’s right to exist, but worse, the three very precious lives that Israel is trying to save.
When 702 and your Lead SA Campaign refer to “South Africa”, I hope all South Africans are included, but I am worried that your tweet has put some distance, if not anxiety, between us.
Johannesburg
Gary Selikow
June 25, 2014 at 3:52 pm
‘The whole of 702 is anti-Israel Jenny Cryws Williams is a strong apologist for terror too’
adam levy
June 26, 2014 at 8:47 am
‘Carla – you live in a fools world. Except for being given the vote Palestinians living in Israel are discriminated against in every way – housing, education, jobs, career advancement and their right to citizenship. Just last week Haaretz carry a story where an Palestinian living in Israel (what you call Arab citizens of Israel) was refused permission for him and his Palestinian wife to live in Israel. The Israeli official told him that it was because of demographic concerns. On the other hand people like you have the right of full citizenship by virtue of being Jewish. If that is not racism – show me what is. The occupied territory is far worse. The Atlantic carried a story last week titled The Shame of Shuhada Street by a Canadian Jew. Go and read it. If that is not apartheid tell me what is.
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\nWhite south africans under apartheid buried their heads in the sand and did not nothing against the regime but rather supported the status quo, who know claim they did not know. Dont preach democracy from your pedestal. Open your mind, venture beyond the laarger and see the truth of what is going on. If you want information – go to the sites of Jewish Voices for Peace or Jews for Justice in the Middle-East. Or just read the Haaretz. These are not self-hating jews – these like me are people of conscience who put humanity before our ethnic and racial interests.
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\nWhile you mourn the missing three Israeli settler teenagers – spare a thought for the 250 children in detention in Israel or the families that bear the indignity of daily harassment by the IDF or the children without parents.
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\nStand up for peace, justice and not some parochial notion of a promised land – which is a nightmare for the indigenous people.
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EDITOR’S NOTE TO USERS: Adam Levy has proven time and again to be an alias for either an anti-Zionist Jew or a non-Jew and SAJR publishes his anti-Israel comments that don’t break any of SAJR’s COMMENT GUIDELINE rules and is hence welcome to voice his or her opinion on this website.
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\nWhen he/she becomes anti-Semitic or otherwise
\ntransgresses the rules of this website, his
\ncomments are deleted. online.editor@sajr.co.za
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\n‘
Mendel Markel
June 27, 2014 at 10:39 am
‘
Now I understand why the editor qualifies every post you make. You, sir, are a clueless buffoon and have no idea what you are talking about. Clearly you are either naïve and have brainwashed by hearsay – which makes you a non-intellectual; or you know you are speaking bunk and have an agenda to attract the naïve.
Either way, you have obviously never been to Israel. SA Jewry has a number of initiatives where they take people like you who spread bunk like this to see the real Israel and I urge you to make contact with the SAJBD or one of the other organisations if you REALLY would like to see the REAL Israel in which I live.
Allow me to debunk some of your nonsense:
“Palestinians living in Israel are discriminated against in every way – housing, education, jobs, career advancement and their right to citizenship.”
Rubbish. Simply not true.
“Just last week Haaretz carry a story where an Palestinian living in Israel (what you call Arab citizens of Israel) was refused permission for him and his Palestinian wife to live in Israel.”
Just last month, sir, SA passed legislation that does exactly the same thing. Over 100 of the 200-and-something countries in the world have similar policies. These include the US and most European countries. Most Muslim countries, on the other hand, only allow wives to enter if they are Muslim.
“The Atlantic carried a story last week titled The Shame of Shuhada Street by a Canadian Jew. Go and read it. If that is not apartheid tell me what is.”
FYI: Mainstream media clearly differentiates between NEWS and OPINION. Quoting opinion as if it were news is a nice trick – I can quote innumerable other opinion pieces to the contrary.
“Dont (sic) preach democracy from your pedestal. Open your mind, venture (sic) beyond the laarger (sic) and see the truth of what is going on. If you want information – go to the sites of Jewish Voices for Peace or Jews for Justice in the Middle-East. Or just read the Haaretz.”
Ha’aretz is a far-left newspaper. Try http://www.israelnationalnews.com/ which is a more mainstream medium. Again, you are pointing people to the brainwashing sites very selectively. Very, very selectively.
“Spare a thought for the 250 children in detention in Israel or the families that bear the indignity of daily harassment by the IDF or the children without parents.”
And for the thousands of Jewish parents whose innocent civilian children have been murdered or whose sons and daughters have been killed in the line of duty defending against murderers.
“Stand up for peace, justice and not some parochial notion of a promised land – which is a nightmare for the indigenous people.”
Indigenous Israeli Arabs citizens have no nightmares. They are mostly indistinguishable from the indigenous Jewish citizens – except in both cases when it comes to those who choose to dress in indigenous attire – something not allowed across the board by any of Israel’s neighbors.
Mendel Markel, Israel
‘
Gary Selikow
June 27, 2014 at 12:11 pm
‘Jews for Justice for Palestinians are vile bigoted racists who’ve never been to Israel, Being born Jewish does not excuse anti-Israel racism’
Adam Levy
June 28, 2014 at 4:45 pm
‘thank you Mendel Markel – you have just perfectly illustrated my point about bigotry and racism.
with people like you, we don’t need enemies.
for your information Haaretz is not a far-left paper. at best it is liberal zionist.
i have been to israel and the occupied territories and have seen the apartheid and discrimination for myself. so no need to preach to me.’
Gary Selikow
June 29, 2014 at 7:38 am
‘\”Adam Levy\”\”These are not self-hating jews – these like me are people of conscience who put humanity before our ethnic and racial interests\”.
Except when it comes to humanity towards Israelis or other non politically correct people’
moshe
June 30, 2014 at 9:38 am
‘@ medel point number one.
\”Use of land in Israel usually means leasing rights from the ILA for a period of 49 or 98 years. Under Israeli law, the ILA cannot lease land to foreign nationals, which includes Palestinian residents of Jerusalem who have identity cards but are not citizens of Israel. In practice, foreigners may be allowed to lease if they show that they would qualify as Jewish under the Law of Return.[9]\”
‘