ANT KATZ

Since Jewish Report broke the story in the media last Wednesday, 7 January, in “LEILA KHALED IN SA SPEAKING TOUR NEXT MONTH,” the story has erupted into a flutter of media hyperbole – with blows being thrown by all sides.

On Monday 12 January, SA Jewish Board of Deputies chairman, Mary Kluk, issued a media statement (SEE: “BOARD SLAMS BDS FOR BRINGING KHALED”) which was widely reported on in the mainstream media on Tuesday 13 January.

This was countered by a press statement issued on Wednesday 14 January on POLITICSWEB by Kebby Maphatsoe, chairman of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association, was at pains to point out that “no Israeli or a single passenger was killed in the two airplanes that were hijacked,” by Khaled, as part of his justification for the visit, which is, in essence, a BDS fundraising tour of SA with tickets costing up to R500 per head.

With Israel Apartheid Week planned in SA for mid-March, a Zionist organiser who asked not to be named told Jewish Report Online, “BDS is filling up its war-chest. They got thrashed last year and need to put on a big performance for 2015.”

LEFT: BDS-SA head Desai and another protester at Wits

 The the SA arm of the US-based NGO Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel, BDS-SA, added their voice to the parade, saying”

“The Israeli lobby in SA, including the SAJBD, have – not unexpectedly been trying to discredit Leila Khaled’s forthcoming tour,” said BDS-SA spokesman Kwara Kekana in a media release shortly thereafter. “We do not expect pro-Israeli supporters to understand the reason for hosting https://www.sajr.co.za/images/default-source/events/general/kluk-mary-madiba.jpg” class=”sfImageWrapper”>Kluk’s letter continues: This is what Amedy Coulibaly told his hostages after his attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris on Friday. He also spoke to BFM-TV, claiming allegiance to the Islamic State and saying that he wanted to defend Palestinians and target Jews. He was subsequently shot dead by police, but for the four Jewish shoppers he had gunned down, rescue came too late.

RIGHT: Mary Kluk, national chairman of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies

Coulibaly’s “eye for an eye” comment is scarily reminiscent of something the Congress of South African Trade Unions’s Tony Ehrenreich posted on his Facebook page last year.

As many will recall, he wrote the following: “The time has come to say very clearly that if a woman or child is killed in Gaza, then the Jewish Board of Deputies, who are complicit, will feel the wrath of the people of SA with the age old biblical teaching of an eye for an eye. The time has come for the conflict to be waged everywhere the Zionist supporters fund and condone the war killing machine of Israel.”

What happened in Paris should be a sobering reminder to all of us, especially those holding political office, of what reckless statements of this nature can lead to.

We dare not allow this kind of thinking to take place in SA.

Excerpts from the BDS statement:

A significant number of South African anti-Apartheid activists, church leaders, government officials, trade unions, political parties as well as civil society organisations have expressed their support for the Palestine freedom fighter and icon Leila Khaled’s forthcoming visit to South Africa.

The Israeli lobby in South Africa have been trying to discredit Khaled’s forthcoming tour. We do not expect pro-Israeli supporters to understand…” said BDS’ Kwara Kekana, and then waxes lyrically about SA struggle icons which have no bearing on this debate.

“While the SA Jewish community produced many distinguished anti-apartheid struggle heroes such as Joe Slovo,” says Kekane, “they were disowned by the leadership of (the Jewish) community, including the SAJBD, which preferred to be in bed with the Apartheid regime.”

Kekane’s lengthy statement is also at pains to point out that “Khaled’s forthcoming tour to SA is being organised solely by BDS-SA and our local partners and not by the larger BDS Movement.” This statement may indicate that the US-based parent BDS body needs to distance itself from this visit.

“BDS-SA is part of the international non-violent BDS boycott campaign against Israel,” continues Kekane’s statement. “We are opposed to all forms of racism including Zionism and anti-Semitism.

Excerpts from Umkhonto we Sizwe MVA:

In a statement “Leila Khaled’s visit welcome” issued on POLITICSWEB by Kebby Maphatsoe, chairman of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association on Wednesday, he said that his organisation “welcomes the planned visit of the Palestine struggle icon and freedom fighter, Leila Khaled to SA.”

This is amid the racist oppressive Zionist Israel sympathisers’ noise against such planned visit.

This visit by Khaled would further contribute to serve the purpose to bolster solidarity with the Palestine people’s struggle for their birth right, in their country, and expose the wanton murder of Palestinians by the terrorist Israel Defence Force.

MKMVA would like to point out that contrary to the terrorist killing of the Palestinians by the IDF, no Israeli or a single passenger was killed in the two airplanes that were hijacked by Khaled and her comrades. The only life that was lost was that of Patrick Arguello, who was summarily executed by the Israeli air marshals who were never tried for that illegal act. It is legendary that she treated the passengers with dignity and explained that she was not intending any harm to be visited upon them.

In her actions she was motivated by a greater need to see the dignity of her people restored and the illegal occupation of their land Palestine ended. It is our hope that the hostile noise from a small racist Zionist minority which supports that murdering of the people of occupied Palestine, by the murderous Zionist apartheid Israeli regime does not confuse the masses.

Related reads on Jewish Report Online:

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07 JAN: LEILA KHALED IN SA SPEAKING TOUR NEXT MONTH BY ANT KATZ

10 JAN: SAIPAC TO GOV’T: DON’T LET LEILA INTO SA BY DAVIS HERSCH

12 JAN: BOARD SLAMS BDS FOR BRINGING TERRORIST KHALED BY ANT KATZ

14 JAN: UNDERSTANDING THE BDS BY HOWARD FELDMAN

14 JAN: JEWS MUST SEND CLEAR MESSAGE TO EXTREMISTS BY MARY KLUK

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