Grief and grotesque reaction

Last week marked one of the most heartbreaking and grief-filled moments in our collective memory, as the bodies of Oded Lifshitz, Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas were finally returned to Israel.

The images of Shiri Bibas shielding her children with fierce love and strength are forever etched in our minds, an enduring example of maternal courage and love in the face of unimaginable terror.

In response to these horrific events, we held an impromptu memorial on Thursday night, 20 February, and Friday morning. It was recognised that, in moments of such profound loss, a space for communal gathering was essential and that it was best to host this commemoration on Thursday night and Friday while the need was greatest.

The memorial, held at the space dedicated to the community’s 7 October commemoration, was one of the most emotionally powerful gatherings in recent memory. Hundreds of candles were lit as the community answered the call, arriving in droves to pay their respects. A particularly poignant moment unfolded on Friday morning when a community member began playing the guitar and singing, filling the space with a hauntingly beautiful tribute. Once again, we were deeply moved by the way our community came together, and we are profoundly grateful to all who participated.

Meanwhile, our national director, Wendy Kahn, who had just participated in the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organisations in Israel, spent Thursday at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, the heart of the struggle to bring the hostages home. In fact, Kahn and the delegation met the son of Lifshitz at the Knesset only a day prior to his body being released.

Yet, even amid this tragic moment, we were once again disappointed by the response from our own government. On the same day that the hostages’ bodies were returned, President Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking to the G20, welcomed the ceasefire in Gaza but failed to acknowledge the return of the bodies or the horrific cruelty and evil that led to their abduction and murder in the first place.

In response, we have issued an open letter to the president expressing our deep disappointment at his continued refusal to show any sympathy for Jewish victims. His and his government’s ongoing failure to call out Hamas for this atrocity reveals just how far South Africa has strayed from the moral standing it was once recognised for in 1994. A country that ignores the brutal murder of babies can no longer claim to be a beacon of human rights.

Furthermore, at a time when the South African Jewish community is grieving, shocked, and in pain, the complete lack of empathy from our leadership is deeply troubling. We feel ashamed that our government has failed not only the Bibas babies but also the remaining hostages, whose safe return could have ended the war, bringing relief to both Israelis and Gazans alike.

The protest in Cape Town over the weekend was yet another disturbing display of antisemitism and historical distortion, completely tone-deaf to the atrocities committed against innocent Israelis. The sight of swastikas along the Sea Point Promenade was nothing short of an open antagonistic provocation and an assault on our country’s values of tolerance and respect for diversity.

This protest forms part of an ongoing attempt by Hamas and its supporters to deny its atrocities.  Among the most egregious examples of this was an appalling video shared on Gift of the Givers’ social media platforms. The autopsy results are irrefutable – the Bibas babies were strangled, their small bodies mutilated in a grotesque attempt to cover up the crime. Yet, Hamas, true to form, immediately launched a denial campaign, desperately attempting to shift blame onto Israel, and Dr Imtiaz Sooliman shamefully amplified its falsehoods. This is an insidious attempt to erase Jewish suffering and absolve terrorists of their barbarity. Once again, Sooliman has exposed his true colours, emboldened, shameless, and grotesque.