Heroic protestors make a brave stand

Ben Robert Horowitz, Johannesburg

One does not need to be an expert on Palestinian history to know that snipers using hi-tech weapons and shooting to kill unarmed protestors on the wrong side of the fence is inhumane. Shame on Daniel Silke for saying that those deaths and the circumstances that drove people to face the bullets – and pull the trigger – is just “the flavour of the month”.

A reporter attacks the protestors’ “childish paintings” while not questioning the inane photographs on display at the exhibition. Not a single photograph addressed the Israeli Palestinian war, nor the counterpoint of wealth disparity in SA. No one thought to highlight the real issues that bind South Africa, Israel and Palestine. What about land reclamation and the right of return? The exhibition was a white wash; the truth carefully curated out of existence.

One of Israel’s most powerful weapons is its ability to demonise and vilify all opposition. If you are not in the embassy exhibition, you are with Hezbollah, who happened to be outside the locked doors.

Protestors are not mindless sheep looking for affirmation from friends. For every friend made, we make an enemy too; the issue has become that binary. We are intelligent individuals whose hearts are broken by the suffering of the Palestinians. We can’t bear to watch Israel celebrate its privilege while the Palestinians live under oppressive occupation. We believe the Palestinian destiny is tied to our own. We want to send a clear message to Israel that its policy is opposed.

We do not have to offer solutions to the crisis other than to say that tyranny is unacceptable, and that the onus lies with Israel to pave the way to peace. It is, after all, the one with the power in the region.

I think Kelly-Jean, July and Tiego are heroes for overcoming their fear and putting words into action. They were victorious.