Letters/Discussion Forums
Narrative of Israel ‘apartheid’ canard becoming tedious
Geoff Sifrin, in his Taking Issue column, is correct in asserting that many Jews will reject former President De Klerk’s warning, that Israel is heading towards an apartheid state. Informed people know that Israel is not an apartheid state. Many people, including Jews, however, resent Israel and the Jewish people, for reasons that are not always clear.
Nathan Cheiman
Recently, a Jewish academic in Britain, Marsha Levine, replied to a letter written by a 13-year-old Jewish girl, who asked for advice on horses.
She replied to the youngster that she should first consider the plight of Palestinians before asking her for advice.
Levine, an erstwhile researcher at Cambridge University, is also a member of Jewish Voices for a Just Peace (JVJP) and is openly supportive of BDS.
Many European politicians have blamed Israel for the Palestinian problem and say that the terrorist attacks in Europe are a consequence thereof. Mind you, they say this despite the unchecked influx of migrants into their own countries.
The accusation of Israel being an apartheid state is frequently used by BDS and other anti-Israel entities to attempt to gain a position of relative superiority and is used euphemistically to liken Israel to apartheid South Africa.
As events unfold over time, the truth becomes clear.
For example, the ANC and government, hosted Hamas, while Hamas recently hosted ISIS in Gaza.
These two terrorist organisations are expanding co-operation between themselves, and yet the SA government has the chutzpah to say that it sees itself as a mediator for peace between Israel and Palestine (a two-state solution) notwithstanding.
BDS sides with the Palestinians too, and they also feted Hamas’ visit to SA.
Sifrin optimistically hypothesises about Marwan Barghouti and Benjamin Netanyahu shaking hands. This in my view, will never take place, because events currently in the region, are moving so fast that there is no moral high ground left for either side, because of the violence.
Israel is also moving closer to Asia and Russia and it is becoming clear that there are new alliances on the horizon as a result of Europe’s antagonistic attitude towards Israel (and Jews).
Asia and Russia also understand that economic co-operation with Israel will benefit their countries; after all, Israel is a leader in water, arms, and scientific technology.
The narrative, therefore, of apartheid Israel is not only tiresome, but is becoming precarious because of its falsity, and moreover, the Jewish State’s opposition to the various religious conflicts in the region, which are affecting other Western countries.
Northcliff, Johannesburg