Olga Meshoe wows America on a whirlwind visit

ANT KATZ

Olga Meshoe, COO of Deisi (Defend Embrace Invest Support Israel) which is a fast-growing SA Christian Zionist organisation, recently returned from her whirlwind trip, where she met with the top tier of American Jewish communal leadership, to raise Deisi’s profile and with an eye towards fundraising.  

Meshoe and her organisation have become known for their passionate pro-Israeli voices on the South African scene. She is the daughter of African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) leader, Rev Kenneth Meshoe, whose party is a strong Israel supporter in Parliament.

Her schedule in the US was hectic. A highlight was meeting US Jewish media magnate, Rabbi Mark S Golub, president and chief executive of America’s Jewish TV network JBS (Jewish Broadcasting Service). Meshoe was a guest on JBS’ talk-show, “Eye On Israel”.  

After meeting her, Golub posted on his Facebook page: “Every now and then, each of us encounters a human being who touches our heart, mind and soul in a profoundly moving way. It doesn’t happen often. But when it does, we know we’re in the presence of something extraordinary.”

The talk-show host, Shahar Azani, asked Meshoe for her views on the widespread sentiment on American college campuses that Israel is an apartheid state.

Meshoe dismissed any American college student who uses the term “apartheid” in relation to Israeli policy regarding the Palestinian issue, as woefully ignorant of what apartheid was in South Africa.

When asked if her pro-Israel stance has generated any personal animosity towards her, Meshoe said it did not matter to her what her peers thought of her; rather it was history that would judge the morality of her deeds.

Meshoe was also hosted by Rabbi Yaacov Kermaier of New York’s famous Fifth Avenue Synagogue where she spent a Shabbat. She met with a host of other high level executives at major American Jewish organisations, including the American Jewish Congress; World Jewish Congress; StandWithUs; Hillel International; the powerful lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and B’nai Brith.

Meshoe also attended a meeting with Christians United for Israel’s (Cufi) Raj Nair – who heads up a programme called “The Israel Collective”.

On her last day, she went to the United Nations to meet with the staff of the Israeli Mission before flying back home on the weekend – all in all a busy, and by all accounts very successful, trip.