Raising the flag for Israel

Former Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions activist Klaas Mokgomole will be running the Comrades Marathon on Sunday with the Israel flag draped over his shoulders, raising money for South African Friends of Israel (SAFI).

“It’s to show that I stand with Israel and support Israel,” says the head co-ordinator of Africans for Peace ahead of his second Comrades. Having previously noticed a large media presence at the race, “I’m hoping the flag will bring about a conversation. It’s important for the community out there to understand the issues in the Middle East region.”

The Limpopo-born and Johannesburg-based Mokgomole will also do it to raise funds for SAFI, which promotes dialogue between the Jewish community and broader society to ensure a more balanced view of Israel.

The funds will help bring water technology to disadvantaged communities in Mpumalanga that have no or little water.

Mokgomole recalls that somewhere around the 10km mark during his last Comrades run, he and other runners heard calls about Israel being an apartheid state and saw anti-Israel placards.

“I’m going to run with the flag only for the first 10km and maybe the last 5km because the Comrades can be draining. The plan is to make sure that I finish the race on time again, but this time with the flag just to open up conversation. People must be willing to tolerate each other, we must be willing to discuss things. Normally, when we deal with this issue of Israel and Palestine, people aren’t willing to talk about it, they attack each other.”

Meanwhile, the South African Malka Ella Fertility Fund has a team of 16 runners in the Comrades to raise funds for fertility treatments for couples in our community.

This will be the tenth time the fund has put together a team for the Comrades. From its nine previous Comrades, the fund has raised R3 260 000, enough for the birth of 35 babies.