The mask has slipped

The first yahrzeit for more than 1 200 victims of the attacks on 7 October has just passed. It’s a moment that stands stark in our consciousness as we try once again to contemplate the enormity of pain that so many families in Israel suffered this Simchat Torah. I pray for our hostages to be returned and for the creation of peace across the land, so that both sides can begin the difficult and painful healing process.

Unfortunately, in South Africa, there’s no compassion for Jewish loss of life among the African National Congress (ANC) elite as well as a number of public figures whose roles as healers and helpers of those in need should have taught them better. Indeed, Professor Shabir Madhi, from the medical school at the University of the Witwatersrand, and Imtiaz Sooliman, Gift of the Givers, have made deeply problematic statements and social media posts that go way beyond support for Palestinians and empathy for the plight of Gazans, and instead have descended to hate-filled rhetoric that does nothing to promote a path to peace.

We’re concerned about the way in which the mask has slipped for many in South Africa away from a pro-Palestinian stance towards full throated support for Hamas. An ANC branch event commemorating the deaths of Yahya Sinwar, Hassan Nasrallah, and Ismail Haniyeh being a case in point.

Bizarrely, comparisons between Sinwar and Nelson Mandela have been made, comparing a man who dedicated his life to freedom and reconciliation to a man who dedicated his life to rape, the murder of Palestinians who opposed him, and the wholesale slaughter of innocents. The moniker “Butcher of Khan Younis” was coined to reflect Sinwar’s brutality against Gazans. Such a man, who brought death and destruction to so many and still failed to achieve a single positive outcome for the people he was ostensibly leading, is no liberation hero.

In the same vein, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO’s) statements never fail to disappoint. Continuing its programme of utter hypocrisy, DIRCO released a statement admonishing Israel for its attack on Iranian military infrastructures last Friday night (25 October). DIRCO has shown itself to be deaf and blind to ongoing missile fire, rockets, terror attacks, and aggression levelled against Israel, and has chosen to support its dubious friends regardless of their human rights record or values.

This unwavering support of Iran, which is known for its oppressive regime, gender apartheid, and sponsorship of terror groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, reveals an inconsistency in South Africa’s approach to human rights, raising serious questions about its selective advocacy for global justice.

Adding to these contradictions, DIRCO Minister Ronald Lamola has stated his intention to downgrade diplomatic relations with Israel further, and remains absolutely unable to see any Russian belligerence in Ukraine, human rights violations in Sudan, or Iranian aggression against Israel.

In the face of such challenges, we stand firm in our commitment to counter misinformation and antisemitism, protect our community, and uphold the principles of truth and justice that define our values.

• Listen to Charisse Zeifert on Jewish Board Talk, 101.9 ChaiFM, every Friday from 12:00 to 13:00.