The power of persistence

VANESSA VALKIN

The advertorial alerts us that, according to the Hamas charter, jihad is the only solution to the Palestinian problem and that peaceful initiatives are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement. It states that Hamas sees homosexuality as a crime punishable by death, that it uses abduction and torture against its opponents and its leaders are unwelcome in Western democracies and in parts of the Middle East as well. It also rightly asks the ANC why they made such an organisation welcome and how that could possibly assist the brokering of peace.

While our community may be very offended by the Sunday Times’ initial decision not to run the ad, it does not mean we cannot guess what the newspaper’s management’s motives might have been. The paper may not have wanted to get into a turf war over a very sensitive issue. It has apparently not run political ads from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that were too controversial, in an effort to remain on neutral ground.

Yet, they did run a large advertorial in 2014 naming 500 South African Jews who signed a petition opposing Israel’s actions during Operation Protective Edge. In all likelihood, the initial refusal to run the advertorial was because the Sunday Times do not want to anger their major advertiser, the ANC, who is building bonds with Hamas.

Whatever their reasons for at first refusing and then for changing their minds, and our paper made a credible effort this week to try to ascertain what they really were, the question still remains as to whether a loud, full page advert by Jewish communal organisations in the Sunday Times is the best way to get the desired message across.

The content, already sent out to thousands among SA Jewry via e-mail this past weekend and appearing on our own pages in this issue on page 13, is quite forceful and accusatory. While the goal is important and the content is true, it may be more readily swallowed by the South African public in softer, more nuanced tones. 

It may also, unwittingly, bring more attention to this terrorist organisation which has already got too much time and coverage in South African headspace of late.

Nonetheless, we can commend the Jewish communal groups on their worthy efforts and courageous approach and for their persistence – winning the second time around. The advert’s creators believe that the ANC, and our country at large, do not adequately understand who they are dealing with in Hamas and need to be told. And they took the loudest, boldest approach that they could afford.