MARY KLUK
Discussion focused mainly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the sharp rise in anti-Semitism in South Africa over the past several months, two issues that were obviously related to one another. Most anti-Semitic activity in this country today is in some way connected to the Middle East question and, as we saw again during the Gaza war, intensifies at times of increased conflict in the region.
It is therefore naïve to treat anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism as two completely separate things, since in practice there is a constant overlap between the two. It is also unrealistic to believe that constant attacks on the Jewish homeland, particularly when perceived to be coming from members of government, will not negatively impact on the Jewish community.
Our comfort and security, and how we feel about our place in South Africa, is unavoidably tied up with Israel and our government’s relationship with it.
During the Gaza period, we were encouraged by the generally balanced stance taken by government, which focused on calling on both sides to cease their attacks rather than playing the blame game.
During our meeting, President Zuma reiterated the statements he made during this time. His strongly-held view and that of his government is that there can be no military solution to the conflict; rather, there has to be a negotiated process aimed at achieving a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, with an Israeli and a Palestinian state co-existing in peace alongside one another.
The President also expressed a strong desire for South Africa, with its experience in conflict resolution, to play some kind of a role in this process, if at all possible.
Overall, we came away from the meeting feeling that the President genuinely understood our concerns and that South Africa’s policy on the Israel-Palestine question remains unaltered, despite the pressure brought to bear on it during the Gaza war to break off its ties with Israel.
We were also very warmly received, and assured of how much the contribution our Jewish community is making to building South Africa, is appreciated.
Government’s reaffirmation of its support of the two-state process and of its wish to engage with both parties in helping to advance it, is particularly welcome in light of various contradictory messages that have been coming from the ANC.
Shortly after our meeting, the ANC issued a statement announcing its support for a cultural, academic and education boycott of Israel, including travel bans for party members and government officials.
The ANC has also co-signed a declaration suggesting that the very establishment of Israel was illegitimate. In our response, we said that apart from doing nothing to bring a peaceful settlement closer, boycotts would only stir up hostility and division within our own society, something that indeed has been happening.
While we understand that there is a difference between government and the ruling party and that it is the former which determines official policy, we are obviously concerned about the increasingly hostile stance taken by the ANC and are in communication with the party’s leadership to obtain further clarity on their position.
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